Source.One, a B2B Commerce Platform, Closes FY22 with Sales of INR 1622 Cr

25 May 2022 , 10:42 AM

Business Wire India

Left to Right: Arun Singhal (C.E.O) & Shrinath Balakrishnan (C.T.O), the Founders of Source.One

Continuing its profitable growth Story, Source.One: a B2B Commerce platform, ended FY22 with Revenue of INR 1622 cr, a stupendous growth of 140% from last year. Started in 2018 to streamline the $250 bn Chemicals Distribution Industry, Source.One has grown to become one of the largest in the space in just 3-and-half years. The company largely credits its network, and increasing formalisation of Indian economy, for the Growth.

The Belief

“The journey has been Fulfilling,” says Arun Singhal, CEO of Source.One. “We started out solving a much smaller problem: That of reducing disparity between Prices at which Smaller and Larger Processors buy their Plastic Raw Material. The first 6 months was all about reducing this gap, by bringing transparency in the trade. Some-where down the line, we realised how inefficient the whole Raw Material Distribution space is. And what it will take to solve them. We put our heads down and started executing the plans. Over the years, We have created a kind of Distribution machine, that can solve most challenges on an auto-mode.”

“Our growth is a result of many controllables and uncontrollables, happening together,” he adds. “For example, During the peak of Covid-1 , when the supply chain was completely broken (uncontrollable), and the Plastic processors were at struggling to find basic Raw Materials, our network of Supplies and Logistics (controllable), played a huge role. We not only maintained the pre-Covid standards of service, but also at the right prices. That stayed in the mind of Processors, and growth happened.”

Take a quick look at the Source.One growth story in Numbers
 

Year	INR Sales	Growth YoY	Transacting Customers
FY19	17.6 cr		52
FY20	170 cr	865%	364
FY21	680 cr	300%	916
FY22	1622 cr	140%	1639

 

 

Source.One is an end-to-end Commodity Distribution company, which started with Polymers, and has entered into other Chemicals. It has upended Polymer Distribution in India, and has become a very popular name in the Industry. It runs a unique Platform, and boasts of API integrations with 17 Technology Vendors, across Fintech to Banks to GSPs, to automate most of its processes.
 
In terms of geography, it works in almost all States, covering 97% of all Pin-codes with its Supply Network and Logistics. Given the strong Background of the Core team, it was quick to identify gaps in the Distribution game, and could plug the gaps in a short time.

Playing to own Strengths

“We were always bootstrapped, and believe that a Business should make its own profit. But, it’s not just about the profits, or even Valuation. Valuation always follows Value-creation. We have always run Source.One as a tight ship: Value-creating, Profitable company. To excel in Commodities, especially Raw Materials, you need a great combination of people, Industry knowledge, operational excellence and technology. We want to create a one-of-a-kind Commodity Distribution ecosystem which can benefit everyone. Better Value and Utmost Convenience, for the whole Trade, are the two core Focus areas for the company,” he added.   

Over the years, Source.One has fast adopted to the needs of the Industry. Strong Tech, Logistics, Credit sales, High-seas trade, mobile app, etc. are a few strengths it has added. It has equipped itself to serve the needs of almost all types of Processors.

For credit, it has tied–up with SBM Bank to enable low cost and flexible terms to its Buyers. Source.One has on-boarded 240+ Processors for its credit offering, in a short span. The underwriting is based on data science, backed by key Industry insights that has been gained over the years. It plans to “institutionalise Trade credit for the industry,” the CEO adds.

The Technology

The Technology stack is ably run by a strong Team, led by a CTO who is very passionate with solving Business Problems through technology. “We have integrated our Technology stack with twin objectives: Keep the cost low, and User adoption easy,” says Shrinath Balakrishnan, Co-founder & CTO. “Even on the Mobile App side, which was launched recently, we have got very good reviews. We have built a Scalable tech, and can accommodate up to 1 lakhs users simultaneously.”
 
“The technology and finance platform we have built, has achieved strong product market fit, and this reflects in our growth numbers. The Industry was looking for a Platform which is transparent, competitive and convenient. We simply delivered it,” he added.

Despite being bootstrapped, Source.One has managed to increase its workforce 5-fold, and geared for next level of Growth. It plans to remain focussed in Chemicals, and will foray into multiple value-chains, within the domain. It recently started a Line of Business in packaging, named www.Sarv.one, where it aims to create a One stop solution for all the Packaging needs of the MSMEs.

The company aims to close FY23 at 3000cr INR, and is well geared to achieve that.