Apparel July 2019 Apparel July 2019 issue | Page 166

FEATURE
Democratising Trade
Business-to-business platforms are changing how apparel business happens in
the country as they bridge gaps between manufacturers, traders, brands, and
retailers. Bindu Gopal Rao writes.
The apparel industry is a huge contributor to the
Indian economy, in terms of both its share within
the country, as well as exports. Investments in
the digital segment have helped sectors such
as beauty and clothing retail so apparel brands
can take some learning from their successes and
benefit from these online platforms. There are
various online B2B marketplaces in India that help
the apparel segment in trading and conducting
their business transactions.
THE CONCEPT
B2B (business-to-business) platforms are online
marketplaces wherein business practices such as
exchange of products, services, and information
are conducted between various manufacturers
and vendors rather than between businesses and
consumers. They can also be defined as portals
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on the internet where products and services
are bought and sold from a variety of suppliers.
Apparel designers, manufactures, and retailers
connect with other product or service providers
on various online B2B portals, looking to get the
best deal, convenience, and easy processing.
Harsh Bhotika, Founder, Warp ’n Weft, says,
“B2B apparel platforms are like online wholesalers
who provide their customers, i.e. designers,
retailers, and stores, to buy from a varied range
of services and products across categories
like menswear, womenswear, kids’ wear, etc.
It works upon networking and collaborating
with manufacturers and vendors across cities
and makes it simpler for both the parties to get
connected and do business together. Buyers on
the B2B platform get to make their choices from
a range of required products such as garments,