The online trading platform MarketBuy launched mid-November. Now, a couple of weeks after launch, the owner of the platform looks back on what went well and what still needs to be done to make the trading platform as successful as it can be.
“Absolutely nerve-wrecking,” was the initial reaction of MarketBuy owner James Mash after launching his new virtual marketplace. “We were very satisfied to launch on time, without any delays. And despite the suspension, the launch was actually very successful.” MarketBuy is a new marketplace that allows both buyers and sellers to quickly find and buy or sell produce from around the world. MarketBuy launched on the 14th of November, but thanks to lots of pre-registrations the platform was already filled with users. “People were waiting to use the platform and were all ready by the time we launched. Overall we’re very satisfied with how everything went.” Mash said.
Mash hasn’t been sitting on his hands, however. To ensure the optimal experience for users of MarketBuy, he is dead set on bringing in more big players. “Since we last spoke we’ve hauled in three global retail chains that were very interested in what we had to offer. As of now we’re in talks with another five retailers, so hopefully we’ll have good news to share relatively soon. We’re also planning to integrate a logistics platform in MarketBuy, which is available for users right now off-site. However we are aiming for everything to be available within the platform early 2020.”
Another new feature that is launching today is the MarketBuy Trade Finance, for which buyers can apply to make purchases they otherwise couldn’t. “As a platform we’re able to finance growers and buyers on our trade platform, which will hopefully help them in the long term,” Mash explains. “This financing does come with an interest, but as far as I’ve seen it is one of the lowest interest rates in this industry. People will have to get used to it being available on our platform, as the idea isn’t new. We want to streamline the total user experience and MarketBuy Trade Finance fits this philosophy.”
Mash is in close contact with his users, as the team has already made some changes to the platform after receiving some feedback. “When we launched, the accreditations for growers were not yet implemented. Demand for this feature was very high, so we did everything we could to have it integrated into the system as fast as we could. Other features that are in high demand will be implemented within the first six months of 2019, I’m very confident we’ll make that deadline. Features that are to be added to the platform include full blockchain technology, an app for mobile devices and grower traceability from seed to fork.”
Now that the platform is fully launched and available for people to use, the next big challenge is increasing the amount of users on MarketBuy. “We’ve seen lots of registrations already, so now we need to get these users comfortable and start trading on a larger scale. Naturally this technology is new and people are a bit hesitant before making big deals. However the trade is starting to pick up and our outlook is very positive. To ensure more people learn about MarketBuy, we plan to exhibit during Fruit Logistica in Berlin. There we can explain the full potential of our virtual marketplace and get even more people on board.” Mash concludes.
For more information:
James Mash
MarketBuy
Tel: +44 (0) 7958 638047
Email: [email protected]
www.marketbuy.net