The first B2B marketplace for Fast Moving Consumer Goods, connecting all brand manufacturers and retailers globally

Project Information

B2BMarketplace

Grant agreement ID: 888249

DOI

10.3030/888249

Project closed

EC signature date 22 November 2019

Start date 1 November 2019

End date 29 February 2020

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ALKEMICS
France

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - B2BMarketplace (The first B2B marketplace for Fast Moving Consumer Goods, connecting all brand manufacturers and retailers globally)

Reporting period: 2019-11-01 to 2020-02-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are products sold frequently at relatively low prices, like foods, beverages, and toiletries. Most people consume FMCGs every day. Despite the huge size of the market, projected to reach $15 trillion globally, FMCG producers and retailers experience a number of challenges.

First, product data is continuously growing due to legal requirements and consumer expectations. Second, there is no commonly agreed structure for product information exchange between manufacturers and retailers. Moreover, current processes are inadequate for big data exchange, since they are mostly performed manually and, thus, they are more error-prone.

Alkemics is developing B2BMarketplace - the first global Peer-to-Peer platform connecting retailers and producers to sell and buy FMCGs everywhere. The marketplace enables manufacturers to get their products discovered and purchased by retailers, streamline product data exchange in order to accelerate product launch on the market, and increase the quality of the product content across the retailer ecosystem and towards consumers.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the feasibility assessment of Phase 1, Alkemics completed a full analysis of the technical and business potential of B2BMarketplace.

In terms of technical outcomes, Alkemics gained crucial feedback that was highly valuable in defining the remaining technical activities to enable B2BMarketplace release and validation before market launch. The company produced a complete Product Development Plan, detailing the main steps to make B2BMarketplace ready for a full commercial roll out: cloud scale-up, engineering on platform’s functionalities and business transactions, security, data protection & other needed regulatory compliance, technical verification and paid pilots with customers. The company identified the needed external parties to ensure this plan is successfully implemented, including prospect clients willing to test the marketplace. The objective of the trials is to gain both a large scale market validation with customers from different industries and to obtain a detailed analysis of the positive impact of B2BMarketplace on business operations of retailers and manufacturers. Moreover, Alkemics reviewed all regulatory requirements were reviewed to ensure safe collection and processing of data and business transaction performance on the marketplace.

Regarding the business outcomes of the Phase 1 analysis, Alkemics reviewed in detail its business model and commercialisation plan to define the best approach for an accelerated and effective market expansion. The pricing model was defined according to the type and size of customers, including a dedicated strategy to reach SMEs. Alkemics analysed in detail the customer segments, their needs and the benefits of B2BMarketplace to overcome current challenges. The company also expanded its competitor analysis and confirmed that B2BMarketplace will be the first and only global all-in-one solution for FMCG data management & exchange and business operations.

Considering the overall results of the Phase 1 project, Alkemics confirmed the technical and business feasibility of its innovation, and it concluded that it is vital to pursue the proposed development and commercialisation plan to reach the global market and generate substantial revenues.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

B2BMarketplace has the potential to revolutionise business operations of retailers and manufacturers in the FMCG market worldwide by providing a first digital marketplace for selling and buying FMCGs globally. Today the challenges of manufacturers and retailers are multiple and intricate: produce efficiently and sustainably, offer better services, increase transparency vis-à-vis the consumers. B2BMarketplace arrives at the right moment, delivering business intelligence across the FMCG value chain.

The innovation will ensure quicker time-to-market for manufacturers, which need to correctly anticipate their retailers’ data requirements in order to provide them with the exact information they need, right from the start. For retailers, a key concern is product data quality. Alkemics' data model allows the data of the manufacturers to be verified and improved on a regular basis. Through B2BMarketplace, it will be possible to share this data with international consumer apps, ensuring more transparency on the composition, packaging and footprint of products so that everyone makes the best choices for their health and the environment. For manufacturers, it will be a way to their commitment to transparency and benefit from an immediate repercussion in sales. Europe needs a digital sector that puts sustainability and green growth at its heart. B2BMarketplace will contribute to the EU Green Deal’s roadmap for green transformation to meet its targets on sustainable industry by supporting local and climate neutral products and manufacturers that meet the highest environmental standards.