CEO Insights India

The advent of digitization has transformed all the businesses. The level of transformation depends on maturity of the digitization which varies across industries. B2B Commerce, which is much larger in size, is behind B2C Commerce in digitization maturity curve. The digitization and automation in procurement functions is helping large enterprises in process efficiencies, enhanced governance and transparency, savings and real time visibility to business leaders for quick decision making. Where as it is also helping MSMEs in having efficient access to market and credit.

The enterprise product industry shall have a key role in digitization of B2B Commerce while it is acknowledged that the enterprise product industry itself is gearing up to the challenges and opportunities posed by the tsunami of digitization. While the shift to cloud-based applications is a global phenomenon, India has taken a lead in cost, quantum, quality and users of mobile data. This offers a favourable environment for new generation enterprise product ventures in India. Bob eProcure, as the leading Indian B2B Saas procurement tech firm is well positioned to leverage these opportunities.

Dattatray joined Bob eProcure in 2020 as a co-founder with the dual responsibility of scaling up procurement tech business and kick starting the fintech venture. Further more, below is an excerpt of Dattatray Pandit’s exclusive conversation with CEO Insights magazine.

How has been your experience so far with BobEprocure?
It has been an exciting journey with Bob eProcure. The team is passionate about the business and the growth opportunities. The founders Raju and Lakshmi, have excellent command on technology and domain issues. They have been successful in carrying the team and the clients along with an empathetic approach. The product development team is fully charged with the motto that. “We should start where the competition stops”.

Our UPEG(Unified Procurement engine for Growth) has won the confidence of large enterprises which include Tata group companies, RPG group companies, Indian arms of a few MNCs. We have successfully delivered a comprehensive digitization solution for a couple of clients in EPC and Construction vertical which is challenged with the most complex procurement processes. As a result, we are now successfully competing with the leading global firms in our solution space. Customer feedback is that our product offers better features, superior configurational flexibility,and ease of use at a competitive price.

We have just made our foray into overseas markets. While B2B Saas business momentum is robust, we are establishing a unique positioning for ourselves in Spend Consolidation services, Disposal & Liquidation Services for industrial as well as consumer goods leveraging our technology, anchor based approach and network of vendors/ buyers established over a period of time. These growth initiatives need to be supported by capital infusion and we have closed an equity round recently. We feel that this is just the beginning of a journey where in we are set to achieve many more milestones.

Could you talk about the learnings and experiences that you acquired from IIM Lucknow and how you apply them in your current role?
I remember our inaugural session by Professor Rakesh Srivastava(affectionately called Rocky). He said “IIML is the place for you to learn the learning technique: what to learn and how to learn”. I guess this Framework of Learning is key to my current role of navigating the digital businesses facing growth opportunities as well as challenges on multiple fronts. To be honest, making the transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship is filled with risks and hardships but I knew, I could always count on my IIML 95 batch mates if things were to go wrong.

Reflect on some of the major challenges you have experienced in your journey so far. How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
In my opinion, coming up with a concept is the simpler part of the process, and turning that idea into a

reality is much more challenging. Numerous attempts at such executions have either been unsuccessful or stopped short. The key to overcoming those obstacles is detailed planning of the execution, elimination of distractions and onboarding a motivated team with appropriate skills. We have seen that the digital business models across verticals are evolving with a lot of uncertainties and we need to be proactive and adaptive to the situations.

How do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal and professional life? What is your success mantra?
It has been challenging for me to maintain the balance between personal and professional life. But my family has always been very supportive.

How do you remain up to date with the ongoing industry trends to steer your organization towards the future? Going forward, what are the goals that you wish to invest in and how do you plan to take them further?
It's a combination of doing your internal research and reading relevant publications. I am also fortunate to be networked with knowledgeable and analytical friends.

Our primary emphasis now is on maximizing the potential of procurement technology, financial technology and the underlying data engine for outlining analytics, risks and performance predictability. Our B2B SaaS business is set to expand internationally. As we look to expand our platform-centric commerce tech and fintech business models, we want to focus on domestic markets.

Dattatray Pandit, CEO-Parity TrustOne (Supply Chain Fintech), Partner at Bob Eprocure (inducted as a Strategic Investor into Parity TrustOne)
Dattatray Pandit has a PGDM from IIM Lucknow and a Bachelor of Technology in Electrical Engineering from IIT Bombay. He had the chance to contribute to the new business initiatives of Crisil(PPP and Infrastructure Advisory), RIL (Infocomm), and Motilal Oswal (Investment Banking) through his tenure with those companies. Currently, Dattatray is the CEO of Parity TrustOne(Supply Chain Fintech) and a Partner at Bob Eprocure(Procurement Tech).

Location:Mumbai