Infraprix (startup)

Infraprix as a startup was founded to solve the problem of bias faced by the infrastructure developers while purchasing construction material (cement, bricks, tiles, paint, wood etc) in bulk. The startup was funded by the Paramount Group (renowned real estate developers from India). 

Problem

• Bias in purchase of the bulk construction material by the purchase department or purchase person of the infrastructure developer / company/organization.

• The bias is based on the past purchase, relationship, price, terms and conditions with the manufacturer/ dealer / supplier etc.

Product

Infraprix was conceptualized as a one stop solution for removing the bias in purchase of bulk construction material by providing the best prices to the infrastructure developer without any hassles, procedures and with an easy-to-use interface either though the website or a mobile app.

Vision

                           "Get the best infrastructure deals anytime anywhere"

Finding the solution

• Being the Product Head and the first person to join the organization as a founding team member, I went on the journey of finding the best solution to the problem whereby the situation is a win-win for the customer and us as a startup.

• Meeting the customers (buyer side) that is the purchase department, infrastructure developer (owners), decision makers, stakeholders of renowned infrastructure developers (Supertech, DLF, Amrapali, Mahagun, ATS etc) as well other mid-size infrastructure developers in India.

• Meeting with manufactures/dealers/suppliers (supplier side) of construction material (cement, bricks, tiles, paint, wood etc).

• Market analysis, Competitor analysis, PEST analysis performed in order to find the best possible solution keeping into consideration all the scenarios.

My Role

• Creating the product strategy based on the vision by the owners/founders of the infraprix startup.

• Meeting buyer side and supplier side of the problem to find the best solution that satisfies everyone’s needs along with infraprix becoming the go to destination for both the sides.

• Developing and driving the product roadmap. Developing product positioning and messaging to build trust and LTV.

• Outlined detailed specifications and established business requirements for the product.

• Supervised BRDs / PRDs, wireframes, mockups, flowcharts and presentations to support various business functions.

• Created the end-to-end process from buyer side query till the final handshake with the supplier.

• Managed the product design, development from idea conceptualization to product launch.

• Created the full CMS (Customized Sugar CRM) along with analytics and reporting integration at every stage of the process.

Solution

• Front end with the catalogue display from all the sellers (manufacturers/ distributors / retailers etc.).

• Intuitive Enquiry form for the bulk construction material (threshold against the minimum quantity request) which can be filled by verified buyers only.

• Buyer registration along with verification and onboarding by the customer support team.

• Integration of customer support call integration with CRM for quick functioning along with reporting, analysis and turnaround time monitoring.

• Buyer and Seller both provided with web and mobile app solution.

• Seller intimated immediately about the lead (enquiry from the buyer) through push notification, sms, email as well as an automated call.

• Real time bidding by the sellers and display of results on real time basis to the buyers (introduced first time for the infrastructure industry in India) – Main USP, differentiation factor in the market, customer trust built through this open process.

• Upon confirmation by buyer the seller contact details were revealed.

• Subscription based services for both buyer and seller.

• Special services provided to buyer and sellers based on subscription plans which would further help both of them in getting the best deal.

Key takeaways

• Finding the optimum solution for the problem required in depth analysis from multiple perspectives along with meeting the actual customers.

• How to approach a multi-sided platform and make sure you're solving for the correct side, aka "When the user feels X, the business feels Y".

• Following agile methodology and effective brainstorming sessions with the engineering team led to quick and better product development and release.

• How to increase communication through all team members by optimizing the tools that are already in use like scrum mythology, Jira, and Slack.