This week’s edition is a community conversation with BluePallet. BluePallet is on a mission to build B2B a marketplace with two key objectives: 1) leverage leading-edge marketplace network platform technology and 2) work collaboratively with B2B industry associations, manufacturers, and distributors. The promise is about change from the inside, specifically designed for B2B. For background, check out BluePallet here and these articles on market networks here and here.
BluePallet - what are the benefits that traditional companies gain by going to market on your your platform? Is it about growth, share, profits, etc.? Or security, leveraging data, etc.? That is, why should they participate on a marketplace and why BluePallet's?
Can you explain further the "decentralized" aspect of the model. I understand the "equal" members differentiation (so it merges an Angies list (consumer driven) model with an Amazon (seller driven)). That is unique and interesting.
We see ourselves as a commerce platform vs a two sided marketplace meaning we want to enable you to do business as you see fit. BluePallet encourages you to connect directly with your buyers and sellers to execute trade. At that point, we function as a tool to facilitate and execute vs managing the transaction itself. Put simply, there is no transaction fee. You can also easily grow your network through BluePallet, adding new partners as you familiarize yourself with them.
Your Angie's List reference is a great one. We found that many of our working principles were found in the peer2peer world of e-commerce vs the b2c models and those ideas set the foundation for our model and values.
If you find yourself in a situation where you would like to look for something or list something with the broader network, BlueTrade is our anonymized listing where you can broadcast to our network of fully vetted buyers and sellers.
So a SaaS product built off of network effects. Love the idea of embedding a solution into the process rather than building a process as a solution. Eventually, consumers will realize that the solution doesn't need to be a place (like how we walked away from malls) but rather a process that can be everywhere.
Thus we are in the age of Amazon (a destination) but future e-commerce meets us where we are.
Starting to see this trend in tech products of building products for or from within a community. By engaging the community or segment in the design, development and launch of the product they can achieve product market fit prior to launch and accelerate adoption of new technology.
Ultimately I see this as a long term solution for B2B e-commerce due to the complicated nature (both in systems and user values) of the B2B buyers journey.
Hi BluePallet! To get things started, can you give us an overview of the marketplace you are building and what makes it different from say Amazon Business?
Our competitors are on a mission to put themselves in the middle of every transaction. It's how two-sided marketplaces make money. Someone has to broker every deal. BluePallet is the first true market network for the chemical industry, a decentralized model that benefits both buyers and the industrial manufacturers and distributors in the long term.
Suppliers, distributors, and end users are all equal "members". And without a set B2B or B2C flow to the supply chain, it can go downstream, upstream, cross stream, etc. Whatever is most efficient at that moment - getting people what they need, when they need it. Being decentralized offers resiliency for the supply chain - making it a 'supply network' and creating options when there are unforeseen events like the winter storm in Texas or a ship blocking the Suez Canal. This lets our members reap the benefits of a marketplace while continuing to build on existing relationships in their own networks.
The platform runs on autonomy. Buyers and sellers are able to activate agency that was never possible within a more analog system. They can be low-key and discreet, only connecting with a select few, or broadcast their inventory (ultimately) world wide. How much they want to grow their business is up to them. With a smooth and quick onboarding process, users are set up on everything from logistics to bank accounts and insurance. Taking care of that provides our users with a sense of ease. After that - if you are able to sell or buy product in every avenue you see fit, there is the potential to change the market.
Thank you! Our newsletter community is new and this is our first discussion thread. I am going to wait and see if any readers ask follow-up questions, or offer points of view. If not, I will take the lead myself. This thread will be up and running for several days.
BluePallet - what are the benefits that traditional companies gain by going to market on your your platform? Is it about growth, share, profits, etc.? Or security, leveraging data, etc.? That is, why should they participate on a marketplace and why BluePallet's?
Can you explain further the "decentralized" aspect of the model. I understand the "equal" members differentiation (so it merges an Angies list (consumer driven) model with an Amazon (seller driven)). That is unique and interesting.
We see ourselves as a commerce platform vs a two sided marketplace meaning we want to enable you to do business as you see fit. BluePallet encourages you to connect directly with your buyers and sellers to execute trade. At that point, we function as a tool to facilitate and execute vs managing the transaction itself. Put simply, there is no transaction fee. You can also easily grow your network through BluePallet, adding new partners as you familiarize yourself with them.
Your Angie's List reference is a great one. We found that many of our working principles were found in the peer2peer world of e-commerce vs the b2c models and those ideas set the foundation for our model and values.
If you find yourself in a situation where you would like to look for something or list something with the broader network, BlueTrade is our anonymized listing where you can broadcast to our network of fully vetted buyers and sellers.
So a SaaS product built off of network effects. Love the idea of embedding a solution into the process rather than building a process as a solution. Eventually, consumers will realize that the solution doesn't need to be a place (like how we walked away from malls) but rather a process that can be everywhere.
Thus we are in the age of Amazon (a destination) but future e-commerce meets us where we are.
Grady - can you explain your idea in terms of how things work today vs. network effects?
Starting to see this trend in tech products of building products for or from within a community. By engaging the community or segment in the design, development and launch of the product they can achieve product market fit prior to launch and accelerate adoption of new technology.
Ultimately I see this as a long term solution for B2B e-commerce due to the complicated nature (both in systems and user values) of the B2B buyers journey.
Hi BluePallet! To get things started, can you give us an overview of the marketplace you are building and what makes it different from say Amazon Business?
Our competitors are on a mission to put themselves in the middle of every transaction. It's how two-sided marketplaces make money. Someone has to broker every deal. BluePallet is the first true market network for the chemical industry, a decentralized model that benefits both buyers and the industrial manufacturers and distributors in the long term.
Suppliers, distributors, and end users are all equal "members". And without a set B2B or B2C flow to the supply chain, it can go downstream, upstream, cross stream, etc. Whatever is most efficient at that moment - getting people what they need, when they need it. Being decentralized offers resiliency for the supply chain - making it a 'supply network' and creating options when there are unforeseen events like the winter storm in Texas or a ship blocking the Suez Canal. This lets our members reap the benefits of a marketplace while continuing to build on existing relationships in their own networks.
Can you describe the customer experience? Is it a buy box? Something else? Have you morphed or changed the platform and customer experience over time?
The platform runs on autonomy. Buyers and sellers are able to activate agency that was never possible within a more analog system. They can be low-key and discreet, only connecting with a select few, or broadcast their inventory (ultimately) world wide. How much they want to grow their business is up to them. With a smooth and quick onboarding process, users are set up on everything from logistics to bank accounts and insurance. Taking care of that provides our users with a sense of ease. After that - if you are able to sell or buy product in every avenue you see fit, there is the potential to change the market.
Thank you! Our newsletter community is new and this is our first discussion thread. I am going to wait and see if any readers ask follow-up questions, or offer points of view. If not, I will take the lead myself. This thread will be up and running for several days.