Office supply startup esupply looking to raise fund, targeting B2B segment nationally

Pune-based startup Orange Supplies Pvt Ltd has launched esupply.in that sells office stationery and utilities online and operates in the B2B marketplace. The company caters to SMEs for bulk orders and deals in categories such as cartridges, toners, stationery and paper products, computer peripherals, cleaning utilities, office furniture and more. The startup was incubated by Sapna Solutions, a Pune-based IT firm, which along with some European private investors has provided them the initial capital as well as mentoring and business intelligence.. Although the amount is not known, industry sources say that it within Rs 1 crore.

Although it is less than a year old, esupply is looking to raise funds again. "We would be happy to raise $5 million for a pan-Indian expansion, but a round of $1 million will do for now. Next, we will look for another larger round," said co-founder David Neisinger.

The company was set up in November 2011 by the German duo David Neisinger and Simon Kruger. Neisinger is an IIM Bangalore alumnus and worked with Sapna Solutions before starting esupply.in. Kruger, on the other hand, was working as a business development manager at Delhi-based Shreyans Group when they met.

Asked why they chose the office supply segment and India as their base for starting their own venture, Neisinger said that during their stint in India, both of them realised that there was no proper e-commerce player in this category and therefore, wanted to venture into this space.

As of now, the e-tailer is only focusing on Pune but in the next phase, the company will expand to other metros as well. Neisinger claimed that esupply is fulfilling a couple of orders daily and these are bulk orders in the B2B segment. According to him, customers are coming back to esupply twice a month or so. He also shared that retaining customers in B2B space is far easier than in B2C because of the nature of the business. And that is why esupply is keen to focus on the B2B segment alone. In future, the company would like to enter other categories such as printing solutions and food & water storage for offices.

Apart from offline competitors, esupply faces competition from Rocket Internet-backed Officeyes, which was launched earlier this year. However, it is still an unorganised sector and with new startups coming into play, office supplies might turn out to be the next hotspot for e-tailing.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)