Procol is a digital procurement platform that helps companies digitize their buying processes to bring about transparency, traceability and cost savings. The platform brings together buyers and sellers on easy-to-use mobile and web apps to increase the speed of procurement from hours to minutes, provide seamless communication and traceability of orders.
Food companies spend about $200bn annually on procuring agri-commodities such as rice, pulses, sugar etc. The sector is seeing strong macroeconomic tailwinds, and almost $10bn have been invested in India over the past decade by public and private players to enhance the food processing infrastructure.
Large food enterprises regularly procure commodities through their pre-approved network of agents, brokers and traders. However, procurement is conducted manually on phone calls or WhatsApp. Price fluctuations, payment terms, commodity quality and logistics terms are all negotiated ad-hoc. All of this leads to higher transactional costs for all businesses and lack of visibility for business leaders.
Procol’s platform helps companies procure efficiently – through real-time spend visibility, unique auction strategies and vendor matching algorithms – creating savings of up to 3% on their raw material sourcing. They also act as a channel for thousands of suppliers to increase sales and get access to new buyers. Over time, Procol will also provide financial services and solutions such as cash discounting and insurance to increase credit access to underserved SMEs. Their ultimate mission is to benefit hundreds of millions of producers and consumers around the world.
Procol was started in late 2018 by Gaurav Baheti and Sumit Mendiratta. Gaurav previously worked at Google in NYC, Zomato, Zostel and RedCarpet. He also helped design BHIM, India’s leading payment app. Sumit, who has completed his B.Tech from the Vellore Institute of Technology, worked with Zomato and OYO Rooms before starting Procol.