G-chain is an online decentralized marketplace that provides a platform for business to business exchange of value. None of the products listed on the vendors’ profile are owned by the firm. Rather, the individual vendors on the platform are the owners. The firm just facilitates value exchange between demand and supply side.
The business model of the company is that of a peer to peer online marketplace for vendors and buyers of organic products. G-Chain is a B2B network that seeks to disrupt the market by providing users with decentralized platform where they can create, exchange, and store value. Users create accounts with a pseudonym and a profile. Buyers browse through the profiles of vendors until they find what they are looking for, they place and order. Payment is processed via third parties such as PayPal and Amazon among others. Logistics are also outsourced and the company will rely on Fulfilment by Amazon and other similar services from third party logistics providers.
Why G-Chain? The marketplace is based online and thus offers a lot of convenience for those sourcing for materials, parts, and finished products. The marketplace is based online and thus offers a lot of convenience for those sourcing products. Due to the lack of middlemen, there are less costs involved in the exchange of value. Relying on fulfilment by Amazon also reduces the cost of processing orders for the users.
The specific target of this service is the Business to Business segment. The vendors on the platform are grouped as either large, medium, small depending on the expected size of orders. The vision is to expand the operation over time into business to customer operations and take advantage of retail revenues from the final consumer. Right now the business is focused on gaining more users in the B2B operation. Social media will be the most useful tool for creating awareness. Even though most of the firms we are targeting lack on online means of retailing, they have an online presence on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These social media platforms offer the best means for creation of awareness about this venture.
As far a distribution is concerned, the business will rely on already established logistics providers. The reason for outsourcing logistics is so that the business can concentrate on its core competencies. Because G-Chain is a peer-to-peer network, all the participants are considered to be equal stakeholders in the company. The company not only creates private value for its shareholders, but also public value for the rest of its stakeholders. Distribution will be handled by third parties such as Amazon (via fulfilment by Amazon), DHL, Maersk, and FedEx.
The key resources for G-Chain are its infrastructure on which the platform is built on as well as its human resources. Key activities for G-Chain revolve around the provision of the net-market enabling infrastructure.
Users or users pay an annual subscription fee to be participants on the platform. In addition, the company will also charge a small transaction fee for payments processed. For customers who rely entirely on the company to handle its logistics, a service fee will be charge depending on the size of the order. Finally, the company will also generate income from Ads by google or from partners. Vendors will also be able to place advertisements on the platform to increase traffic on their profiles for a small fee.
