Indusbuzz : An Initiative that Focuses on Bringing in Just in Time for Construction Industry

Indusbuzz, founded by Abhinav Raj, Sherin M Thomas and Subrata Banerjee, is an online marketplace for construction industry. It is the first website that focuses on bringing in Just in time for construction industry by automating the procurement process by merging SNS, B2B, eCommerce and Business Analytics for anyone and everyone related to construction industry. This is the first platform in India that keeps track of not only the works from suppliers end but also carters the Construction developers. An integrated network between the Suppliers, Construction developers, Consultants, Contractors and Professional Individuals is what we intend to achieve.

To transfer technologies and products, seamless connection between anyone related to the construction industry is needed, hence the thought of bringing in Just In Time Procurement system developed, which was first used by Toyota in Japan. But an industry so unorganized cannot have a system that is standardized for everyone. Hence a system has to be created that works between Just in Time and Just in Case Procurement, so that the industry can grow itself on our portal by using the online Just in case Procurement to developing into a fast, organized and transparent Just In Time Procurement, says Sherin M Thomas to BWdisrupt.

In a further conversation with BWdisrupt team, Sherin talks about his Just In Time services.

What was the motivation behind creating these services?

I was working with Mantri Developers Pvt Ltd and was given a simple task of coming up with construction material that could replace the conventional brick building method, But searching for newer technologies in the construction field was tough , considering the lack of connect and the large geographical expand of our country. Any technology that is developed in the northern region does not reach the southern part and similar is the case for East and West.

If each developer is connected to all the suppliers in India, almost all requirements from the construction developers can be met by these suppliers.

This was the point when I decided to connect the whole construction industry, not only just India but the world. INDUSBUZZ is a SAAS based B2B, B2C Platform that caters Both Suppliers and Construction Developers.

Just in time, B2B Procurement, eCommerce and Professional networking- how do you plan to work their magic into the construction industry?

When we talk about bringing in Just in Time systems, there is a prerequisite of connecting everyone who is related to the project at a single point of contact. For doing the same we are integrating B2B Procurement, eCommerce and Professional Networking. Everything you do on our platform gets recorded and by that we are able to help out the users to plan the procurement, Analyse quotations, Negotiate, Finalize orders, Track the materials and Billing from the start to the end of the project. eCommerce portal will be open for all while with professional networks companies can find the right set of people, all related to the construction industry.

Once we are helping client to plan their requirements, we know what kind of services they would need, so we help them to connect accordingly to their related suppliers or manufacturers through intelligent advertisement for which we charge suppliers and manufacturers.

We believe that an open platform is needed for the construction industry which is right now working in offline mode. Simplistic design is what we are creating to work the magic into the construction industry.

What is Indusbuzz concentrating upon for successful implementation of Just in time?

Just in Time is not that easy to bring in when the industry is not tech-savvy, so right now we have made processes on our platform which is exactly the same as that of offline work flows that the industry uses, just converting it to the online methods. As the industry uses the online workflows and understands how things are non-repetitive and happen over just a click, they can start using our Just in Time methods. Major problems such as drawings changing at the end time and requirements coming up instantaneously can be met on our Portal.

Just in Time will be successful with Six Sigma, but we are tweaking our ways to make it easier for the supplier to actually supply their material in time. It’s not about successful implementation of Just in Time, but making the industry tech-savvy and once that is done Just in time can be successful.

How do you plan to collaborate with all suppliers and agents in the industry?

We go the Zig-Zag way. Firstly we bring in clients and then connect all their suppliers on their Indusbuzz Profile. Every stakeholder is collaborated over Clients Profile so that projects can be completed in time, though anyone can reach to a supplier on our portal from the landing page or see the requirements that are created by construction developers.

An integrated network between the suppliers, construction developers, consultants, contractors and professional individuals is what we intend to achieve.

What kind of an effect do you presume it would take on the current unorganized sector of construction, how would this concept shape up the future of construction industry of India?

An industry valued at $150 billion needs to align itself on a single platform to grow sustainably. The industry that contributes 8% to the GDP and is the 2nd largest job creator, still projects gets delayed and material wastage is high. Now for every project the construction materials costs up to 60% of the whole project cost and delay in material delivery is again a major reason for the delay of a projects. The replacement time and the cost associated to getting a material replaced is high when it is needed instantaneously.

This is the place where Indusbuzz work, helping the construction developers to get quotations on a single click, Just In Time. Projects won’t delay because materials are there when one needs it.

Please elaborate on the idea of pre-fabricated and portable buildings and why do you think it would be a success in India?

India has a demand of 26.5 million affordable housing units and it is challenging to supply these houses through conventional building technology. Prefabrication will continue to grow in India as the demand for affordable housing increases.

The material is ready-to-make type, and can easily meet the demand of the sector, enabling mass customization.

Prefabricated technology for construction is best-suited for the environment that is facing challenges in terms of time taken for construction, location of installation where conventional means of construction are not possible owing to lack of raw material, workforce, transport and means of construction.

In India, prefab technology has been used in large infrastructure projects like the elevated expressways and Metro-rail projects. While conventional methods of construction are nearly uniform across the country, prefab can address to particular needs and challenges of environment across the length and breadth of the country.

What is your present standing and how do you plan to operate in the near future?

We are out in the market from this month and the company is still funded by friends and family, though we are looking forward to close some of the deals by the end of this month. Construction developers looking forward to invest in new technologies are coming up to invest in our company. Everyone looking at our idea from the industry is excited about it. We will be open for new offers from investors till we get our first angel funding of about $200,000/-.

As an alumni from NICMAR (National Institute Of Construction management and Research) it becomes easier for us to reach to construction companies. We started our operation in Pune though we are soon reaching out to other place as Goa and Mumbai.