Will indiamarkets' exchange strategy be a b2b smash?

Says Srikanth Hebbar, 54, the CEO of a small transformer parts manufacturing company in Hubli (Karnataka):"I got 4 new buyers for transformer parts from North India in the first month after I registered on indiamarkets.com. Earlier, I used to sell my products only in the South."

Indeed, the site, promoted by the Bangalore-based India Market Online (IMO) Communications is visited by thousands of buyers from across the country, seeking customers, vendors and trading partners.

The depth? Over 145 product categories ranging from auto components to computers and pesticides to precious stones. indiamarkets also boasts a search utility that can help users search the site across product categories and geographies. For instance, if a small home appliances manufacturer located in Bharuch (Gujarat) needs to buy electric motors of a certain horsepower and would prefer to buy from suppliers located either in Gujarat, or the neighbouring states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the utility can help him identify the choice-set of suppliers that satisfy these criteria. And by simply clicking on the Website's Make-An-Enquiry facility, the prospective buyer can shoot off e-mails to companies in the choice-set.

indiamarkets.com is also home to reports on 70 industries, details of industrial policies, and the infrastructural strengths of the Indian states and union territories and news reports related to the product categories featured on the site. Adequate content to attract admiring looks even from its rivals. Avers L. Subramanyam, 35, CEO, Industrial Product Finder Online, indiamarkets' strongest competitor: "It (indiamarkets) is a good portal and seems to be designed with the needs of the users in mind."