Success factors of e-commerce in Bangladesh. Part - 3

This is the 3^rd and final part of the series, where we have analyzed two very successful e-commerce startups in Bangladesh. You can take a look at the previous writings here.

Previously, we have dissected “Chaldal” at part 1 and “Pickaboo” at part 2, who were B2C (Business to Consumers) companies. But today, we are going to dissect a B2B (Business to Business) e-commerce company, which is quite rare in the e-commerce industry here.

If you are a bit updated with the startup domain in Bangladesh, then maybe you have already figured out who is this. You are right, it is “Sindabad”.

Sindabad is one of the children of Zero Gravity Venture. It is led by Zeeshan Kingshuk Haq, one of the co-founders of the company. With the mission to create a new era for e-commerce in Bangladesh, Sindabad has revolutionized buying for offices and factories, cutting out the hassle and saving valuable time and money for the businesses. As of today, more than 20 people are working at Sindabad to provide a smooth experience to its clients.

Success factors of Sindabad in e-commerce

1. Branding: Just as we have found previously company name plays a vital role in branding. The name Sindabad came from the famous Arabian Nights character, who was a great businessman & adventurer. It grabs the attention of people instantly & made them curious about it.
   
   
   The logo is very simple, just a ship with sails, along with the name “Sindabad.com” written under it. This combination gives a feeling that this is something related to business. This is what a good company should do and Sindabad has done it well enough.
2. Product quality and cost: As we are talking about B2B e-commerce, this is a very challenging space for Sindabad. They provide good quality product undoubtedly. But they are not best with the best pricing yet.
   
   
   Generally, most businesses buy products in bulk. I must say, when it comes to bulk pricing, in many cases, they fail to provide the lowest price in the market. But they are trying hard to develop the pricing.
3. Website: Since its inception in 2016, Sindabad has modernized the website several times. At present Sindabad has a sleek, intuitive website with good cross-device functionality.
   
   
   The website also allows registration with the mobile phone to make the user registration process more comfortable, though it is not an international norm yet. As a user, you can also avail of variable pricing according to the quantity of your purchase of a specific product. This is a really useful feature, especially for business organizations.
4. Delivery & Support: Sindabad supports free delivery for an order amount of 1000 BDT. At present, they officially take 3-4 days to deliver, but in real life, the product reaches you within 2 days in most circumstances.
   
   
   

   Sindabad also maintains 2 warehouses at different parts of Dhaka city to ensure more agile delivery. They are also in the process of implementing a “hyper-local model”, to reach their customers much faster than now.
   
   
   A dedicated call center ensures a one-stop service for the clients. Any issues regarding orders, products quality is being solved by the customer support agent there.
5. Investment: Initially, Sindabad was funded by Brummer & Partners. This gives them a great competitive advantage to raise funds in later stages.
   
   
   In 2019, Sindabad has raised 4 million USD, led by Avisker fund of India. These good investors on their board helped them a lot to make this far.

With this article series, I hope many startups will get their lesson on how to proceed further with their venture.