Sandeep, an IT graduate, has developed an e-platform to assist farmers to sell their produce directly to the bulk customers in the nearby cities, was unsure of selecting a suitable business model and has approached you t

Suitable Business Model: Become a Marketplaces is the right business model for Sandeep. Features of the Market Place Model: Marketplace model means providing of an information technology platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital and electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller. The main feature of the market place model is that the firm will be providing a platform for customers to interact with a selected number of sellers. When an individual is purchasing a product from the firm, he will be actually buying it from a registered seller. The product is not directly sold by the firm. firm is just a website platform where a consumer meets a seller. Inventory, stock management, logistics etc are not supposed to be actively done by the firm. Advantages There are several advantages of using this form of business model. In this model the supply and demand would be brought together. Second, one of the greatest benefits is having Zero to little overhead, and no inventory. You can get a swanky office space if you want, or you can run the company virtually. When you manufacture a product, you take on a lot more risk and pressure to make sure that inventory is sold. When you are the marketplace, instead of worrying about manufacturing costs, you are simply bringing the sellers to buyers (and Vice versa) and facilitating a transaction, taking a small slice of the pie from each transaction. You give sellers a place to make a profit and reach consumers, while customers are happy to find exactly what they want, usually at a discounted price. Disadvantages The Becomes a marketplace is not a bed of roses. There also are some drawbacks: High web traffic is great, but the volume of product and brands on Become a marketplace makes it difficult to stand out from crowd. The benefit of a Become a marketplace don't come free. There would be some costs to the seller and buyer. Both the parties will see cost benefit analysis. Become a marketplaces have their own rules about what can be listed and hoe it can be listed, and you must be able to work within those constraints, as opposed to having your own. These trends suggest the businesses that will be most successful moving forward are the ones that can limit overhead and effectively connect with customers through websites and mobile apps.