MROs market for SMEs is estimated to be valued at about 25 trillion won. (image: Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Korean e-commerce market is continually evolving. As the nation’s B2C e-commerce market appears saturated, major players are beginning to eye B2B market and in particular, a chance to tap maintenance, repair, operations (MROs) for SMEs which is estimated to be valued at about 25 trillion won — in terms of MROs for corporations of less than 300 employees — per year.
Interpark INT, a leading e-commerce site, in this regard, wants jump into the fray announcing on October 15 that it is launching an integrated e-commerce platform, combining its existing B2C (Business-to-Customer) service with a B2B (Business-to-Business) one and to this end, it will incorporate iMarket, a B2B-centered service provider into the integrated version. iMarket is the online site of iMarketKorea, which is also a subsidiary of Interpark INT.
iMarketKorea has already secured a meaningful presence in the local B2B market. Initially established as a procurement service for major brands like Samsung Group, iMarketKorea is expected to play a formidable force in the market, providing much advanced and convenient procurement services and MROs not only to individual consumers but to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
With the newly launched platform, Consumers can be able to buy an extensive array of goods — previously only available for companies — at Interpark. According to the company, about 700,000 items including office supplies, industrial materials, IT and electronic goods, medical consumables and specialized materials or equipment can be available.
The sales prospect will be brighter, given that it has a huge network of supply — about 20,000 partners and about 200 procurement specialists.
“The MRO e-commerce market for SMEs is a relatively new service in Korea, but such business is very active in other advanced countries,” said CEO Kim Dong-op of Interpark. “We make sure that our expertise can meet the needs of our customers and we plan to create new consumer bases through this open platform.”
Unlike current B2C online sites, iMarket of Interpark also provides a differentiated service by making it possible for customers to get all they need in using “one stop” feature and process all of the documents conveniently which covers price quotes, transaction costs, tax statements and cash receipts.
iMarket also plans to roll out customized items optimized for various sizes of offices and stores by channeling its insight acquired through business transactions with large-scale companies. For example, it will provide optimized versions of PCs, other electronics, office furniture, and intelligent facility solutions as a package to offices for 10, 30, or 50 people respectively.
By Eugene Yu (eugene@koreabizwire.com)
