BayanTrade sets sights on international market

BayanTrade, the e-commerce hub jointly owned by six of the biggest conglomerates in the country, is setting its sights on the international market even as it continues to stamp its mark on the local business-to-business (B2B) scene.

BayanTrade president Dante Briones said in a press briefing yesterday that the company is looking to expand its resources in the international market in the next few years.

"It is not enough to focus on the local market. We would like to have a strong foothold in the international market," he stressed.

The company is a joint undertaking among Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., Ayala Corp., Benpres Holdings Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc., the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), and United Laboratories Inc.

Briones said BayanTrade is in the market for a foreign strategic partner, with leverages in the North American, Central American, Australian, and New Zealand markets.

He said with the backing of a strong partner along with its acquired experience and technological know-how, BayanTrade would be testing its mettle in the Asia Pacific region first, which remains dominated by Singapore and Hong Kong firms.

BayanTrade promises efficient e-procurement through transaction automation, supply chain optimization, business intelligence and collaboration. It enables buyers, suppliers and businesses from anywhere around the globe to trade goods and services on-line, real-time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It is a member of the Global Trading Web, which enables it to link its clients to large global and regional marketplaces which provide access to a diverse range of products and services.

But despite the positive growth both in revenues and client base in the country, the BayanTrade official said the driver for its broader expansion is through foreign business as it is particularly strong in the electronic procurement and sourcing market for businesses based in the Philippines but with sourcing needs overseas.

For example, PLDT recently announced it is in the market for various types of supplies worth over P400 million after signing a one-year contract with BayanTrade for the use of its facilities. It expects to realize savings of up to 20 percent through the e-commerce infrastructure.

Traditional procurement methods require two weeks and processing costs of approximately P1,000 per purchase order. Using BayanTrade, companies can complete a transaction in less than three days with an average processing cost per purchase order of just P200.

BayanTrade facilitated over P7 billion in value pass through (VPT) transactions last year. So far this year, it claims to have conducted transactions worth at least P11 billion.