Omentra to bring freedom of online marketplace to Lankan businesses

Sri Lanka’s e-commerce landscape gears for new paradigm with launch of country’s largest B2B online marketplace

Paving the way for an unprecedented new paradigm in Sri Lankan e-commerce, Omentra, the country’s largest ever complete Business-to-Business (B2B) e-Commerce portal, is gearing up to take on domestic and international markets. Designed specifically to align with the needs of established and growing businesses on any scale, the home-grown platform has rapidly gained the backing of some of Sri Lanka’s largest and most respected brands. 

The brainchild of Nadun Kumara, who also serves as the platform’s Head of Operations, Omentra has been designed from the ground-up to spark an e-commerce revolution in Sri Lanka. Speaking about his inspiration from entrepreneurial legacies of innovators like Jack Ma, and Pierre Omidyar, Kumara’s spoke elaborated the potential of Omentra to free up businesses to focus on what they do best and his goal to nourish Sri Lankan online ecosystem and provide a benchmark for reliable, user-friendly service that could ultimately place Sri Lanka at the forefront of the global e-commerce market.

 Q: Could you start by telling us how Omentra works and what makes it different from anything else in the Sri Lankan market?

A: Essentially, Omentra is an online marketplace that businesses can use to simplify and ease their procurement related activities. The name Omentra itself is derived from the ancient Greek word for ‘freedom’ and I would say that is the value that underlies everything that we are trying to do with this platform, which is to free up companies from the burden of administration and logistics related to B2B procurement processes, by effectively enabling the digitisation and optimisation of procurement procedures – whether that is in order to find suppliers for daily raw material inputs, or to find suppliers for a last minute order of laptops or office chairs.   

Our goal with this platform is to enable companies of any size, and working in almost any sector to gain free, easy, and reliable access to whatever they require to make their businesses run better. This can span absolutely anything from IT products, electronics and office supplies to engineering, manufacturing and construction equipment and related supplies and services. In total, we have eight sales categories and within each of these is an already impressive diversity of products and services, including several global and local firsts in terms of business models and value-added services. 

This segregation from typical online retail segments is the first and most crucial of several factors which significantly differentiate Omentra, both in terms of what is presently available in the Sri Lankan e-commerce landscape, and in certain instances, even internationally. 

Q: What was the process in developing Omentra into a working marketplace and what are some of the features which make it unique?

A: We put a lot of work into analysing how many of the world’s best online retail platforms work. By taking a granular view of what works, across all kinds of online retail formats, we were able to very carefully build up a framework for the kind of functionality we would require in Omentra. We took a lot of cues from leading examples in Europe, India and internationally and we also put a lot of effort into analysing gaps in the Sri Lankan e-commerce space, with the view of specifically advancing Sri Lankan businesses digitally. 

In that regard, Omentra was launched with a range of features that transcend what you would normally find in this space. This platform is not just a mere website to do purchasing or finding suppliers. This maybe the common perception which may create in one’s mind due to what is there currently in Sri Lanka. 

In Omentra, what we are looking at is a total paradigm shift in the B2B procurement functions and associated activities. Through this platform, a business can gather verified and assured detailed information on products, services and suppliers, make quick inquiries to vendors in pursuit of more information, demonstrations or price negotiations, download e-quotations rather than chasing after suppliers for it, look at our decision supporter system to make an informed decision when selecting products, services or suppliers, compare different product/service options to choose the best option, automate regular purchasing requirements, find financiers to support your purchasing needs, or even simply tell us what a you look to procure as a business and let us do the rest in finding suitable suppliers for the given requirement.  

While the website itself offers such an array of unique features, off the website, we drive exceptional levels of customer service as a key differentiator for Omentra and our guarantee is that absolutely any inquiry placed on our website will receive a response within 72 hours.  

While we are the largest B2B marketplace in Sri Lanka, Omentra also carries unique features like Solution Guru, for companies with wider buying requirements  to easily find suitable products for all their requirements by answering six simple questions. This is ideal for start-ups who are looking to setup office, where this can be a one stop shop to find all their requirements. 

We are also the only platform in the world that also offers companies and startups direct links to venture capital and all such companies need do is provide a small pitch on what their business idea is, and they will be provided access to a pool of venture capitalists. This tool I would call is a “World’s first”.     

Q: What can we expect from Omentra moving forward?

A: At present we are working hard to further expand our network of suppliers. Our goal is to ensure that each of our vendors can be trusted, and moving forward we are working to introduce a comprehensive supplier rating system that will include analysis on response rates and average response time and we are looking to only work with suppliers who are able to maintain a certain basic standard of service. Overall I would say that we are extremely passionate about Omentra, our team really believes in its potential to make a difference in the way that business is done in Sri Lanka, and eventually, across the globe.