Omnibiz
Unifying Fragmented Supply Chains across Africa

Supermarket chains are slowly taking root across sub- Saharan Africa, but the retail industry in the continent is still dominated by kiosks, small shops, street vendors, and mini-marts. The future of retail in the region lies in the digitalization of these smaller ‘informal’ players.

The manufacturers, distributors, sub-distributors, wholesalers, and retailers in Africa’s informal retail supply chain operate in siloes, disconnected from each other. The unstructured and disjointed supply chain causes retailers two problems—lack of visibility into consumer demand and no direct access to product supply from manufacturers. Without a consistent supply of goods, retailers must travel to the wholesaler to fill their inventory, losing many hours from their weekly schedule. Along with incurring the cost of transport, they often cannot meet consumer demand. Against this backdrop, Omnibiz is stepping up to bridge the supply chain.

“Our mission is to build a strong retail supply chain and maximize the ROI of every retailer through our user-friendly platform, ultimately improving the customer satisfaction rate—a win-win situation for all,” says Deepankar Rustagi, founder and CEO of Omnibiz.

The company makes this possible through its namesake B2B distribution platform, tailored to modernize the informal retail supply chain by facilitating seamless collaboration between every stakeholder. The platform runs through a mobile app, providing complete convenience for stakeholders to operate and run their businesses.

It connects retailers with more than 50 brands, allowing them to place orders at their convenience and have the goods delivered to their doorstep at no cost.

The visibility offered by the app into the regional supply chain enables retailers to forecast supply and demand while making better retail decisions. In doing so, retailers are able to restock their supplies in one click. This helps them increase product options, enhance customer experience and retention, and accelerate business growth.

Omnibiz’s platform has an offline mode, enabling retailers to use its features in low-connectivity areas. They can place orders at their convenience, which will be automatically executed as soon as the platform connects to a network. The platform also overcomes linguistic barriers in the informal retail space by enabling users to operate the platform in their preferred language. If and when the users need additional support, they can always request assistance from Omnibiz’s agent network function.

These robust capabilities offered by Omnibiz have enabled over 120,000 retailers in Nigeria to digitalize their retail chain and double their revenue without any change in existing infrastructure. A case in point is when a female entrepreneur running a retail shop in Nigeria sought Omnibiz’s help to modernize their business and improve workflow. Her husband had to travel to the wholesaler market daily and purchase the necessary items, wasting half a day every week. After successfully deploying Omnibiz, they were able to digitalize their entire workflow. They could place 8 to 10 orders weekly and get goods at their doorstep in a single click. They could easily stock their inventory when demand increased, provide customers with the required products, and enrich their overall shopping experience. The result was significant savings in time, cost, and effort.

Manufacturers using Omnibiz can also benefit from the platform. They can easily adjust order volumes based on demand, increase inventory turnover, launch promotions, and test new products. With the platform’s robust dashboard, manufacturers can gain real-time shelf visibility for all their products to make informed decisions. They can conveniently keep their stock ready by effectively monitoring market performance.

The company is determined to become the springboard of success for all retailers and create a unified ecosystem for a seamless retail supply chain in Nigeria and other countries across Africa.