An Overview of the World’s First Commodity Marketplace Rapid Growth
BLK MVP launched in September 2019. Let’s take a look at how the marketplace has evolved by analysing its stock and value growth over the past 2 years.
The Humble Beginnings
The second half of 2019 was a game of chicken and egg. Which comes first?
We decided that in order to drive demand on our marketplace, supply had to be there first. This was done with a customer-centric approach. In the B2B space, you often have one shot at fidelising a customer. If you fail they are much less likely to come back.
With this in mind, we got to work to bring in the first 3 suppliers for each category:
- Agricultural
- Chemicals
- Energy
- Construction
- Main Bulks
- Industrial
- Metals
Q2 of 2020 was when things started to pick-up. We agreed strategic partnerships with UK and India-based producers of semi-finished metal products, then onboarded the first chemical suppliers.
In December 2020 our big breakthrough: our first transaction. We are now post-revenue.
From the beginning of 2021, with the birth of our Supply Chain division, we targeted SMEs and large corporate businesses, some of which are blue-chip, publicly-listed entities.
We have now shifted gears, driving supply onto the marketplace thanks to the increased demand.
The strategy is to sign large buyers on, let them bring in their own suppliers, to get cash-back on their orders. We share the profits we earn with them and the growth becomes exponential.
Between Q1 and Q2 2021 we grow 265%, with an average annual compound growth rate of 277.8% and an overall growth of 3225% between 2019 and 2021.
Underlying Commodity Asset Value Distribution by Category
To date, suppliers on our marketplace trade $332M-worth of chemical commodities (31% of the total value of goods for sale on BLK); $242M of metal products (including grade A steel, stainless steel and high-strength alloys); $238M of Agricultural goods (22% of the total) and $219M of energy products (20% of the total).
Metals account for the vast majority of the overall quantity in sheer weight – nearly 1 million tons.
In second place come construction materials, with one supplier stacking a whopping 220,000+ tons of aggregates, cement, construction sand and bentonite, the main component of the clay used to fabricate bricks, fuelling the booming housing market in the UK and Europe.
Main Bulks, which cover fly ash, sand and lower-value commodities, together with Industrial products (mainly lubricants and specialised chemicals) account for a 4% of the overall stock value traded on BLK, with an overall 16% in terms of sheer volume contribution. The reason for this is that these are generally high-volume, low-value commodities.
Outlook
As we move forward into the second half of 2021 and further into 2022, we will continue seeing a significant and steady growth in our marketplace activity.
With a few deals under negotiation, our short-term pipeline already holds a further half-million tons of energy products, which will account for an additional $300M in stock value in the next 3-6 months.
Contacts & Additional Info
For additional information on our growth, projections and performance, contact our investor relations at info@blk-global.com
or Gabriele Dadò – Founder & CEO, at gabriele.dado@blk-global.com
To learn more about BLK, our proprietary Rating system and how we assess quality, ensuring security on all transactions and differentiating from all vertical-focused marketplaces, check out our LinkedIn page or see our blog.