How Origo Commodities established tech-enabled business vertical with no-code software

About Origo Commodities

Origo Commodities is India’s leading agri-tech company, providing commodity trade facilitation. It has a large network of agri-commodity businesses, sellers, lenders, and warehouses.

Business verticals of Origo Commodities: Agri-Commodity Warehousing, Procurement Finance (ProFin), E-Mandi, Structured Trade Facility.

Launching a New Business – ProFin

Origo’s Procurement Finance (ProFin) is a unique finance service that combines commodity procurement and trade credit business verticals by Origo Commodities Pvt Ltd.

In 2020, it was an idea ready to be launched as a business vertical of Origo.

• With ProFin, buyers would benefit from a dual advantage: access to higher procurement volumes and a convenient credit period for bill clearance.
• Simultaneously, suppliers would receive prompt payment for their sales, facilitating smoother transactions and cash flow management.
• This service would create a win-win situation for both parties, facilitating seamless cash management even during peak seasons.
• Origo was sitting on a great business venture, waiting for it to be launched.

Square Peg and Round Hole Situation for Origo ProFin

Girish Kathpalia, Origo's CTO, was tasked with creating the technology solution for ProFin vertical. This huge undertaking demanded shifting from Excel to a proper software application that is more robust and scalable.

Why did Excel fall short?

• It lacked the necessary checks and controls vital for ensuring operational integrity.
• Key customizations were beyond Excel’s capabilities, such as
  • Notifications
  • Email integration
  • Auto calculators
  • File storage,
  • Management of credit and debit notes

Failed attempt to develop a custom application

After a year of trying to develop a custom application, deliverables were not ready due to a significant delay in implementing tailored software.

Girish was anxiously aware that the project was delayed and the budget was exhausted. He was unsure of when the application would be ready and how much more investment would be needed.

At Origo, executives were worried that the business was missing out on valuable market opportunities.

Why a vendor-sold-based custom application fell short?

• The project exceeded the budgeted cost and timeline
• A year's worth of need analysis couldn't provide a tangible and feasible solution
• The budget was exhausted in developing a need analysis document

After spending over a year creating a custom application, Girish gave up on developing it independently.

That’s when he discovered Orgzit first.

I was acutely aware of the project’s mounting delays and the exhaustion of our budget. The uncertainty of when the application would be ready and how much more investment would be required made me anxious. This experience has been a harsh lesson on the challenges of custom application development.

Girish Kathpalia
Head of Technology, Origo

A Tailored Solution: Origo-Orgzit Collaboration

In a couple of meetings, Girish realized that Orgzit had all the building blocks readily available to launch their business swiftly.

Orgzit was able to provide the much-needed respite;

• Orgzit’s architecture was so that it could be customized without spending days on requirement analysis. 🏗️
• Orgzit’s in-house team of experts helped Origo team in building the architecture of the custom application. 💼

Origo's Tech Turnaround: From Excel to Excellence

Orgzit’s unique value was its fastest development of a customized software solution in a record time of just three months. With expert guidance from the Orgzit team, ProFin was launched on a tailor-made app in one-fifth of the development cost Origo had budgeted for a custom application.

After seeing Orgzit in action, I regained hope. In just three months, and at a mere fraction of the cost, we had launched our business-ProFin.

Girish Kathpalia
Head of Technology, Origo

Origo, smoothly transitioned their needs into functional business app with Orgzit's support.

And the best part? No training headaches. Orgzit made sure the transition was seamless.

Orgzit custom application has offered Origo with the following:

• Tailor fit application to meet the business workflow
• The central database for all information including demand side orders, supply side orders, invoices, GRN, payments, credit, and debit notes
• Scalability to grow business
• Integration capabilities with email for reminders
• User-friendly interface that is easy to adapt and use
• Access controls to control who can see what data
• Dashboards for all stakeholders – management team, BD team, finance team
• Zero errors automated calculation, notification, and remunerations.

Transformative Triumph: Origo ProFin’s Growth Journey

• Origo launched the ProFin application in a record time of three months.
• The ProFin business was launched successfully and the business grew to 50 people.
• ProFin’s revenue in the first year of operations with Orgzit was 2X the expected revenue.