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Wipro B2B site sees growth surging

An Internet business-to-business marketplace launched by Indian software leader Wipro Ltd, 01markets, expects revenues to surge this year, company officials said on Tuesday.

They told a news conference the venture had conducted transactions worth Rs 550 million in the six months since its launch last year, and was gearing for higher growth ahead.

"Our focus this year is to grow eight to 10 times," Mythily Ramesh, head of the business unit that runs the site (www.01markets.com), told a news conference.

The site began as an online selling point for information technology goods, but has since changed to include a wider range of goods and conduct reverse auctions or catalogue-based buying for corporate buyers, she said.

01markets also offers consultancy services on procurement strategy and sets up virtual marketplaces for individual customers, often holding the hands of companies to offer tailor-made online purchase options, company officials said.

The unit's revenue sources include margins from direct sales, transaction-based commissions from reverse auction customers, renting of online software and fees from consultancy services.

"Our vision is to be the number one e-procurement service in the country," Ramesh said.

Wipro had developed its own software to run the Internet site, she said.

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