There are business organizations that leave their indelible positive impact on the economic and social system in their course of existence. They view community needs as opportunities to develop ideas and demonstrate business technologies, to find and serve new markets, and to solve long-standing business problems.
They choose these areas of performance to bring about that difference. One such organization is mjunction services limited, the country's largest eCommerce company, which chose to be in the eCommerce business spectrum during a period marked with tribulations, but brought in a silent revolution in the way selling and sourcing business processes are conducted in industrial sectors.
The beneficiaries of this revolution are the small enterprises as well as the large corporations, who stand to gain through the enablement of a transparent, efficient, and innovative business process.
The transformation led by mjunction resulted in liberation from corruption, inefficiencies, and bureaucratic hurdles for those who embraced the idea of contributing to the betterment of the economy and society.
Till the end of the 20th century, almost all US companies which aspired to grab online markets mostly focused on electronic gadgets, travel, and fashion.
Indian e-commerce companies adopted and followed the same business practices till the end of the century.
Come 2001, Mr. Viresh Oberoi, a Tata Steel veteran and an entrepreneur to the core, realized the value and need for e-commerce in steel and started mjunction services limited, then metaljunction.com, as its founder and CEO.
mjunction is India's pioneer of e-commerce in the B2B space, heralding a revolution in coal, steel, and many other diverse businesses, empowering customers by offering them transparency and efficiency.
Under his leadership, mjunction has evolved from a fledgling start-up to become the world's largest e-marketplace for steel and coal. Having sold over 12 million tonnes of Steel and 225 million tonnes of Coal to date, the company conducts 700 to 800 auctions every month.
mjunction's biggest contribution to society has been the disintermediation of steel and coal supply chains. Coal is a crucial national resource, and steel is an important indicator of India's economy.
As the mjunction transformed the steel and coal supply chains, it tackled a huge issue of transparency. For the seller, the influence of cartelized buying was minimized with the online bidding process, where even the smallest of buyers can bid.
For the buyer, even the largest of suppliers now fought for their business. It was a win-win situation for both. On the buy-side, whereas the large organization got a wider and thus fairer supplier base, even the smallest of suppliers could sell their products online from remote locations.
e-commerce did away with cartels and also removed unwanted intermediaries. It was fair play and justice for all, as all transactions became transparent.
Transparency paved the way for increased efficiency and the reclamation of previously lost value due to intermediaries. mjunction's coal sales division specializes in conducting electronic auctions for coal, its by-products, and lignite, acting as a representative for prominent entities such as Coal India and its subsidiaries, SAIL, SCCL, Tata Steel, WBMDTCL, and Neyveli Lignite Corporation. As a trailblazer in the realm of coal e-auctions, mjunction has revolutionized the landscape of coal transactions within India.
The unit has more than 15,000 registered unique buyers from the Indian subcontinent.
The online platform- mjunctions is a 50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL. It is India's largest e-Commerce organization in the B2B space. From mjunction's headquarters in Kolkata and 12 branch offices all over India, more than 650 employees serve over 115 companies, both in the public and private sectors.
The company creates a sustainable competitive advantage for its clients by enabling them to sell and procure better, leveraging its expertise in process re-engineering, technology, analytics, and knowledge of products and markets.
Utilizing an outcome-based revenue approach, the company has successfully facilitated electronic transactions for goods and services exceeding Rs 3,50,000 crore to date across its diverse business verticals. It provides a comprehensive suite of services encompassing sales and fulfilment, sourcing and procurement, channel management, transaction processing, and knowledge services catering to various industry sectors. These services leverage cutting-edge technology to empower businesses, enhancing their operational efficiencies through innovative solutions.
The company exists on both the sell side and the buy side of the business. On the sell side, both the large seller and small buyers are its clients. On the buy side, both the large buyer and small vendors are its clients.
In 2013, mjunction adopted a Vision statement, according to which "mJunction will be customer-focused, technology-driven and innovative as it charts its progress over the next five years. It will seek to create value for its customers whilst consistently achieving a YoY growth of 25%."
"The problems that mjunction solves are those that exist by way of inefficiency and opaqueness every time commerce takes place between a Buyer and a Seller. With the innovative use of Technology, it can solve issues, thereby strengthening Distribution Networks and Supply Chains.
With the help of IT and Automation, it can ensure scalability and robustness, and in this way, it contributes not only to the health of the industry in general but also helps increase its competitiveness and sustainability.
Some of the changes that it brings in are transformational those have a significant impact on society. On the one hand, eliminating jobs and business models and on the other, creating new livelihoods and building a requirement for new skills and new thinking," says Mr Oberoi
2006: mjunction won the Eastern Regional finals of All India Management Association's (AIMA) National Competition for Business Simulation 2006.
2009: In August 2009, mjunction was adjudged among the top 25 innovative companies in India by the Tata Group.
2011: mjunction (for its CSR initiative) was adjudged as the National Winner in the Employee Volunteering Program of the Year in the Corporate category at the Apeejay India Volunteer Awards 2011 (AIVA) held in New Delhi in September 2011.
2013: mjunction services limited was adjudged the winner in the Marketplace Behaviour – Responsible Supply Chain Award category on the 28th of June, 2013, at the Responsible Business Summit organized by the World CSR Congress in Taj Lands End, Mumbai.
2015: mjunction has won Inc. India 2nd Innovative 100 Award in the "Most Innovative Product" category. mjunction's entry was T-Mart, the online platform for sourcing tea. The firm mjunction has won two awards at the CSR Retreat Awards Function organized by the Tata Sustainability Group for the Tata Volunteering Week held from September 5 to 11 in 2014.
Founder, CEO and MD
Mr. Viresh Oberoi is the Founder, CEO and MD of mjunction services limited. He is Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)'s National Committee on e-Commerce and also a Member of CII's Public Policy Council and National Services Council. He is also the National President of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India.
Mr. Oberoi was handed the mantle of the company after a 24-year-long stint at Tata Steel. He led from the front and made Mjunction a profitable company from day one of its operations.
Mr. Oberoi has attended Business and Management Programmes from IIM Ahmedabad, INSEAD – CEDEP – Fontainebleau, France, and Harvard Business School, Boston, USA.
Despite his strong business focus, Mr. Oberoi has always believed in a higher calling. He has always stressed that mjunction is a for-profit and yet social organization and that its services must positively impact society.
The Institute of Economic Studies, New Delhi, conferred the 'Bhartiya Shiromoni Puraskar' to Mr. Viresh Oberoi and a "Gold Medal" to a mjunction in recognition of enhancing the image of the Country in 2006.
Indian Institute of Materials Management has adjudged Mr. Viresh Oberoi, Founder CEO, and Managing Director of mjunction services ltd, as the "Chief Executive of the Year".
He has also won the maiden CMA Management Excellence Award in the "Corporate Leadership" Category. CMA conferred the honor on Mr. Oberoi for his outstanding contribution and leadership in business and management.
Being asked to share his views about their market, he revealed: "We are focused on the Indian market. I would say that ninety-eight per cent of our revenue comes from India-based clients. India has been a great place for us and we have been doing very well here.
We have some clients based in Australia, Singapore, Thailand, and now in Dubai. Presently, we are expanding our business to new geographies as also expanding to new businesses."
"Our executives are constantly solving problems faced by our clients with the innovative use of digital technology" – Mr. Viresh Oberoi.
"We engage with partners as per their area of expertise. We want to give our customers the best, so we choose the right partners," he added.
Social consciousness is an important aspect of this visionary intrapreneur. He is Chairman of Function, a trust which was founded in 2007 to impart basic computer and communication skills to the underprivileged and the socially disadvantaged free of cost and get them employment.
Since then, more than 8,000 students have been trained and more than 3000 employability opportunities facilitated.
To provide a common platform to change agents in India to share their success stories with a carefully handpicked audience, he launched Movement for Efficiency & Transparency – an injunction initiative (MET) in 2011, also a social initiative.
India's largest e-Commerce organization in the B2B space, having e-transacted 3,50,000 crores to date
World's largest e-marketplace for steel, having sold over 12 million tonnes of Steel to date
World's largest e-marketplace for coal, having sold over 225 million tonnes of Coal to date
e-Procurement services worth 60,000 Crores delivered so far
Contributing to the environment by selling e-waste of over 50 Crores
Help companies generate cash flow by selling idle and obsolete assets worth 4,000 Crores
From Steel to Spectrum, Coal to Cars, Power Plants to Packaging, the junction has dealt with over 5,000 different products and services
Pioneers in conducting e-auctions in India – conducting 700 to 800 auctions per month; having conducted over a million auctions since inception
The profitable organization since inception, growing at a CAGR of 64% and a strong workforce of 850 across 12 locations in India.