Masu
Efficient raw material sourcing
With over 608,484 manufacturing facilities, Mexico's industrial sector is experiencing remarkable growth. Companies are moving production closer to the U.S. to cut supply chain costs while benefiting from lower labor and production costs, elevating its global ranking.
Yet, ensuring efficient sourcing and competitive raw material prices is crucial for fueling these companies' continued growth and sustainability.
Let's dive in.
Imagine this
You own a small plastic manufacturing company.
The pressure of tight deadlines is compounded by the challenge of securing quality raw materials quickly.
Existing procurement channels are filled with intermediaries that complicate and extend the process.
You want a direct, transparent, fast process to secure quality raw materials.
While looking online for better procurement options, you stumble upon Masu—an online platform to source raw materials efficiently in Latin America.
Explain it like I'm five
Masu is a B2B marketplace for industrial raw materials.
They provide a platform for small and medium businesses to browse various categories of raw materials, each with detailed manufacturers' specifications.
Facilitates a seamless order and payment process, offering cashless or financing payment options.
Ensures delivery directly to business locations, enhancing convenience and operational efficiency.
The founder aims to make sourcing raw materials efficient and accessible to anyone in the region.
The ABCs
Industries: Manufacturing, raw materials
Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico
Year Operations Started: 2023
Raised: Pre-Seed
Investors: Undisclosed
Business Model: Marketplace
Other players:
Traditional distributors
Informal re-sellers
Background check
What we like:
Market: Masu started operations by offering resin raw materials in Mexico, a country with over 5,647 plastic transformers that utilize more than 7M tons of resin yearly, imports 4M tons annually, contributes around 2.1% to the national GDP, and provides employment to over 300,000 individuals.
Supply chain: Small and Medium businesses in Latin America usually get their raw material from traders or wholesalers; hence, it is not reliable in terms of stock availability, delivery time, and price.
Purchasing power: Larger companies benefit from better pricing because of their volume, leaving SMBs with higher prices that make it hard for them to compete. By pooling the purchasing power of small entities, Masu can ensure affordability without compromising quality.
Drop-shipping: Masu operates mainly through a drop-shipping model. According to the founder, they only store a small quantity of demand. Therefore, operations costs should be lower than distributors and re-sellers.
Product offering: In the future, they plan to expand its product offering by adding more raw materials to its catalog. Also, they offer credit, but it is not their own. They are working on developing their own solution for their clients.
Road Blocks:
Trust: Buying high-ticket raw materials online requires confidence between the purchaser and supplier. Masu needs to ensure that the transactions are secure, the materials are of the promised quality, and the delivery is timely and accurate.
Price Transparency: As mentioned by the founder, a major struggle in this industry is pricing transparency. Public pricing is absent, causing delays.
Middlemen: As companies grow, so do their needs for raw materials. Eventually, they will meet providers' minimum order quantities, making it more practical to bypass Masu and deal directly with providers.
Business relationships: In manufacturing, building relationships with suppliers is common. Masu makes buying raw materials easier with automation, a new change for some, especially legacy business buyers still operating these businesses.
The Architects
Alfredo Cepeda, Founder & CEO, Previously @ Frubana.
Request intro with founders by sending an email to gabriel@readrunway.com
Headlines Corner
Kenjo, a German startup focused on H.R. software, secured a USD $9.4M Series A investment. They plan to use funds to expand operations in Latin America. (Business Insider)
Albo, a Mexican fintech startup, raised USD $40M. Morpheus Ventures led the round with the participation of Nazca, Valar Ventures, and others. (Whitepaper)
Nestlé R&D announced their plan to invest in food tech startups in Latam. (Contxto)
Digital Wallet transactions increased by 530% in Chile. (biobio Chile)
Founders Bookmarks
The best tools and resources we came across this week.
Psychology of Human Misjudgment speech by Charlie Munger.
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Understand the importance of network effects and how to apply them in your business.
Building in latam? Send us your pitch deck for the opportunity to be featured in Runway.
Efficient sourcing sems straightforward. The real challenge lies in customer adoption. The key to the business will be offering tangible benefits that not only make the process easier but also actively deter users from bypassing the platform to deal directly.