KOCHI, INDIA, September 1, 2005: The Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) is planning to tap the fruits of e-commerce by publishing their purchase and sales tenders on the Internet through a joint venture procurement platform between the Andhra Pradesh Government and a private sector consortium. “With a foodgrain and agricultural commodity procurement bill running into US$68 million every year, even a ten per cent saving on this bill would imply a saving of $6.8 million every year,” says, TTD’s Chief Accounts Officer. The temple trust has a huge demand for food and agricultural commodities everyday. TTD ascertains the prices of an array of commodities such as pepper, spices, sugar, groundnut oil, rice, cardamom, cashew, etc., on a daily basis. Currently, the temple township depends on around 30 major suppliers for all their procurement and sales requirements. Their entry into e-commerce besides widen audience further – of both buyers and sellers also enables TTD to get more realistic pricing in their tenders and quotations, Through the commodity futures terminal, TTD is able to plan and streamline its procurement policies in tune with the changing moods of the market where they can enter and exit the market at the most appropriate time with the access to the futures prices.
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