Open Commerce is rewriting the rules of global trade. It’s a transparent, decentralized system that breaks down barriers and connects businesses directly through an innovative digital platform. With Open Commerce, retailers, distributors, and brands collaborate seamlessly, unlocking their full potential to grow.
Traditional commerce – whether offline or even conventional e-commerce – is riddled with inefficiencies, hidden fees, and artificial restrictions. Open Commerce changes that by enabling businesses to access real-time data, empowering smarter decisions, and dismantling an outdated system that has held industries back for decades.
The Crisis in Global Trade
Take Mrs. Rosemary Chukwuelobe, who runs an independent store in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, selling everyday essentials from detergents to biscuits. Rising supply chain inefficiencies force her to regularly shut down her shop to source basic inventory. Local distributors frequently hoard products when price increases loom, making it impossible for small retailers like her to maintain consistent stock levels or buy in bulk. Mrs. Rosemary’s story reflects a widespread crisis where broken distribution systems put essential consumer goods out of reach for millions.
Emerging markets – home to 80% of the world’s population – bear the brunt of this broken system. Despite contributing 70% of global GDP growth, their trade networks remain fractured, chaotic, and dominated by inefficient manual processes. Retailers still rely on cash-only transactions, distributors struggle to manage inventory, and brands lack visibility into where products are even going. These issues drive up costs, limit product availability, and prevent small businesses from thriving.
Why Traditional E-Commerce Models Have Failed
E-commerce promised to revolutionize trading but instead gave rise to monopolistic platforms like Amazon. These platforms exploit small businesses with high fees, controlled pricing, and artificial gatekeeping. For example, 95% of Amazon’s new sellers fail within their first year, drained by complex rules and a maze of hidden costs that can shrink profit margins by up to 53% for sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
Instead of solving trade inefficiencies, these models have created new barriers. Small businesses in emerging markets, already burdened by rising costs, find themselves locked out of a system that was supposed to democratize access. It’s clear: the traditional e-commerce approach has failed to deliver.
Open Commerce: A New Era of Global Trade
RedCloud’s vision for Open Commerce is simple yet revolutionary. Trade should be free, fair, and profitable for everyone. Our Red101 platform dismantles outdated systems by creating a transparent ecosystem where manufacturers, distributors, and retailers connect directly. Powered by cutting-edge AI, we bring efficiency, fairness, and insights to every layer of the supply chain.
Here’s how Open Commerce transforms businesses:
- Retailers can source products directly from multiple brands and distributors, compare prices, and manage inventory – all from a single platform. This enables them to keep shelves stocked, expand product offerings, and focus on serving customers.
- Distributors gain access to AI-powered tools for inventory management, optimized routing and digital payments – helping them fulfill orders faster and grow their markets. With intelligent insights, they can more easily understand retailers’ needs, stay on top of market trends and compare performance with competitors’ anonymised data.
- Brands receive actionable insights into consumer behaviors, distribution trends, and market opportunities. This visibility enables them to adapt to demand and scale efficiently – and even inform new product development.
For consumers, this means more affordable goods, greater choices, and a reliable supply of essential products.
The Power of AI in Open Commerce
Unlike traditional systems that rely on guesswork, Open Commerce uses AI to analyze millions of data points across the supply chain. This data generates insights that were once impossible to obtain, empowering businesses to:
- Predict demand patterns with precision.
- Optimize pricing strategies.
- Make smarter, data-driven inventory decisions.
- Reduce the operational guesswork and waste that traditional systems perpetuate.
For example, RedCloud’s proprietary AI-powered data platform gives manufacturers visibility into real-time product movements and helps distributors automate operations. Meanwhile, our RedPay network of payment solutions facilitates cashless transactions, reducing risks and allowing thousands of small businesses to build credit histories for future access to more financial services. This opens doors to financial services that were previously inaccessible, offering retailers a way to grow beyond their stall or shop.
But RedCloud doesn’t stop there. Our innovative platform extends its capabilities to transform multiple business functions, delivering even greater value for our partners. By leveraging predictive and prescriptive analytics, RedCloud empowers businesses to:
- Recommend Purchases: Precision-driven algorithms analyze retailer sales trends and demand patterns to provide tailored purchase recommendations, ensuring shelves are stocked with the products consumers want most.
- Optimize Third-Party Logistics: RedCloud drives supply chain efficiency by aligning inventory movements with real-time demand, enabling optimized routes and minimizing delays.
- Run Smart Promotions: No more generic campaigns. RedCloud helps businesses design promotions with targeted precision, maximizing impact and ROI with data-fueled strategies.
- Detect Fraud: By leveraging advanced ML/AI technologies, both internally and through third-party payment providers, RedCloud identifies and flags anomalies in transaction data to help ensure a safe trading environment and reduce risks at every level.
- Model Consumer Behavior: RedCloud’s tools provide deep insights into consumer shopping habits, enabling businesses to understand trends, anticipate demands, and adapt strategies to meet evolving market needs.
Each of these features represents a shift away from conventional and inefficient systems, replacing outdated methods with intelligent, actionable insights. RedCloud’s solutions disrupt the status quo by bridging the gap between manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, ultimately fostering transparency, efficiency, and growth in global commerce.
With RedCloud, AI becomes more than just a tool: it’s the foundation for building sustainable, scalable systems that redefine commerce entirely. For investors and FMCG companies ready to unlock smarter, more dynamic operations, the future of commerce starts here.
How Open Commerce Breaks Barriers and Creates Impact
Traditional commerce is failing, particularly in markets where it’s needed the most. But Open Commerce is removing these barriers:
- Reduced Costs: By eliminating intermediaries, businesses save on supply chain expenses and pass those savings on to consumers – whilst also increasing revenue with added digital services.
- Improved Reach and Visibility: Brands and distributors can track products like never before, minimizing losses and stock shortages – helping them grow.
- Empowered Businesses: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can compete on a level playing field, driving innovation and economic growth.
Our platform currently facilitates billions of dollars in trading volume annually, proving that this model works. By leveraging transparency and accessibility, Open Commerce is delivering profits where they were previously unimaginable. Retailers like Mrs. Rosemary Chukwuelobe no longer have to choose between closing her shop to go source for better deals or raise prices – because Open Commerce is cutting through inefficiencies and inflated costs.
Taking the First Step Toward Fair and Open Trade
Global supply chains are broken – but it doesn’t have to stay that way. Open Commerce doesn’t just challenge the status quo; it replaces it with something better. For small businesses, emerging markets, and even global manufacturers, this technology is opening doors at a scale traditional commerce never could.
RedCloud’s Open Commerce platform is a bold declaration that outdated systems can no longer hold businesses back. With our RedAI platform at the core, delivering embedded AI intelligence, real-time insights, and a steadfast commitment to inclusion, we’re driving a movement to democratize global trade – transforming every transaction into an opportunity for equitable progress.
This is the future of commerce – and it’s open to everyone.
Are you ready to join the revolution? Get in touch!
