Pune Inc: How Rawmart became a one-stop shop for Small and Medium Enterprises

SMEs, such as vendors and suppliers of parts, form the core of the Indian industry but rarely receive the limelight. The lack of attention means that many cannot overcome even the basic challenges required for growth.

“Manufacturing in India is lacking innovation, which needs immediate action and upgrading of skills, according to today’s requirements. India is in the fifth place on the chart of manufacturing exports, contributing only two per cent, while China contributes 35 per cent and the USA 16 per cent. Rising even one step will require two to three times growth, and this should all happen sustainably,” says Bora.

Rawmart started by supplying steel as raw material to factories and went on to provide credit, technology, and production support to SMEs. “We analyse the existing manufacturing processes of SMEs. We identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and areas for improvement while working on standardised processes and workflow optimisations,” says Rana.

Customised products, Rawmart’s latest addition

Today, Rawmart has become a one-stop shop for SMEs. One can get machine parts, castings, supply chain finance solutions, and technical expertise and guidance for design improvements, among others. A new addition is customised products, such as light pallets to carry products made by a pharma company. For a fast food company, the company made a product for storing potatoes that would be used in the chips factory.

“Innovation, quality, and sustainability are not just buzzwords — they’re the barriers keeping Indian manufacturing from being truly export-ready. The world no longer rewards low-cost manufacturing; it rewards smart, clean, and consistent manufacturing. Innovation drives progress, quality builds trust, and sustainability ensures survival. Until we compete on design, precision, and responsibility, cost advantage alone won’t take us global,” says Changede.

Rawmart, today, works with more than 200 SMEs and has developed more than 40 manufacturing processes and manufactured more than one lakh parts. More than 300 projects have been served. “Pune is a manufacturing hub. We have good manufacturing setups in and around Pune. We want to expand into Tier 2 cities, where we can find good manufacturing setups to partner with. We want to scale with people who have the mindset for growth and are looking to grow in this manufacturing boom and doing this sustainably,” says Rana.

Rawmart is turning its attention to sustainability, aiming to repeat its success with organisations that are involved in agriculture or agriculture-related enterprises. “We are soon starting Rawmart Renewables: our biofuel and biomass division. We want to help industries reduce carbon emissions and use clean energy or clean fuel. We will be supporting the end-to-end manufacturing cycle, making SME more empowered, helping them grow their revenues – and doing this using green energy,” says Rana.