Essential commodities auction platform
A large procurement network serving restaurants, hostels, hotels, and central kitchens aimed to digitize the way they sourced essentials such as vegetables, fruits, groceries, and gas cylinders.
From the start, their plan was to build a technology-first platform that enabled transparent pricing, easier seller participation for farmers and wholesale distributors, and a more structured procurement flow. They approached Mallow to develop a custom marketplace from scratch with real-time reverse auctions and automated order allocation.
Mallow built the complete ecosystem, including web and mobile applications, a live auction engine, WhatsApp-based seller workflows designed for farmers and wholesale distributors, and a scalable backend capable of handling high-volume bidding. The platform streamlined procurement for large buyers while giving farmers and wholesale distributors a simple, reliable, and accessible way to participate in competitive, real-time auctions.
Tech Stack
- Ruby on Rails
- PostgreSQL
- ReactJS
- Flutter
- AWS
- Spree
Stats
Reduction in manual procurement effort
Seller participation through WhatsApp workflows
auctions
Faster price discovery through automated bidding
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Project details
2021 - Ongoing
Project duration
6 Services
our team offered
10 Team
members involved
Our journey from challenges to outcomes
What were the client’s key challenges?
Need for a real-time reverse auction engine
Live bidding required instant data updates. Any delay, mismatch, or inaccurate notification during auctions could result in disputes or financial loss.
Heavy limitations in existing marketplace packages
Traditional marketplace tools could not support custom auction logic, automated allocations, or real-time status updates. Off-the-shelf solutions were too restrictive.
Complex buying–selling interactions and allocation logic
Bulk orders often had to be split between sellers when bids matched, and sellers needed ways to automate bids based on minimum price and tick value.
Requirement for WhatsApp-based seller participation
Most sellers preferred using WhatsApp instead of apps. The system needed to support the full auction flow including joining, bidding, responding, and receiving outcomes inside WhatsApp.
What was our approach?
Built a high-performance real-time auction system
We developed a custom auction engine using AWS AppSync and DynamoDB to deliver live updates without lag. Outbid notifications, bidding status, and results were sent instantly while masking pricing data to maintain fairness.
Re-engineered Spree to fit unique requirements
Spree provided only a baseline for orders and billing. We redesigned core modules, added custom workflows, and built new components to support reverse bidding, dynamic pricing, and marketplace logic far beyond what the package originally offered.
Automated bidding and allocation
Sellers could define minimum price and tick value, enabling the system to bid automatically. When multiple sellers reached the same winning price, the system split quantities precisely and fairly, which was a key challenge solved through deep testing and custom algorithms.
Integrated full auction functionality into WhatsApp
We built a conversational interface where sellers receive requirements, submit prices, join auctions, and view results, all through WhatsApp. This significantly improved adoption and made participation seamless for producers.
The Impact
| Impact area | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Procurement efficiency | Eliminated manual buying processes and enabled bulk buyers to procure essentials through a structured and transparent system. |
| Seller enablement | Made selling easier for farmers and distributors by giving them direct access to high-demand buyers and automated bidding workflows. |
| Real-time accuracy | Ensured reliable auction updates using AWS-powered real-time data delivery, preventing delays and discrepancies. |
| Spree enhancement | Enhanced a standard marketplace package into a fully custom auction-driven procurement platform tailored for complex workflows. |
| WhatsApp based bidding workflows | Enabled complete auction participation through WhatsApp, significantly increasing seller adoption and engagement. |
| Automated allocation | Used intelligent logic to accurately distribute orders when multiple sellers matched the winning price. |
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