.svg)
The ownership of assets has long been the way in which companies maintain their operations; however when analysing the usage statistics of these assets they tend to remain idle more often than they are used. The concept of a sharing economy is one that helps bring circularity to life and provides a way for assets such as machinery, equipment, facilities and even personnel to be utilized to their fullest. Although ideal, the biggest challenge in implementing such an economy is connecting these idle assets with companies that can put them to use. With a goal of providing a solution to this challenge, FLOOW2 developed the “world’s reset button” to provide a sharing marketplace for business equipment and services.
By creating an online platform FLOOW2 was able to establish an easy to use marketplace for the efficient and transparent exchange of assets, becoming the first company in the world to offer businesses and institutions a new way to pay-off their assets. Asset owners post their equipment, machinery, facilities, services or expertise on the marketplace and buyers who would like to use or purchase the assets can execute a rental agreement or sale through the website.
FLOOW2’s sharing marketplace prevents the overcapacity of equipment, machinery, and facilities, by bringing together already existing supply and demand while reducing the demand for new assets. The business model illustrates the benefits of the sharing economy and solidifies the fact that this concept can be applied to B2B business models.
The implementation of such a marketplace requires extensive effort to raise awareness for the online platform and convert users. At the moment about 35.000 advertisements are posted on the marketplace however, the biggest challenge is teaching companies the benefits of a sharing economy compared to asset ownership.
The marketplace brings greater turnover and a more efficient allocation of resources. With ambitions to become accessible worldwide, FLOOW2 is developing a unique exchange platform to target the healthcare sector which has more expiry dates on products than other sectors. Such a platform will be able to reallocate medical technologies that have become obsolete, to hospitals that can make use of the older equipment, especially those in developing countries.
“The circular economy forces all of us to think and act differently. The mind shift from access over ownership will enable business owners around the world to experience significant financial, sustainable and social benefits. Asset sharing will be the key in development towards a more circular economy in the business-to-business environment.”
[hr]
[cta link="http://www.circle-economy.com/membership/" ]I'm a changemaker![/cta]
[hr]
