Source.One: Revolutionizing Polymer Distribution with WhatsApp and Technology-First Supply Chains

"In the petrochemical industry, what we are selling is mathematics, not chemistry." This unique perspective from Arun Singhal, founder of Source.One, has helped build India's largest technology-first petrochemical distribution company. By leveraging the power of WhatsApp API and a deep understanding of MSME pain points, Source.One is transforming a traditional $30 billion market into a model of digital efficiency.

The chemical industry in India is a massive $250 billion sector, contributing nearly 8% to the national GDP. Within this, the petrochemical segment accounts for $30 billion. Despite its size, the distribution of raw materials to the thousands of smaller processors—the manufacturers of everything from headphones to automotive parts—has remained scattered, broken, and stuck in the 1990s. Source.One is changing this narrative by bringing transparency, speed, and massive cost savings to the "last mile" of manufacturing.

The Problem: A 1990s Distribution Model in a 2020s Economy

Before Source.One, the B2B procurement of polymers was a "black box." It was dominated by expensive trade credit, lack of price discovery, and unnecessary layers of intermediaries. Smaller processors were unable to buy as efficiently as larger manufacturers, creating a growth blocker that hampered their competitiveness.

"The B2B trade was still very relationship-driven and traditional," Singhal explains. "There were endless phone calls, negotiations, and a complete lack of clarity on which supplier had what price and what the delivery timeline was." This inefficiency was particularly damaging because raw materials often constitute 80% of a finished product's cost.

The Eureka Moment: Don't Change User Behavior

Singhal's journey into entrepreneurship was preceded by a stint at a trucking startup, Dracula, where he learned a critical lesson from failure: Never attempt to change user behavior unless you have a massive burn budget.

When starting Source.One in 2017, the team decided to focus on the trade, not the app. They realized that their target audience—traditional MSME owners—were already using one tool day and night: WhatsApp. Instead of forcing them to download a new app and learn a new interface, Source.One became one of the first in India to use the WhatsApp Business API as a transaction platform.

The Two-Sided Coin: Supply and Demand

Initially, Source.One focused solely on the consumption side—helping buyers procure better. However, the COVID-19 pandemic provided a "Eureka moment" that revealed a much larger problem on the supply side. Stockists of materials were struggling to rotate their inventory as fast as they liked.

"We completely changed our focus to a two-sided coin," says Singhal. "By focusing on both the buyers (processors) and the suppliers (stockists), we created a virtuous loop. Selling fast allows suppliers to purchase more at better prices, which we then pass on to the buyers. Had we not done that, we would have remained one-tenth of our size today."

Leadership and the Power of "Unlearning"

One of the most radical aspects of Source.One's corporate culture is its hiring philosophy. Out of the entire company, only one person has a background in the polymer industry. Singhal believes that "the process of learning is much easier than the process of unlearning."

By hiring outsiders—including people who took career breaks or were laid off during COVID—Source.One has been able to disrupt the legacy systems of the chemical trade without being held back by "how things have always been done." This fresh perspective allowed them to see the business as a mathematical challenge of logistics and pricing rather than a complex chemical problem.

Future Vision: Touching Every Last Mile

Source.One today works with nearly 23% of the industry, but even the remaining 77% use their pricing as a benchmark for their procurement decisions. With a target of ₹3,000 crore revenue by FY25, the company is focused on deepening its reach into every corner of India, ensuring that even the smallest manufacturer can procure raw materials as efficiently as a global giant.

"Entrepreneurship is just a medium to solve a problem," Singhal concludes. "It's not an end or an ego booster. We have a deeper connection to the GDP of the economy, and that is what keeps us motivated every day."

Key Takeaways

For B2B Founders: Meet your users where they are. Don't build a complex app if a WhatsApp thread solves the problem faster and better.

For MSME Owners: Transparency and speed are your biggest competitive advantages. Moving from traditional brokers to tech-first platforms can unlock significant profit margins.

For Career Seekers: Don't fear career gaps or being an "outsider" to an industry. The ability to unlearn and bring a fresh perspective is a superpower in the startup world.

About the Guest

Arun Singhal is the founder and CEO of Source.One, India's leading technology-first polymer distribution company. An economics graduate and MDI Gurgaon alumnus, Singhal transitioned from a career in finance (ICICI Bank and Edelweiss) to logistics and petrochemicals. His passion for MSMEs and his belief in "randomness" led to the creation of Source.One, which has rapidly scaled to become a multi-thousand-crore enterprise by digitizing the traditional chemical supply chain.