The presence of the photonics market has been flourishing in the past 50 years, spurring new innovations along the way for “general-purpose technology.” The science behind photonics essentially uses light to generate energy for revolutionary technology products, from camera lenses to LED lighting. So, it makes sense that the global photonics trade is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.585% to reach US$829.77 billion dollars by 2025. With that being said, it’s clear that photonics is paving the way forward across various sectors, from manufacturing to life sciences. However, there is a growing concern on how businesses and customers can acquire the right photonics products for them within a short period of time due to the limited technical information available about the devices and applications.
Major players in the competitive photonics landscape, like Newport and Thorlabs, have adopted upscaled pricing models while being confined to their exhaustive process of B2B purchases. Thankfully, local startup Simtrum has now stepped in to shorten the procedure beyond recognition, offering accessible and cost-effective photonics products to businesses via its revolutionary e-commerce platform which will be integrated with cutting-edge cloud-based simulation software (SaaS). Simtrum cuts to the chase by providing a transformative one-stop solution for businesses and customers to procure photonics materials. The traditional transaction would usually take 14 steps, lasting from 4 to 12 weeks but Simtrum is able to break it down into 5 simple steps that will only take 1 week to complete. On top of that, the company has tapped into its supply chain with a large pool of qualified suppliers to find the best pricing for their customers since being founded in 2019.
Through digitalization, Simtrum will eradicate the multiple dreary discussions and repetitive experimental processes required in photonics acquisition. The company has weaved in a simulation feature, which will allow users to gain an immersive experience of choosing the components they need, fixing it up into a system to visualize its performance before making their purchases. With the visualization aspect in place, Simtrum will halve the time and cost spent on product acquisition as customers inspect the technical results for their systems before making their order. Currently, at the prototype stage, Simtrum is set to break barriers in the photonics sphere and expand regionally with its exciting lineup of products centred around software, optical, mechanical, and electrical systems. Within the last four months, Simtrum has launched over 3,500 unique parts onto its website alongside 35 tool-calculators in an app-based format for a seamless user experience.
To top it off, Simtrum serves as an educational hub to share their professional expertise surrounding photonics materials and applications to help customers be informed and improve their purchase experience. The company has already established resources on its website brimming with informative tutorials on leading technology. With warehouses stationed in China, Simtrum has set up a base in Singapore as a launching pad to expand regionally. The company has over 50 global partners to help push their mission of reinventing the B2B purchase structure in the photonics industry in the new year, racking up close to a SGD 1 million in sales within their first year.
