Rio Tinto Diamonds has successfully launched a new and innovative sales platform for a portion of its Canadian Diavik production.
Whilst the majority of Rio Tinto's diamond production continues to be sold through Supply Agreements with designated Select Diamantaires, Rio Tinto Diamonds has now developed a new, innovative mechanism for the distribution of the proportion of production sold outside the Supply Agreements.
Using a proprietary auction mechanism, specific product segments are offered for sale to a wider community of invited companies.
According to Patrick Coppens, General Manager of Sales for Rio Tinto Diamonds, “The new auction platform complements our existing business model of placing a majority of our production through Supply Agreements, with a more limited proportion of production made available for sale to a wider selection of customers. The design of the platform is based on extensive customer feedback, which clearly stated that our customers would value a user-friendly and time-efficient system.”
The new auction platform is built on the latest technology available and provides customers great flexibility in bidding and convenience of use. Participants can now easily manage their product portfolio and budget allocation decisions in real time, while getting instant feedback on their bids. The platform is aimed at increasing the efficiency for diamantaires’ rough sourcing activities and providing them with a positive experience.
The first application of the platform occurred in April and Rio Tinto Diamonds reported a record participation, strong sale results and positive customer feedback.