(Yicai Global) Oct. 20 -- One-stop auxiliary decoration material service platform Zhangshang Material, operated by Zhangshang Meicai Beijing Technology Co., has raised CNY20 million (USD3.03 million) through angel round financing, online news outlet 36Kr reported yesterday.

The firm will use the proceeds to help potential customers access its services, verify its models and improve sales.

"To put it simply, Zhangshang Material's Zsfucai.cn is the JD.com of the auxiliary decoration material sector," said Xue Chengkun, founder of the platform. JD.com is one of China's leading e-commerce platforms, run by JD.com Inc. [NASDAQ:JD].

Zhangshang derives revenues from by buying and selling auxiliary decoration materials. However, it has weak bargaining power due to dispersed upstream channels and excess capacity in China's auxiliary construction materials sector. The firm will consider designating upstream factories as its original equipment manufacturer partners in order to establish its own decoration material brand.

Construction materials are classified into two categories, core materials such as tiles, doors, windows and toilets, and auxiliary materials such as in-wall wires, water pipes, paint and tile glue. However, decoration project heads cannot ensure the quality of auxiliary materials since standards in the domestic market are mixed.

Low delivery efficiency is another problem in the market. Zhangshang Materials provides quality construction materials by working directly with factories. After users place orders via its WeChat account, app, website or by telephone, the platform will deliver auxiliary construction materials.

Zhangshang Materials has made several hundred deals worth about CNY2,000 (USD302) each since coming online on Sept. 15 this year, with 46 percent becoming returning customers. The platform utilizes 1,000 stock keeping units to work with nearly 100 upstream factories and dozens of first-tier suppliers. Logistical work is mainly undertaken by third-party logistics service providers and long-time partner drivers.

China's home decoration market was worth CNY1.78 trillion (USD269.6 billion) last year, and the office building decoration market was worth CNY1.88 trillion (USD284.8 billion). Auxiliary decoration materials account for about 10 percent of total decoration costs. If Zhangshang Materials products can cover decoration materials for both markets, the size of its market will be around CNY300 billion (USD45.4 billion).