The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) began as a pilot project in 2021 with one buyer app, five seller apps and two logistics partners. It has now grown into 36 network participants and about 300 at various stages of integration
“The limit of ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) is the limit of our own imagination,” says Gopal Srinivasan, Chairman and MD of TVS Capital. His words never rang truer than when Kudumbashree, a Kerala government-supported organisation of women’s neighbourhood groups, joined the initiative this March
“When UPI was launched, everyone said it is a developing country problem. Today, everyone accepts it as the best in the world. When it comes to digital commerce, the market concentration and associated practices which are detrimental to the industry in general and small industry in particular, are a problem globally,” says T. Koshy, CEO of ONDC
“I see ONDC as a force of inclusion,” says Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder, Infosys, and a member of ONDC’s advisory council. He added that ONDC is like a massive digital party where buyers, sellers and logistics providers can all hang out and do business together
ONDC was established in 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of Government of India. It brought together several digital payment platforms which can directly connect with retailers. From social enterprises to kirana stores and FMCG conglomerates, ONDC is rapidly on-boarding brands
Paytm was the sole buyer app on ONDC for a significant period. Later, Meesho, Craftsvilla, IDFC and Mystore also joined the platform
To fill the supply vacuum, 23 seller apps such as Bizom, Digit, EkSecond, GOFRUGAL and ITC store joined ONDC
To ensure a seamless connection between the buyers and the sellers, six logistic and delivery partners such as Delhivery, Dunzo, Loadshare, Shiprocket Grab and eKart joined ONDC
Unlike metro cities, the adoption of online grocery shopping is yet to pick up pace in Tier II and smaller towns where people still prefer to visit mom-and-pop stores
PhonePe has forayed into e-commerce with its new consumer app ‘Pincode’ on ONDC. PhonePe claims to have 440 million registered users, which means one in four Indians is now on the app. It has also digitised approximately 35 million offline merchants. They have a special focus on hyperlocal, starting with groceries in Bengaluru. As per reports, the company aims to hit a five-digit order volume in two months from the launch on ONDC
*Note: The data is till March 27
No. of cities it is active in - 180
No. of merchants - 26,000
No. of orders (per day) - More than 200
Live network participants - 36
Leading marketplaces Amazon and Flipkart have made no moves to join ONDC yet. They feel the government wants to ‘kill marketplaces’, says a senior marketing executive