The ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) has gone live in Bengaluru. From September 30, the beta testing process has started and showing positive results so far.
The government initiative to help small retailers go online and reduce the monopolies is in action. With time, we will see the more profound effects, but for now, let’s see how it is going in Bengaluru.
What is ONDC?
The ONDC is an open network which democratizes the Indian ecommerce industry. The small sellers find it difficult to open an online store due to technical challenges.
Creating the store does not guarantee sales as the digital competition is far stronger. The marketplaces offer more exposure and take care of delivery, support, payment and many other things. Currently, Flipkart and Amazon have dominance in the Indian ecommerce market – but both are US companies.
The ONDC standardizes the ecommerce listings, so anyone can use any application to buy from any seller. This is not an integrator, above all, it is not even an application or platform. It is an open network, similar to UPI, which any ecommerce application can use.
The ecommerce websites, payment gateways, suppliers, and seller applications (PayTm, Flipkart) could join the network. All the sellers would be available from any seller application. Currently, Mystore, PayTM and SpiceMoney are the available buyers, and with time, more sellers would join.
How is ONDC Launch Going on in Bengaluru?
Before the public beta testing, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) launched a test run of ONDC in five cities – Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Bhopal, and Shillong. The test run happened in April 2022.
The public rollout has begun from 30th September, 2022. Begaluru sellers are cautiously trying to understand the new system.
So far, the novel ecommerce effort has largely been a hit. The total number of orders is increasing by up to 30% day on day, according to one of the persons quoted above. Close to 170 orders were logged on the first day itself, this person said. So far, at least 60% are for groceries and the rest for food.
“The speed of scaling depends on the capabilities of the logistics firms to carry out intercity deliveries,” said one of them. They added that logistics partners Ecom Express, Ekart, and Grab will also be operational in these cities starting in November. At present, LoadShare and Dunzo are helping fulfill hyperlocal deliveries in Bengaluru.
All in all, ONDC’s first week seems to have had a decent start. Sellers, especially, remain hopeful that the next few months will bring several changes to how ecommerce is conducted in the city. Buyers too are curious about how they can try their hands at the novel experience.
What’s in the Future?
After Bengaluru, the ONDC is going live in selected pin codes in Delhi in the next month. The next step would be Mumbai. The team is trying to expand the network in major cities, so the major players can join in efficiently.
Buyers will initially be able to place orders for groceries and food in Delhi starting in November as part of ONDC’s gradual rollout of its services across the country. The government-backed digital commerce protocol was launched in beta mode across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru last week, the first public rollout after months of testing with selected users across cities.
Users would also be able to order electronics, fashion products, and home decoration items by the end of the year, according to the people familiar with ONDC’s plans.
With the Help of Open Source.
The ONDC is an open network, and has built on the open source technology. The protocols are not tied down to any platform.
The buyers and sellers do not have to use the same platform to complete the transaction. Sellers can list the product on a ONDC compatible application, and it will show on all the ONDC compatible selling apps.
So long as the platforms are connected to this open network, buyers and sellers can transact irrespective of the applications they use.
