ONDC: What it is and how it works
The government-backed not-for-profit private company, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is in the news now. The company acts as an e-commerce enabler, a handshaking platform for buyer apps (consumer-facing apps for people to browse on and find products, like Paytm, Meesho, PhonePe’s Pincode and others) and seller apps (restaurant aggregators like Magicpin, local business aggregators like eSamudaay, kirana stores, supermarkets, online retailer, brands, etc.).
Unlike an Amazon or a Zomato or a Flipkart, ONDC is just an interface. It does not have any customer care set-up, for example, and for complaints, one needs to contact the company a product was bought from.
It was created to provide a level-playing field to small businesses engaging in e-commerce, in a market dominated by big players such as Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato.
ONDC is not an app, at least for now. It is embedded in other apps such as Paytm, PhonePe’s Pincode and Magicpin.
The uniqueness of ONDC is that a buyer app will show products from all seller apps and sellers registered on a single seller app will be discoverable to all buyer apps.
How to order food and other products through ONDC
Go to any of the buyer apps registered on ONDC, like Paytm, PhonePe’s Pincode, Meesho and others.
Search for ONDC, and then select ‘ONDC Food’, ‘ONDC Grocery’ or ‘ONDC Home Décor’.
Order products and services from the individual companies which deliver to your area, as you would on other e-commerce apps.
Sellers use their staff or logistics startups (registered on ONDC) to fulfil orders.
Some facts on ONDC
ONDC is active in 236 cities and has onboarded more than 35,000 sellers, according to its website.
Buyer apps (8): Craftsvilla, IDFC, Kotak, Meesho, Mystore, Paytm, PhonePe (through Pincode), Spicemoney
Seller apps (13): Bizom, Digiit, EkSecond, Enstore, eSamudaay, eVitalrx, GoFrugal, Growth Falcons, ITC Store, Magicpin, nStore, Seller App, uEngage, UShop
Logistics companies (5): Delhivery, Dunzo, Grab, LoadShare, Shiprocket
