Snapdeal is the first e-commerce portal to be connected to the open network. ONDC has also worked with e-commerce companies Dunzo and Ekart. The Indian government consolidated all virtual banking and payments under one roof with the introduction of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
With the introduction of the Open Network for Digital Commerce, the government has now accomplished a comparable feat in yet another walled garden, that of e-commerce (ONDC).
Through the unification of all platforms under a single open network, ONDC seeks to democratize online commerce. For the e-commerce industry, which is now dominated by overseas players Amazon and Flipkart, it would provide a new, level playing field.
Snapdeal in ONDC
The Open Network model goes beyond the present platform-centric approach, in which the buyer and seller must be members of the same platform/application for transactions to take place. ONDC aspires to end digital monopolies by shifting away from platform-centric strategies and toward an open network.
Amazon and Flipkart already control the whole e-commerce ecosystem, including seller onboarding, customer acquisition, order fulfillment, payment, returns, and complaint resolution.
Consider a platform that not only aggregates things from Amazon, Flipkart, and Meesho but also all of your local Kirana stores. That is precisely what the open network seeks to do. Through a single application, you might be interested in comparing the prices of Amazon finds and the product details of Flipkart finds.
It will modularize the supply chain, shifting power away from Amazon and Flipkart and toward consumers, retailers, and support service providers. Smaller players will have access to Amazon or Flipkart-controlled data over an open network. As a result, ONDC strives to assist MSMEs and small traders in gaining access to online platforms.
On July 19, Snapdeal’s e-commerce platform made its official debut on the government-run Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
About ONDC: What is it?
The open network will not only provide easier transactions and an improved online shopping experience for customers, but it will also automate the entire value chain and increase seller efficiency in logistics.
Small businesses will be able to avoid signing up for platforms with different mandates and commission lists. With the help of ONDC, retailers will have access to the procedures and tools that are used by well-known e-commerce companies like Amazon and Flipkart. Additionally, it would increase pricing transparency and make all vendors’ products easier to find.
Silos will be dismantled, and a list of delivery partners, aggregators, clients, eateries, and logistic service providers will be created. The government claims that Open Network for Digital Commerce will guarantee the privacy and confidentiality of data in the network.
Participants are not required by ONDC to share any transaction-level data with ONDC. Without sacrificing secrecy and privacy, it will collaborate with its participants to disclose anonymized aggregate measurements of network performance.
ONDC – When was it Launched?
Irrespective of the platform or app they use, Open Network for Digital Commerce, a project of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), would make it possible for both sellers and buyers to be digitally accessible and conduct business through an open network.
A nine-member advisory group, including Nandan Nilekani, co-founder and chairman of Infosys, R. S. Sharma, Adil Zainulbhai, chairman of QCI, and Dilip Asbe, CEO of National Payments Corporation of India, among others, unveiled the plan.
According to DPIIT, ONDC’s goal is to support open networks created using open-sourced methodologies, using open standards and open network protocols, irrespective of any particular platform. it is anticipated that it will automate the entire value chain, standardize operations, encourage supplier inclusion, improve logistical efficiency, and increase value for consumers.
The open network would possibly pose a threat to the hegemony of all major e-commerce businesses because it would be used for more than simply retail transactions, including those involving food, delivery, travel, and hotel reservations.
The ONDC intends to grow e-commerce penetration to 25% of all consumer purchases in the next two years, up from roughly 8% at present, as more small traders and shops embrace the online world. It anticipates 900 million buyers and 1.2 million vendors joining the shared network during the next five years, with a gross merchandise value of $48 billion.
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