ONDC’s Latest Bet: The Network Expands Its Services To Boost B2B Commerce

After its foray into the online grocery and food delivery market, government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) on Monday (June 5) announced its entry into the B2B commerce space.

The network’s entry into the B2B trade will enable merchants to engage directly with other businesses in wholesale trade.

“Leveraging the open network, businesses can expand their reach, forge new partnerships, and tap into previously untapped markets. This transition further allows them to move away from their predominantly offline operations and unlock new opportunities for growth and success,” ONDC said in a statement. 

ONDC said that SignCatch, an omni-channel retail platform, and Rapidor, a B2B business enabler, have successfully enabled both the B2B buyer and B2B seller side platforms on the network, fostering seamless interoperability between sellers and buyers. This implementation allows sellers to utilise SignCatch to receive orders from Rapidor’s B2B buyer platform. 

The latest development comes a week after ONDC introduced a new incentive scheme for buyer and seller apps which limits the discounts to INR 100 per order.

The new incentive regime came into effect on June 1 and will continue until June 28.  The move came at a time when ONDC witnessed a 64% drop in its per day average order to 9,000 from 25,000 at its peak. 

Earlier, Inc42 highlighted the lower prices of food dishes on ONDC as compared to foodtech giants Zomato and Swiggy. Meanwhile, while grocery was the first segment to go live on ONDC, it seems to be gaining traction on the platform now.

Earlier today, Inc42 exclusively reported that ONDC is likely to foray into the fintech space and is considering to onboard insurtech, mutual funds, and personal loan providers in the coming months.

ONDC, launched last year, is seen by many as the UPI moment for India’s ecommerce segment. The open network is currently available across 235 cities in India and is aiming to cross 1,00,000 orders per day in a few months.

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