The Ecommerce Sector Gets a New Way of Operation

ONDC or Open Network For Digital Commerce has been set up as a non-profit company and its network shall make way for products and services being displayed belonging to all ecommerce platforms that are part of the network in the results of the search and they would be displayed across all apps that are present on the network.

The main objective of ONDC is to increase the e-commerce penetration in the Indian market by the next two years. Backed by the Indian government, this initiative has plans to bring in some billions of buyers and also sellers on the network that is a shared one within the next few years.

As per the government, small players are kept out of the field by the bigger ones who exert greater control in the e-commerce market. It holds enough expectation from ONDC and hopes to have an increase in the competition and give a chance to startups to bring about innovation. The logistics firms shall also be included who will collaborate with the sellers for the purpose of delivering products to customers.

Small merchants would be the main focus of ONDC and also the rural consumers shall top the list. There would be applications designed specifically in Indian languages.

ONDC shall open the gates to all and act as a solution to the accusation that only a few selected players in the e-commerce sector receive special attention. Service providers shall receive ratings from the users and the result will be made visible across the entire network.

ONDC shall put a full-stop to the so-called ‘predatory pricing’ associated with products that have high-value and also are high-margin products.

However a limitation of ONDC lies in the fact that the small businesses which happen to be the main focus of the entire program might fall back due to lack of expertise associated with technology. The need shall arise for the government to conduct campaigns that would spread awareness among the businesses that need it to be on board.

ONDC can be seen as a stepping stone to democratise the economy that is moved by digitization. The motive is to have equal opportunities for all who will be part of ONDC and that will also include the customers. The open network of ONDC shall ensure that both the buyer as well as the seller makes use of the same network to be online and carry on with business activities.

ONDC is expected to increase the number as well as value of the operations of e-commerce. As per the estimates of the government, the value of Indian business surrounding ecommerce is to reach a whooping US$350 billion by the time this decade ends. The goal seems achievable with ONDC in action.

The current situation in the ecommerce market is such that the smaller businesses do not get a chance to carry on with their business operations. Amazon and Flipkart have taken up a good percentage of the e-commerce market. This situation is expected to cease with the commencement of ONDC.

The exposure of consumers shall increase and a wider range of options will be available to them while making purchases. ONDC is expected to bring in new scope for businesses. The functioning of ONDC had been tried out in five cities, Delhi-NCR, Shillong, Coimbatore, Bhopal and Bangalore.

Summary

Open Network for Digital Commerce was launched by the government of India to enable the small businesses to operate easily without any kind of hindrance in the ecommerce sector. Though there are some limitations of this program, ONDC is expected to bring in new opportunities as well as scope for all businesses.

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