The Indian Government has recently launched its own e-commerce platform, called The Open Network For Digital Commerce (‘ONDC’). ONDC is an unified online selling platform that will include both brand and third-party retailers. The main goal of this initiative is to boost India’s digital economy through increased consumer spending by democratizing e-commerce.
E-commerce in India has been growing at a steady pace but there are some challenges such as the lack of trust among consumers due to scams, high prices, and no unified marketplace. With the introduction of ONDC, it is expected that these challenges will be reduced significantly in the coming years.
Why ONDC?
E-commerce in India has grown rapidly over the last few years with more than $13 billion being handled by the sector in 2017 alone. As e-commerce matures, so does its importance to Indian businesses. The retail industry accounts for nearly 80% of all businesses in India so it makes sense for the government to get involved sooner rather than later. It is likely that companies operating within the sector will see benefits from the launch as well.
“Through the concept of ONDC, we intend to provide one nation, one license, and one warehouse. It will help sellers from all over India fulfill orders from anywhere in India.” said the Prime Minister.
With this change in policy and regulations, you can now sell your products across the country without having a physical presence or license in each state’s capital city.
What are big players like Snapdeal, and Amazon doing?
On the eve of Holi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India’s first multi-model e-commerce marketplace. The launch was done through video conferencing and live streaming on social media platforms.
The government also announced that it would be holding Fast Track Investor Meetings for startups interested in participating in this initiative. B2B portals such as Amazon and Flipkart till now were holding all the customer acquisition, revenue, and monopoly in terms of the e-commerce industry.
The ONDC portal has now been launched by GeM (Government e-Marketplace) in order to enable a nationwide common e-commerce market. The portal is a one-stop shop for all the e-commerce needs of sellers, who can list their products there and reach out to buyers directly from anywhere in India.
The government has also announced that it will soon start working on a mobile app for this platform so that there is no need to visit the website every time you want to buy something online or find some products that match your requirements.
Snapdeal is the first e-commerce platform to join an open network. E-commerce platforms Dunzo and Ekart have also partnered with ONDC.
The ONDC shall enable SMBs and local producers to sell their products across the country
The ONDC shall enable SMBs and local producers to sell their products across the country on an online selling platform. It is expected that this will lead to an increase in e-commerce sales by providing an opportunity for small businesses to operate online and reach wider markets.
The government has made it mandatory for sellers from all over India to register on the platform so they can fulfill orders from anywhere in India. This will help them reach out to customers who are not within their vicinity or do not have access to traditional avenues like offline stores or malls, etc, thus increasing their reach considerably.
ONDC will help sellers from all over India fulfill orders from anywhere in India
ONDC will help sellers from all over India fulfill orders from anywhere in India. This includes the small town farmers who have been unable to sell their produce online due to lack of infrastructure, and even large companies with poor internet connectivity that are finding it difficult to ship products across state borders.
ONDC offers a solution for these problems by cutting down on transportation costs by up to 50% and speeding up delivery times by up to 90%.
Some of the Platforms Which Were Offering A MarketPlace With Better Features Till Now:
QPe: It is a SaaS-based platform that helps small and medium businesses in creating online stores for free. Not only this, but it also offers a suite of marketing tools like email marketing, bot integrations, and google analytics; store management, no code user interface, different themes, and 0% commissions on all orders. All of it combines it and makes a one-stop solution for small businesses.
How QPe is helping small businesses?
QPe has reached the stage where it can be called as a one-stop solution for a business. For a while, QPe has been helping small businesses to make their online presence by providing them with top-notch promoting features. Not only limited to this, but it also provides some basic features which help businessmen in their day-to-day lives, whether it is a stock alert feature, inventory management, track order delivery, or managing online orders with ease.
Shopify: One of the best-known options used for marking an online presence. It is an international e-commerce platform that lets businesses run, grow and manage their own businesses. Although you will require a web developer in order to maintain your website if you opt for Shopify as an option. Secondly, Shopify does not have a large customer potential base in India as compared to its rivals.
Conclusion
To conclude, ONDC has the potential to be a game changer in India’s e-commerce market. The new platform will not only help Indian sellers reach new customers but also create more jobs for people across the country.
