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The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which is in its beta-testing phase in Bengaluru and Meerut, is working on a mechanism for scoring sellers based on various parameters such as grievance resolution. The network is also in the process of expanding its scope to new categories such as home decor, fashion, beauty & personal care among others.
T Koshy, MD & CEO, ONDC, told businessline, “By March, we will start with network-wide scoring of sellers. It will be public, and consumers will be able to see it. This network-wide rating will include elements of feedback regarding transactions and performance of the sellers including the extent of grievance resolution. Our team is working on it, and it will keep evolving. Network-wide scoring will serve as a self-correcting mechanism as buyers will be able to see the performance of a seller before making their purchase decisions.” He added that an online dispute resolution mechanism is also in the works.
26 entities
Since September, as many as 26 entities – buyers, sellers and logistics applications - have gone live on ONDC. This includes players such as ITC, Meesho, HUL, Shiprocket, Delhivery and Phonepe. It also includes a number of start-ups, SIDBI-enabled artisans and small enterprises coming through network participants.
“Our approach has been to continuously build up the basic building blocks and get early adopters to demonstrate that the ONDC network is a feasible and a viable idea. As more and more partners come in, it will become a vibrant network. Every week about 15-16 entities are signing up to be onboarded. So far, we have over 700 entities who have signed up and out of this 250-300 entities are at the technical integration stage,” he added.
New domains
ONDC is also in the process of adding new domains such as home decor, fashion, beauty & personal care, electronics and home appliances among others. “By mid-February, we plan to add 7-8 new domains. As more and more entities get onboarded, the scale up of our beta testing to other cities will happen rapidly. Once we reach a certain threshold in terms of transactions, ONDC will be live across the country,” Koshy stated.
ONDC, an initiative of the Commerce Ministry’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), aims to democratise e-commerce and grow its reach in the country.
“We are trying to change the global thinking because people cannot think beyond platforms. But we need to break that kind of mindset. There is a global concern about the monopoly of platforms and India is trying to find an answer through markets and technology. Everyone in the world is looking at how ONDC shapes up,” he added.
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