ONDC – First and last mile logistics startups Grab is in the process of starting the pilot projects with the ONDC. Fast trading startups Dunzo had previously joined the networks in May 2022. Beyond a beta testing phase, ONDC will starts in August 2022
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Grab, the logistics provider owned by Reliance Retail, has integrated its platforms with the Open Networks for Digital Commerce ONDC. The move marks another new company owned by Reliance Retail joining the open networks after Dunzo. Quick trade startups Dunzo had previously joined the network in May 2022 and even started a pilot in six Indian cities.
With this, Grab will support hyperlocal deliveries within the city, according to an ET reports cited by one of Grab founder. We are currently in the process of starting the pilot project with the Open Networks for Digital Commerceand it is in an incipient stage. We look forward to increasing our partnership with the ONDC and our focus will be on providing a seamless & efficient delivery experience for our customers across all sectors, said Pratish Sanghvi.
The investment arm of Reliance Industries acquired Grab A Grub Services ‘Grab’ in a cash deal worth $14.9 Mn INR 106 Cr in March 2019. Grab is currently a subsidiary of Reliance Retail which owns about 80% stake in the company. .
The nine year old startups offer services ranging from on demand reverse delivery and first- and last-mile logistics to clients including FedEx, Grofers, Paytm, BigBasket, Myntra, Amazon and Swiggy.
Reliance Retail, along with Flipkart & Amazon, are also likely to join the ambitious UPI like Open Networks for Digital Commerce initiative. Notably, Flipkart logistics vertical Ekart has already integrated with ONDC for its logistics services.
What is going on inside the ONDC universe
The ONDC network essentially aims to democratize small retailers by bringing them closer to e commerce and e commerce facilitators who provide onboarding, cataloging, customer care, and logistics need through third party integrations.
The public and private bank-backed network will connect buyers and sellers on any consumer facing platform in any vertical industry, whether it’s B2C products in beauty services, healthcare, stationery or B2C such as food delivery, repair and maintenance , insurance and hotel reservations. , among others.
ONDC CBO Shireesh Joshi also confirmed that OYO, Zomato and Swiggy are likely to join the network and are in various stages of integration.
Currently nine platforms including Paytm, Digit, PhonePe, eSamudaay, Go Frugal, Dunzo and Loadshare are part of the open network. As ONDC prepares to launch in August 2022 and reach 100 cities by the end of the year, it is reportedly in talks with more than 15 platforms, including Snapdeal and Shiprocket, to join the network.
Media reports from June 2022 also suggest that the National Restaurant Association of India NRAI plans to add its restaurants to the network.
As there are several operational challenges to onboarding merchants into ONDC, a parliamentary standing committee has asked the DPIIT to create tools compatible with ONDC protocols to easily onboard local small businesses.