In what could give a boost to Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), the government-backed ecommerce network has approved its first buyer-side app for logistics that will aim to solve one of the biggest sore points of shopping through the network – seamless delivery.
The platform, MP2 Innovations, will allow ONDC participants to fetch the best available delivery fleet through a single API instead of tying up with individual logistics companies, people aware of the development said.
Across segments, delivery has been the biggest hurdle on ONDC to match ecommerce experience, according to network participants.
Mahesh Herle, owner of MP2 Innovations, told ET the final approval for the firm as technology service provider (TSP) of ONDC came on Wednesday and it should be able to launch its services soon on the network.
It has already partnered with logistics firms like Loadshare and Zypp while more hyperlocal delivery partners are being added as well. It should go live in the next week or so, he added.
Herle previously cofounded hyperlocal delivery startup Goodbox.
“Fulfilment is key in any ecommerce, especially in hyperlocal deliveries. We have seen the gap to address this key issue and thus have set the platform to connect network participants (sellers) to tap into the whole logistics fleet of ONDC which is only expanding,” he said.
Even offline stores and businesses can access ONDC delivery fleet through the platform even if the order for delivery to customers takes place offline, Herle said.
ET reported last month the likes of Walmart-backed PhonePe exited ecommerce on ONDC citing lack of good consumer experience largely due to failing deliveries. Big ecommerce players thus have also been reluctant to enable the core marketplace to the ONDC network.
ET reported on April 29 saying the government is nudging etailers like Flipkart and Amazon India to integrate ONDC to their core marketplace.
“Ecommerce is an operational business and ONDC backend needs this kind of a solution to address the challenges,” an industry executive aware of MP2 Innovation’s logistics app told ET. “I am sure there will be others building similar solutions also but that will be critical for ONDC to scale further.”
Between January 2023 and March 2024, ONDC fulfilled 50 million orders, of which nearly two-thirds were mobility transactions through participants such as Namma Yatri.
In March 2024, of the almost 3.6 million non-mobility orders, grocery accounted for 4.5%, while food and beverages made up for nearly 10%.
