Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-promoted open e-commerce platform, has set an ambitious target to achieve 200,000 daily transactions by the end of this year. According to a recent equity research report by ICICI Securities, the platform currently handles around 50,000 daily transactions from 15,000-20,000 retail merchants, with an additional 60,000 transactions from the mobility sector.

The platform’s main objective is to focus on scalability and cater to a wide range of businesses. ONDC aims to achieve 100,000 daily transactions from the retail sector and the remaining 100,000 from the mobility space. To attain seamless exception handling and ensure a trustworthy environment, ONDC is actively working on implementing online dispute resolution (ODR) mechanisms. The platform believes that ODR will enable fair decision-making in case of disputes, backed by a comprehensive digital trail.

ONDC is also taking steps to improve the overall buying and selling experience on the platform. It plans to introduce a network-wide scoring system that includes rating, scoring, and badging components for sellers. This scoring system will provide buyers and sellers with a unified and reliable metric to evaluate each other’s performance. “To ensure a level playing field, sellers are encouraged to commit to their delivery timelines upfront. This commitment will be measured against their actual performance, contributing to their network-wide score,” noted ONDC executives.

In terms of logistics and last-mile delivery, ONDC has partnered with prominent players such as Dunzo, Delhivery, and Shiprocket to enable sellers who do not have existing delivery agreements. However, nearly half of the sellers on the platform already have their delivery partners. Shiprocket, in particular, has decided to become a seller application to serve vendors who may not be digitally savvy or may have issues with the terms and conditions of incumbent players.

The platform emphasizes prioritizing network performance over tracking Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) to maintain competitive information confidentiality for buyers and sellers. The top buyer applications for the platform include Paytm, PhonePe, magicpin, and My Store.

Registered as a Section 8 company, ONDC’s focus is on investments to increase merchant participation rather than seeking public listing or paying dividends. The platform plans to monetize through marginal transaction-based fees, ensuring a self-sustaining financial model for growth and expansion. “ONDC’s intention is to only create an ecosystem to enable commerce,” the report stated, highlighting that ONDC does not plan to compete with any existing e-commerce apps.

With a strong emphasis on technological advancements, transparency, and providing a level playing field for merchants, ONDC aims to revolutionize the e-commerce landscape and become a preferred platform for businesses in India.