E-commerce major Amazon on Friday announced it will integrate its logistics network (from pickup to delivery) and SmartCommerce services with the Open Network for Digital Commerce.
In a statement, Amazon said that the move will provide greater technology support to the seller community and further empower small businesses. It will also benefit crores of consumers with wider choices, the company said.
"Amazon has today announced that it will integrate its logistics network (from pickup to delivery) and SmartCommerce services with ONDC...," the company said.
ONDC, often described as the UPI of e-commerce, promises to democratise digital commerce businesses. ONDC does not require that buyer and seller use the same platform/application to do a business transaction. Instead, it is a network-centric model where, so long as platforms or applications are connected to this open network, buyers and sellers can transact irrespective of the platforms they use.
As it pledged commitment to joining ONDC with its logistics and SmartCommerce offerings, Amazon in a statement said the integration would mark a 'significant step' towards the ONDC's vision of democratising e-commerce across India.
SmartCommerce is an AWS-powered suite of SaaS (Software as a service) products that enables MSMEs in India to build and scale their business across digital mediums and will have enablers for onboarding to the ONDC network.
This will be Amazon's initial collaboration with ONDC as the company continues to explore other potential opportunities for stronger integration between the two in future, the statement said.
Manish Tiwary, Country Manager, India Consumer Business, Amazon India, said the company's vision and commitment for India is closely aligned with ONDC's objectives of digitally enabling small businesses, and providing convenience and choice to customers across the country.
"We are excited about the opportunities to mobilise Amazon's industry-leading infrastructure and technology, including logistics, and small business digitisation tools, to help the ONDC accelerate its objectives. We remain committed to be being a catalyst for India's digitisation efforts throughout the economy," Tiwary said.
ONDC's CEO T Koshy said: "We are happy that Amazon has a definite roadmap to being a part of the ONDC network and is taking its first step in coming in as the logistics partner in the ONDC network, which is a globally pioneering idea established with a view to democratise digital commerce in India".
He further hoped that the buyer and seller platforms are onboarded as early as possible.
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