Shiprocket and others are helping ONDC become a trustable platform, says co-founder

Ecommerce enabler Shiprocket and other partners are helping Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) become a trustable platform within the ecosystem, the company’s co-founder Akshay Ghulati said. 

In an interaction with Business Today, Ghulati said that ONDC’s “vision is phenomenal” and challenging at the same time. “Unlike UPI which was completely online, ONDC is a place where the online and offline worlds collide together.”

He also said, “Historically, demand has always been concentrated at a few places. ONDC is democratising demand and balancing out the prices.” He said that this is a big breakthrough for the entire business ecosystem as the small businesses can now compete with the larger businesses. 

ONDC was launched in February 2022 by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The government-backed e-commerce company aims to reduce the dominance established by a few players concentrated in sectors such as food tech, B2C marketplace, and more. 

Besides Shiprocket, it has partnered with other well-known players in the market including Paytm, Spice Money, Snapdeal, Magicpin, Meesho, and Craftsville, among others.

On IPO plans 

The last few months have seen start-ups hit the refresh button. From being laser-focused on growth, start-up founders have realised the importance of building a sustainable business. A similar picture seems to be playing out for the logistics company as well. 

Sharing his thoughts on its initial public offering (IPO) plans, Ghulati states that an IPO is not on the cards. This is because they are focused on building a business that is profitable and delivers value to its shareholders. "IPO is not a part of our roadmap for the next few years. We are building a business that could go for an IPO."

He added that the company is aiming to hit the profitability benchmark in the next 12 months. In FY22, while its operating revenue crossed Rs 600 crore, its losses ballooned to Rs 93 crore. 

Profitability aside, Shiprocket is also aiming to become the “operating system for e-commerce.” The company wants to become a one-stop solution for all companies who want to venture online. To make this happen, it is adding the garnishing of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Generative AI, specifically, to its already-robust tech stack.

“We want to be able to say that if a user wants to go online, use Shiprocket!” Ghulati concluded. 

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