ONDC: Retail tech firm SignCatch executes first B2B transaction

“This transaction marks the beginning of B2B trade on ONDC. By leveraging the ONDC, businesses from MSMEs to large enterprises will be able to conduct B2B trade and have many more opportunities to do business,” said Sumit Duggal, founder and CEO, SignCatch.

The firm licences its Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solutions to brands, distributors, retailers and Rapidor, a platform enabling B2B trade and transactions in closed loop networks.

This handshake on the B2B ONDC network protocol is a game-changer for MSMEs and SMEs, said a statement from the company. The ONDC will now facilitate secure and transparent trade between businesses.

“We initiated the development of the ONDC’s B2B domain last year by inviting SignCatch and Rapidor to spearhead the B2B enablement. It’s exciting to see things finally come to fruition,” said T Koshy, CEO, ONDC.

While the B2C part of the network has already gained momentum, B2B is a more nuanced market that is yet untapped and requires a much deeper understanding of how the general trade ecosystem in India operates.

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Dynamic pricing, bulk order purchasing, delivery scheduling to embedded finance in the form of B2B credit has been a totally different ball game, added Koshy.Other companies are also coming on board to offer supply chain credit, logistics and other allied services.

SignCatch and Rapidor have enabled both the B2B buyer side as well as the B2B seller side platforms on ONDC, facilitating interoperability between sellers and buyers.

This means a seller enabled by SignCatch can receive orders from Rapidor’s B2B buyer platform and vice versa.

Thomson Skariah, Founder and CEO, Rapidor, said, “It signifies a new phase of B2B trade and we believe the evolving ONDC protocols will bring benefits and advantages to SMEs across the spectrum.”

Organic diet and herbal products, a Delhi-based company dealing in herb-based organic products, was onboarded to ONDC via SignCatch’s Bech.app.

The company then received an order from Swabharat Stores LLP, a Thane-based entity, through Rapidor’s B2B buyer platform, Placeorder.com.

In another transaction, ABAD Foods, a Kochi-based manufacturer and supplier of frozen food products, was onboarded to ONDC through Placeorder.com.

They received an order from Lulu International Shopping Malls in Bengaluru, using SignCatch’s B2B buyer platform, OrderDe.com.

Several other MSMEs, such as Laxmi Bhog from Jaipur and Red Zone from Tirupur, have also received and executed B2B orders on ONDC.