ONDC: Opportunities and Challenges for Cloud Kitchen Owners

Abstract

The current digital commerce landscape is dominated by closed platforms, where buyers, sellers, and network participants interact freely but in a limited ecosystem. In contrast to an open network, a closed network restricts access. It creates a contained communication and data exchange environment and remains costly for small business owners. Open Networks Digital Commerce (ONDC) intends to eliminate this limitation. For instance, ONDC charges a commission of only 2-4%, less than half the substantial 18-25% commissions charged by food aggregators present on closed networks. The research primarily explores the opportunities for cloud kitchen owners over an open network. The findings reveal cost opportunities for cloud kitchen owners and their marketing, technology integration, and payment processing dilemmas. The findings are novel and provide insights to the policymakers as ONDC is still in its nascent stage, a perspective from stakeholders would be of immense importance.