NRAI, ONDC In Talks To End Zomato-Swiggy Duopoly On Food Deliveries
According to sources close to the developments, an apex Indian restaurant body held preliminary talks with officials of the Online Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) on June 21. In the next few months, some restaurants large and small may join the network for a pilot on an interoperable e-commerce network after a required technology standardization.
Meanwhile, a note prepared by ONDC on possible collaboration with food outlets accessed by Moneycontrol said: “Many NPs (network partners) provide their services on open networks without any pre-filters, this is a difference of opinion from the existing monopolies.” Will help overcome / Cartelization of the online food delivery ecosystem.”
“Today was an introductory meeting in which ONDC explained to us their vision of how restaurants can integrate and benefit from connecting to the network,” said a member of the National Restaurant Association India (NRAI).
Last year, the NRAI filed information against foodtech majors Zomato and Swiggy with the Competition Committee of India (CCI), claiming that their practices “have a significant adverse impact on competition”. The submission highlighted issues such as bundling of services, data masking, deep discounting, lack of transparency and excessive commissions.
“The current ecosystem of food delivery is broken and yet no one is able to disrupt it as it would require an infinite amount of money. At present, FoodTech’s business model cannot let a third party handle hyperlocal logistics, even though the restaurant and the end customer can benefit in this way,” said a restaurant owner, who did not wish to be named.
“That is why the ONDC effort is worth giving a try where an integrated network can allow more localized food aggregators and intra-city logistics providers to come. Ultimately this has the potential to reduce commissions paid to restaurants and better prices for customers,” he said.
