Enables penetration of digital commerce by scaling from 30 transactions per month to 14 million+ with Google Kubernetes Engine
Supports growth of India's agricultural sector by seamlessly onboarding 7,500 farmer-based organizations
Developed innovative chatbot with Vertex AI and Natural Language AI expected to serve India's 26 official languages
In its mission of wider penetration of digital commerce across India and eventually the globe, ONDC succeeded in scaling from 30 transactions per month to 14 million with Google Kubernetes Engine. It also developed an innovative chatbot with Vertex AI.
In its mission of wider penetration of digital commerce across India and eventually the globe, ONDC succeeded in scaling from 30 transactions per month to 14 million with Google Kubernetes Engine. It also developed an innovative chatbot with Vertex AI.
With the world's largest population, wide availability of internet access, and broader use of smartphones, India has unlimited potential for ecommerce growth. Yet surprisingly, e-retail penetration is low at only 4.3 percent, compared to 25 percent in China and 23 percent in the United Kingdom.
While India has the third-largest online shopping base globally, millions of vendors, such as mom-and-pop stores, farmers, and craftspeople, are not digitally equipped to sell their products online. The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) launched in 2021 as a non-profit organization to create an inclusive ecommerce ecosystem that nurtures open interchange and connections between shoppers, technology platforms, and retailers.
ONDC has developed a registry infrastructure that hosts information pertaining to network participants that enables seamless and unbiased discovery of such participants on the network. The infrastructure has enabled a secure authentication mechanism to protect against any unscrupulous attempts on the registry, and a gateway infrastructure that ensures discoverability of all sellers in the network. As it launched its mission, ONDC felt it needed the most powerful cloud infrastructure available to scale to the level required to connect buyers and sellers across the vast Indian subcontinent.
After an initial positive experience with Google Workspace, it decided to build its architecture around Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) thanks to the seamless containerized autoscaling the solution offered. ONDC selected Google Cloud over other providers due to what it saw as superior innovation, reliability, and security, as well as the most intuitive user interface. By deploying an infrastructure built around GKE and Cloud Run, ONDC gained the ability to scale from 30 transactions per month to 14 million per month one year after launching.
"Thanks to Google Cloud solutions such as Google Kubernetes Engine and Cloud Run, we have scaled without facing any issues, which has been indispensable for our ability to boost Indian ecommerce," says Neeraj Jain, Vice President, Network Enablement, ONDC. "We onboarded 5,000 farmer-based organizations without a hitch, enabling significant impact in the agricultural sector."
Thanks to Google Cloud solutions such as Google Kubernetes Engine and Cloud Run, we have scaled without facing any issues, which has been indispensable for our ability to boost Indian ecommerce. We onboarded 5,000 farmer-based organizations without a hitch, enabling significant impact in the agricultural sector.
Neeraj Jain
Vice President, Network Enhancement, ONDC
Enabling seamless ecommerce transactions with a Vertex AI-powered chatbot
Having gained the ability to bring ecommerce to the farthest reaches of India, ONDC decided to develop a chatbot powered by generative AI to provide technical integration and business-specific knowledge to and procure feedback from a variety of entities such as network participants, buyers, sellers, and more. ONDC deployed Vertex AI and Gemini Pro capabilities, as well as Natural Language AI, to create a chatbot that’s eventually expected to service India's 26 official languages.
The solution also deploys Google Cloud Text-to-Speech AI functionalities to assist network participants without the ability to read or write. For all of these features, ONDC received substantial support from the Google Cloud team, as well as partner Protean eGov.
"The proactive support of the Google Cloud team was essential for us to develop a chatbot that can serve the needs of our ecommerce community, leveraging tools such as Gemini and Vertex AI for a seamless natural language experience," says Jain.
In addition, ONDC has benefited from improved data and analytics capabilities through Google Cloud. The network can now access, process, and analyze data in a unified and scalable way using BigQuery, Dataflow, Dataproc, and Vertex AI products. ONDC leverages the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence to generate insights and predictions that enhance business value and customer experience using tools such as AutoML, TensorFlow, and Vision AI.
"We are deploying Google Cloud AI, machine learning, and data analytics capabilities in creative ways to support our mission of connecting even the smallest vendors to buyers across India through our network," says Jain.
The proactive support of the Google Cloud team was essential for us to develop a chatbot that can serve the needs of our ecommerce community, leveraging tools such as Gemini and Vertex AI for a seamless natural language experience.
Neeraj Jain
Vice President, Network Enhancement, ONDC
Facilitating ecommerce matchmaking in India's most remote regions with Google Maps Platform
ONDC is also discovering beneficial uses of rich Google Maps data to enable its network participants. For example, the seller's GPS coordinates can be captured on the ONDC Seller Network Participant side through Google Maps Platform products such as Geocoding API. These can then be relayed to the ONDC gateway to be received by the Buyer Network Participant. This helps facilitate a more accurate identification of seller location, which can be updated if required.
ONDC envisages further benefits of integrating the Google Maps Platform. For example, buyers can discover nearby businesses based on their current location, enabling spontaneous visits to stores they might not have known about otherwise. ONDC foresees a day when buyers can shop from the comfort of their homes with virtual tours of the stores.
For sellers, businesses can use the Google Maps Platform for efficient route planning and delivery management, reducing costs and improving delivery times. They can also deploy targeted location-based advertising, reaching potential customers in the vicinity and driving foot traffic. Businesses, meanwhile, can promote special offers, events, and new product launches directly on their Google Maps listing, attracting more customers and boosting sales.
"Google Maps Platform is an invaluable support in our mission to invigorate ecommerce around India," says Jain. "With solutions such as Geocoding API, we can easily determine and authenticate the coordinates of even the remotest sellers in our vast network, facilitating business, enabling more seamless interactions, and eventually increasing sales."
Google Maps Platform is an invaluable support in our mission to invigorate ecommerce around India. With solutions such as Geocoding API, we can easily determine and authenticate the coordinates of even the remotest sellers in our vast network, facilitating business, enabling more seamless interactions, and eventually increasing sales.
Neeraj Jain
Vice President, Network Enhancement, ONDC
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) backed by the Government of India aimed at democratising the ecommerce ecosystem.
It is designed to foster an open and interoperable mechanism of transactions between shoppers, technology platforms, and sellers. ONDC has been incorporated with the mission and vision of creating an inclusive and empowering ecommerce network across India.
Industry: Public Sector
Location: India
Products: Google Kubernetes Engine, Vertex AI, AutoML, BigQuery, Cloud Run, Dataflow, Dataproc, Gemini Flash, Gemini Pro, Geocoding API, Google Maps Platform, Google Workspace, Natural Language AI, Text-to-Speech AI, TensorFlow
About Google Cloud partner — Protean eGov
Protean eGov Technologies Limited is an Indian technology company headquartered in Mumbai, India. It focuses on developing digital public infrastructure and e-governance initiatives for governmental bodies in India.
Published 2024
Product availability, functionality and terms may differ for customers with billing addresses in the European Economic Area (EEA). Learn more
