Key Takeaways
- 1What is ONDC and how is it different from a marketplace
- 2What are buyer apps, seller apps and logistics providers on ONDC
- 3How do you register as a seller on ONDC
- 4How does ONDC catalog and inventory sync work
- 5How do you fulfil and settle ONDC orders
Quick Answer
To sell on ONDC in 2026, most retailers and manufacturers join through a seller app, which onboards you with your GSTIN, PAN, bank account and catalog and then publishes your products to every buyer app on the network. Expect one to three weeks for onboarding. If you have your own stock, more than a few hundred SKUs or a billing system already in place, connect that system to the seller app so prices and stock sync automatically. Only large brands should consider becoming their own seller-side network participant.
As of 3 October 2026. ONDC has been reported by the Commerce Minister to have onboarded over seven lakh sellers and service providers, and the festive season is the period when catalog accuracy and stock sync on the network matter most.
This guide is for retailers, wholesalers, D2C brands and manufacturers in India who want to sell through the Open Network for Digital Commerce, and for the people who run their billing and inventory systems. After reading, you will understand the roles on the network, the documents and steps for onboarding, and how to keep your catalog and inventory in sync so orders do not fail.
What is ONDC and how is it different from a marketplace
ONDC is an open network, not a single app: buyers use any buyer app, sellers join through any seller app, and both connect through common protocols, so your products can appear across many apps after one onboarding.
On a single marketplace, the same company runs the buyer app, the seller panel, the catalog rules and often the logistics. ONDC separates these roles. The network sets the protocol and rules; independent apps play each role. Your listing is created once in a seller app and can then be discovered by shoppers on every buyer app that serves your category and location.
For a seller, the practical benefits are reach and choice. A kirana in Rajkot or a kitchenware maker in Jamnagar can be found by shoppers on several apps without managing several seller panels, and can switch seller apps later without rebuilding the entire business around one platform. The trade-off is that discovery still depends on catalog quality, price and delivery speed, exactly as on any other online channel.
The official ONDC website explains the network and lists registered participants.
What are buyer apps, seller apps and logistics providers on ONDC
Buyer apps show products to shoppers and take payment, seller apps onboard sellers and publish their catalogs, and logistics service providers pick up and deliver orders, with each role connected through standard ONDC protocol calls.
| Role | What it does | Who you deal with |
|---|---|---|
| Buyer app (buyer-side participant) | Search, cart, payment and customer support for shoppers | Rarely you directly |
| Seller app (seller-side participant) | Onboards sellers, hosts catalogs, receives orders, settles payments | You, as the seller |
| Logistics service provider | Pickup, delivery, tracking and returns | Chosen through the seller app or by you |
| Gateway | Routes search requests across the network | Not you |
Seller-side participants come in two forms. A marketplace seller node hosts many sellers. An inventory seller node is run by a single business selling only its own stock, which is the route some larger brands take to control their integration fully.
How do you register as a seller on ONDC
You register through a seller app of your choice, submitting business, tax and bank details, then upload your catalog and set delivery and return policies; the seller app handles the technical connection to the network.
- Choose a seller app that supports your category (grocery, fashion, electronics, home and kitchen, food) and your city. Compare commission or subscription, settlement time and catalog tools.
- Submit documents: business name and address, PAN, GSTIN where applicable to your category, bank account, KYC of the owner, store name, logo and contact details.
- Set store details: serviceable area or PIN codes, store timings, packing time and order acceptance rules.
- Upload the catalog: product name, images, MRP, selling price, HSN or category attributes, stock and variants.
- Configure logistics: use the seller app's delivery partners or your own staff for hyperlocal orders.
- Set return and cancellation policy per category.
- Go live and test with a few real orders before promoting the listing.
Onboarding usually takes one to three weeks, mostly spent on catalog quality and document verification rather than on technology.
How does ONDC catalog and inventory sync work
When a buyer app searches the network, the seller app returns your catalog with current price and stock, so whatever the seller app holds must match your billing or inventory system, or buyers will order items you cannot ship.
Technically, ONDC follows the Beckn protocol, where every request has a matching response: search and on_search for discovery, select and on_select for quote, init and on_init for order details, confirm and on_confirm for placing the order, followed by status, track, cancel and update calls. Your seller app handles these calls. Your job is to keep its data correct.
Three ways to keep stock in sync
- Manual updates in the seller app's panel. Workable below about 100 SKUs with slow-moving stock.
- Spreadsheet or file upload on a schedule, for example twice a day. Suits a few hundred SKUs.
- API integration between your billing or inventory software and the seller app, pushing price and stock changes within minutes and pulling orders into your system automatically.
For a store that also sells at the counter, on WhatsApp and on its own website, API integration is the only reliable option, because the same unit can be sold in four places within an hour during the festive rush.
How do you fulfil and settle ONDC orders
You accept each order in the seller app, pack it within the promised time, hand it to the delivery partner, and receive settlement after the return window, minus the seller app's fees.
Two habits protect your rating. Accept or reject orders quickly, because buyer apps expect fast confirmation. Mark items out of stock before they run out, not after a buyer has paid. Cancellations by the seller are the fastest way to lose visibility on any channel.
Ask your seller app for a settlement report with order ID, item value, commission, logistics charge, tax deducted and net payout, so your accountant can reconcile ONDC sales against bank credits every week.
What does an ONDC integration cost
Joining through a seller app costs little upfront beyond its commission or subscription, while connecting your own billing or inventory software to the seller app is a separate development job, typically priced by catalog size and sync depth.
From our projects, a one-way stock and price push from an existing billing system to a seller app's API usually falls in the ₹40,000 to ₹90,000 range. Two-way integration, where orders flow back into your billing software as invoices and stock reservations, typically costs ₹1 lakh to ₹2.5 lakh. Catalog cleaning is often the hidden cost: plan staff time or budget for photos, names and variants before any integration starts.
Catalog quality checklist before you go live
- One consistent naming pattern: brand, product, size, colour.
- At least two clear images per product on a plain background.
- Variants grouped under one parent product, not listed as separate items.
- MRP and selling price both filled, with GST rate correct for the HSN.
- Net weight or quantity in the title for grocery and FMCG items.
- Stock levels set conservatively for fast movers, with a safety buffer.
What JK Tech Hub has seen when connecting stores to ONDC
On integrations we have built for Gujarat retailers and distributors, the work that took longest was cleaning the product master: inconsistent names, missing images and no variant structure, rather than the API connection itself.
A home and kitchen products distributor in Rajkot had around 2,400 SKUs in its billing software, with names typed differently by different staff over the years. Before any listing could go live, we merged duplicates, created size and colour variants and added images. The API sync to the seller app then took about two weeks. A grocery store with two outlets started with manual updates, oversold fast-moving items during a weekend, and moved to a 15-minute stock sync from its POS. See our guide on inventory management for multi-outlet retail in Gujarat for the stock side.
How to decide your ONDC route
Most sellers should join through an existing seller app and integrate their billing system with it; becoming your own seller-side participant makes sense only for brands with large catalogs, in-house technology and the volume to justify certification and support.
| Your situation | Recommended route |
|---|---|
| Single shop, under 100 SKUs | Seller app, manual catalog updates |
| Retailer or wholesaler with billing software | Seller app plus API or scheduled stock sync |
| Multi-outlet chain or D2C brand | Seller app with full order and stock integration |
| Large brand with own tech team | Evaluate running an inventory seller node |
Related reading and next step
The guides and pages below cover stock planning and the software you need behind any online channel, whether you sell on ONDC, your own website or WhatsApp.
Read festive season inventory planning, and see our inventory management software and ecommerce development pages. For a fixed quote on connecting your billing or inventory system to an ONDC seller app, reach us through the contact page or on WhatsApp.
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