SignCatch, the retail tech startup, debuted its decentralized seller-side platform Bech.app on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in August.
SignCatch is known for launching some of the industry’s most game-changing FinTech and RetailTech products and Bech.app (Bech means “to sell” in Hindi) is no exception.
SignCatch’s Decentralized Seller Platform for MSMEs Bech.app launched on ONDC
It is noteworthy that SignCatch has built Bech.app as an open platform where other MSME focussed digital service providers such as insurers, lenders and banks have been invited to integrate with Bech and offer their services to the millions of untapped sellers across India. They have already partnered with major logistics aggregators like Shiprocket, global payment aggregators Worldline, Razorpay, supply chain credit providers ePayLater and SAP to provide end-to-end digital commerce solutions to all the sellers listed on their Bech platform.
“The onboarding of SignCatch’s Bech as an ONDC Seller Application and also as a Technology Service Provider is in sync with our efforts to bring the undigitized small and micro retailers and wholesalers across India, directly onto the ONDC network. We look forward to working closely with the SignCatch team to digitally empower small sellers in Tier 1 and Tier 2 towns and cities of India,” said the ONDC MD & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) T Koshy.
ONDC, a Section 8 company, is an initiative of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, aims to democratize and decentralize the eCommerce ecosystem in India. It is designed to foster open, unbundled, and interoperable open networks thereby eliminating the dependency on a single platform.
Spearheading the revolution that will shape the Indian and global SMB retail in the near future, SignCatch is amongst one of the early companies to have commenced the integration of their multi-utility seller side platform Bech.app on ONDC.
With multiple buyers facing platforms like Paytm, Dunzo, PhonePe, major Telcos and Banks, integrating with ONDC, this opens up a huge opportunity for seller-side platforms like SignCatch to facilitate more customer orders for merchants using their flagship SuperApp Bech.
SignCatch finalized the onboarding formalities to join the network earlier last month and teams on both sides are in process of completing the required seller-side technical integration for their pan-India launch.
Bech being a decentralized platform, merchants can pick and choose different service providers of their choice on Bech to enable end-to-end omnichannel commerce on their smartphones – both for B2B and B2C transactions. This is quite different from the centralized e-commerce marketplace models that don’t offer merchants the freedom to choose 3rd party service providers like payment gateways, supply chain finance and delivery partners of their choice.
The Bech platform currently caters to more than 50k MSMEs and it will enable Sellers in 100 plus towns and cities across India onto the ONDC network with this launch.
Unlike established SMBs that already have a digital footprint and have been transacting on major eCommerce marketplaces, SignCatch’s objective is to onboard 20 thousand small and micro sellers across India, most of whom would be first-time adopters of digital technology, onto the ONDC platform by the end of this year.
With Bech.app, SignCatch is proactively creating a democratic landscape in India’s USD 900 Billion retail market that consists of around 75 million MSMEs of which approximately 30 million are small and micro retailers and wholesalers.
Sumit Duggal, Founder and CEO SignCatch said, “Our endeavour is to create a level playing field for small and micro sellers in India. The Bech App is compatible across all MSME retail verticals and as an ONDC compliant platform, it caters to various categories of sellers including – Hardware, Grocery, Mobile, Electronics, Garments, Agricultural Goods & Tools and many more.”
He said that the small brands, wholesalers and retailers on Bech.app will be able to receive orders from buyers across the ONDC partner network while accessing 3rd party services, such as – instant loans, supply chain credit, digital payments, integrated delivery solutions and much more on this Super App.
