The global digital solutions provider, Centific teamed up with nStore and SASTRA University to revolutionise the global supply chain landscape for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) leveraging the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).
According to a university release, with 6.3 crore MSMEs contributing significantly to 33% of the country’s Gross Domestic Production, the need for streamlined and efficient supply chain solutions has never been more critical. Notably, 99% of these MSMEs are micro enterprises, typically employing less than 10 employees.
The MSME Export Supply Chain is fairly complex and intensive solution involving people, processes, regulations, and multiple stakeholders across the borders. Hence, it is a huge challenge to create a global digital marketplace capable of handling end-to-end supply chain operations, from product listing and order placement to fulfilment, cross-border brokerage calculations, logistics, and payment reconciliation, the release added.
In response to this challenge, Centific has forged a strategic partnership with nStore Retech Pvt. Ltd., a leading Technology Service Provider on ONDC, specialising in creating market linkage solutions at scale. The nStore will provide the seller side gateway to the local MSMEs.
A global logistics solution provider will handle the global logistics between the source and destination countries. Centific will leverage its partnership with SASTRA University to train and certify the MSMEs with the knowledge and ability to sell to global customers and participate in the MSME export supply chain. Centific will leverage nStore’s buy side solution and create buy side marketplaces to global buyers.
The ONDC Network enables several thousands of MSMEs to transact in the domestic market and is growing rapidly. It will enable global marketplaces to connect with ONDC and sign up as a Network Participant on ONDC. It plans to enable thousands of MSMEs and brands to participate in cross-border trade seamlessly.
Centific’s role in the partnership will be to orchestrate the various components of the marketplace, digitally automating various processes involved in cross-border supply chains. With the support of SASTRA University’s academic excellence, the partnership will develop artificial intelligence (AI) models for MSME qualification, know your customer procedures, training, and onboarding.
This collaboration marks a significant step forward in empowering MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, and self-help groups with the tools and resources they need to thrive in the global market. By streamlining and digitizing the supply chain, Centific, nStore and SASTRA University are paving the way for unprecedented growth and opportunity for MSMEs worldwide leveraging a digital public infrastructure like ONDC, the release added.
