Uber rolls out ONDC-led B2B logistics play, targets India’s last-mile market

Bengaluru: Ride-hailing company Uber has entered the business-to-business (B2B) last-mile logistics market in India with Uber Direct, a white-label delivery service built on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

The launch puts Uber in direct competition with enterprise logistics providers such as Shadowfax, Delhivery, Ecom Express, Xpressbees and Shiprocket, which handle deliveries for e-commerce companies and brands.

But unlike these players who work directly with online and offline sellers (both online and offline sellers depend on last-mile logistics), Uber Direct will only fulfill orders from registered sellers and brands. It is accessed through ONDC and receiver applications integrated with ONDC.

The service, which offers grocery delivery for Zepto and KPN Farm Fresh, has launched in Bengaluru and will soon cater to food orders as well. Quick service restaurant (QSR) brands including KFC, Burger King, Taco Bell and Rebel Foods.

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Uber India president Prabhjeet Singh said: Mint Uber Direct will initially rely on the company’s two-wheeler fleet, providing bike taxi drivers with an additional revenue stream alongside business-to-business (B2B) parcel service, Uber Courier and the consumer-facing Uber Bike Taxi category.

From a driver perspective, Singh said ONDC connectivity effectively turns each Uber bike into a multi-use asset, allowing the same driver to switch between transporting passengers, running consumer courier business through Uber Courier, and processing B2B ONDC orders via Uber Direct throughout the day.

“We’re starting with two-wheelers because they’re the most efficient and affordable for businesses. Over time, we can add a multitude of other form factors based on the different types of packages businesses need to sell,” he added.

The launch also comes amid a regulatory crackdown on bike taxi services in Karnataka, where the state government halted operations in June after questioning its legality under the Motor Vehicles Act. Bike taxi options later resurfaced in Uber-run apps. In subsequent hearings, Rapido and Ola.

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Regulatory tides

Uber currently has over 1.5 million drivers in India across cars, three-wheelers and two-wheelers, but Singh does not share a category-wise division. He also said Uber Bike is “one of the fastest-growing parts” of the portfolio and that the firm is adding “tens of thousands” of two-wheeler drivers every month.

Uber Direct is not the first startup to use the Open Network for Digital Commerce for logistics; According to recent media reports, rival Ola had recently offered food delivery via ONDC using its fleet of drivers and had recently withdrawn this option from its app.

Singh said ONDC has onboarded a wide range of sellers, from big brands to mid-sized sellers, at a time when consumers expect faster delivery than ever in categories beyond grocery stores, thanks to the rise of instant commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket Now and Flipkart Minutes.

Flipkart and Bain and Co. According to a report by March 2025, India’s express trade market generated an estimated gross merchandise value (GMV) of around $6-7 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow at around 40% annually. This GMV is mainly dominated by three players: Swiggy’s Instamart, Zepto and Zomato-owned Blinkit.

“Many players will still need increased capacity during peak hours, and a wide range of vendors do not want to build limited delivery fleets, and this is where we believe Uber can play a role,” Singh said.

Uber started working closely with ONDC only last year, initially through metro ticketing, which is currently available in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, and was later expanded to Bengaluru. Singh said Uber has been “very thoughtful” about getting into new lines and “doesn’t want to just announce something new and walk away from there,” instead waiting until there are clear synergies between ONDC’s open rails and Uber’s logistics and transit stack.

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Rapid trade growth

He added that the timing also coincides with rapid growth in the two-wheeler network, allowing the company to offer multiple job options to riders, including passenger rides, consumer couriers, B2B logistics and, in some pilots, data tagging work during off-peak hours for Uber’s AI vehicles.

Uber Direct is a B2B delivery product already available globally and operates in many other markets, supporting same-day and on-demand deliveries through direct merchant channels such as websites, apps, and call centers.

For example, in North America and Europe, the service is used by supermarkets, pharmacies, large retailers and restaurant chains to offer fast delivery from their storefronts. However, in India, B2B offering is driven solely through ONDC rather than direct vendor integrations.