Amazon.in launches seventh fulfilment centre in Delhi-NCR

Amazon.in has launched a new warehouse in Delhi-NCR, its seventh such facility in the region, a move that will help the US-based e-commerce giant deliver products faster during the festive season.

The e-tailer, which competes with local rivals like Flipkart and Snapdeal in the booming the Indian e-commerce market, aims to have 27 such fulfilment centres (FCs) across the country by the end of the year.

The company has also announced festive sale on October 1-5, 2016.

Spread over close to 70,000 square feet with over 100,000 cubic feet of storage space, the new FC will empower thousands of small and medium businesses to leverage the growth of digital economy and reach a wide customer base, Amazon.in said in a statement.

Unlike traditional warehouses, fulfilment centres are equipped with highly automated pick, pack and shipping processes to facilitate safe and timely processing of orders.

"This FC will further enable Amazon.in to support deliveries under its recently launched Prime program and offer faster delivery to a wider set of customers during the upcoming festive season in the Delhi-NCR region," it said.

Amazon.in now has seven FCs spread over close to 700,000 square feet and a combined storage space close to 2 million cubic feet in the Delhi NCR region, it added.

"We have been relentlessly focusing on improving the experience for our customers and sellers. As we gear up for the festive season, fulfilment capacity will play a defining role in shaping this experience," Amazon India Vice President Customer Fulfilment Akhil Saxena said.

This FC will enable thousands of small and medium businesses to save money by replacing their upfront capital expense with low variable cost and pay only for the storage space they use and the orders that Amazon.in fulfils, he added.

Previously, Amazon Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest USD 3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giant's USD 2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments in the country to over USD 5 billion.

Amazon now has 25 such warehouses spread across 10 states including Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and West Bengal.

The company has about one lakh sellers on board in India.

It has witnessed a 250percent y-o-y growth in number of merchants, growing from about 100 sellers in June 2013, when it had commenced operations in India.