Amazon ramps up India network ahead of festive season

E-commerce giant Amazon announced a significant expansion of its operations across India on Monday, in preparation for the upcoming festive season. The company unveiled plans to launch 20 new fulfilment centres, 6 sort centres, and 150 last-mile delivery stations. This expansion is part of Amazon's over Rs 2,800 crore investment to strengthen its nationwide operations and infrastructure. The move will boost Amazon's total storage capacity in India by 50% to 64 million cubic feet.

All 6 of the new sort centres, located in Chikkaballapur, Hassan, Meerut, Ramanagar, Raipur, and Varanasi, as well as 7 of the 20 new fulfilment centres, will operate in non-metro cities. Amazon had previously announced the creation of over 1.6 lakh seasonal jobs across 400 cities, including both metropolitan areas and Tier II and III locations, to handle the expected surge in consumer demand during the festive period.

In total, 150 new last-mile delivery stations will be established across 118 cities. Among these, 12 locations, such as Bhojpur, Bokajan, Jalaun, Jehanabad, Namsai, Puruliya, Ribhoi, Senapati, Sivasagar, Udalguri, Ukhrul, and Wokha, will see their first-ever Amazon last-mile delivery station. Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations for India, APAC, Middle East, Turkey, and Africa at Amazon, expressed excitement about the new facilities being operational and ready to serve customers across India.

Amazon's expansion aims to adapt to the evolving needs of customers and sellers while supporting economic growth in communities across the country. The festive season is expected to be distinct from previous years, as the Indian e-commerce industry is increasingly influenced by the quick commerce segment. Leading e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart have entered this segment, intensifying competition.