Amazon to set up 5 new fulfilment centres in India by year-end

Amazon is on track to set up five new warehouses in the country by the year-end — taking total number to 27 — a move that will help the US-based giant deliver products faster as it battles local rivals like Flipkart and Snapdeal in the booming Indian ecommerce market.

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

"We will have a total of 25 lakh sq ft of space and 75 lakh cubic ft of storage available," Amazon India Vice President India Customer Fulfilment Akhil Saxena told reporters at Sonepat, Haryana, where Amazon has largest warehouse with space of 2 lakh sq ft .

He added that the Sonepat centre will help cater to orders from Delhi and surrounding areas of Haryana.

"It will enable many more customers in the region to shop on Amazon.In and opt for cash on delivery, guaranteed next-day, same day, release day, morning delivery and sunday delivery," he said.

Saxena, however, declined to comment on the investment details or the number of people employed at the facility.

Recently, Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos had said the company will invest $3 billion in India. This is in addition to the American e-commerce giants $2 billion infusion in 2014, taking its total investments here to over $5 billion.

Amazon has 21 such warehouses spread across 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 250% y-o-y growth in number of merchants, growing from about 100 sellers in June 2013, when it had commenced operations in India.