Flipkart ties up with Adani Group to ramp up supply chain, tech infra

Walmart-led Flipkart that competes with Amazon and Reliance in India is doubling down on the country which it counts as one of its major growth markets.

Flipkart has partnered with the Adani Group to ramp up its supply chain and technology infrastructure in India where the pandemic has pushed more people to shop online, fuelling demand for the e-commerce services. As part of the agreement, Adani Logistics will construct a 534,000 sq ft fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai that will be leased to Flipkart.

The centre, expected to be operational in the July-September quarter, will have the capacity to house 10 million units of sellers’ inventory at any point, the two companies said in a joint statement on Monday. Local employment is likely to get a boost as the facility is estimated to create nearly 2,500 direct jobs, besides generating thousands of indirect jobs, the firms claimed.

Flipkart will also set up its third data centre at Adaniconnex’s Chennai-based facility. Adaniconnex is a new joint venture formed between EdgeConneX and Adani Enterprises. “The AdaniConneX data centre is a brand-new facility enabling Flipkart to design the data centre to its growing infrastructure needs with a significant focus on security and keeping data locally within India,” the e-commerce firm said.

Walmart-led Flipkart that competes with Amazon and Reliance in India is doubling down on the country which it counts as one of its major growth markets. “This (India) is a market where we will step on the gas to ensure we have the appropriate level of investments in areas like the supply chain, Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon had said at a company event earlier this year. Although the penetration of e-commerce in the country is low, it is growing rapidly.

“We are well-positioned to grow as an emerging middle class spends more money through mobile phones,” the CEO had said.