Flipkart expands supply chain in India to meet festive demands

Bengaluru: E-commerce platform Flipkart said on Wednesday that it has added over 3.4 million square feet space across its supply chain assets including fulfilment centres, mother hubs and delivery centres throughout the country in preparation of the upcoming festive season and the Big Billion Days sale event.

With this addition, the total warehousing space for Flipkart now totals to over 18 million square feet in addition to lakhs of square feet of assets from partner brands.

Flipkart said that it has increased its last-mile reach with more than 3,000 facilities across the country to provide a fast and efficient e-commerce experience to consumers this festive period.

This expansion will also help lakhs of sellers, MSMEs and artisans from smaller towns to connect with a pan-India consumer base through Flipkart's supply chain.

"The pandemic has accelerated the expansion of our supply chain across the country, particularly smaller cities, to meet growing demands for e-commerce services," Amitesh Jha, Senior Vice-President, Ekart and Marketplace, Flipkart, said in a statement.

"Also, keeping in mind the growth of e-commerce over the next few years, this expansion will enable us to connect millions of consumers across the country with lakhs of sellers and artisans in a fast and efficient manner."

Flipkart said that it is creating nearly 70,000 direct jobs and lakhs of indirect seasonal jobs through its pan-India supply chain as it gears up for the festive season and the Big Billion Days sale from October 16-21.

"During the festive season, this additional space and infrastructure investment will also boost local employment, particularly for people who went back to their hometowns due to the lockdown, and create opportunities for local businesses to scale up their operations significantly with Flipkart," Jha said.