Amazon Inc. continues to grow in India with a new fulfillment center.
Amazon opened its first fulfillment center in India 2 years ago, a 150,000 square-foot warehouse located in Mumbai, and is now opening a second warehouse in Bangalore. The second fulfillment center, also 150,000 square-feet in size, will serve as a warehouse for Amazon.in merchants who choose Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service. The fulfilment center is planned to open next month
Due to strict Ecommerce restrictions and FDI regulations, Amazon cannot port its familiar retailer model to India. Because of this Amazon has chosen the “Marketplace Model” by serving solely as an Ecommerce platform for local merchants. The Indian fulfillment centers, unlike the ones Amazon has in other countries, serves as warehouses for merchants who opted for the FBA service. The FBA service leaves the responsibility of package shipping and order fulfilment to Amazon instead of to the merchant. Orders placed through the FBA service offer cash-on-delivery, guaranteed next-day delivery, and Amazon’s customer support.
“The launch of the new fulfillment center in Bangalore is part of our continued investment in providing fast and reliable delivery across vast selection of products, and enabling sellers of all sizes to achieve nationwide scale,” said Amit Agarwal, vice president and country manager, Amazon India.
Although restricted by local laws, through the FBA service, Amazon is able to offer similar services as it does in other countries. These laws are rumored to be eased in the near future and should allow Ecommerce companies like Amazon to offer its full set of services and sell directly to local consumers.
Amazon has 55 fulfillment centers spread all over the globe and takes the matter of fast and reliable shipping very seriously. Amazon just recently filed a patent on a new system that will ship a customer’s packages in advance prior to the item being ordered.
