Flipkart inks pact with Adani Group, partnership to create 2,500 direct jobs

BENGALURU: Walmart-backed Flipkart has entered into a strategic partnership with the Adani Group to set up a new logistics hub and data centre in Mumbai and Chennai respectively in order to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure.

Under the partnership, Flipkart said that it aims to create 2,500 direct and indirect jobs across both the facilities. The e-commerce major will set up its third data centre facility in India at Adaniconnex Private Limited, a Chennai-based facility, by leveraging the latter’s data centre technology solutions.

The partnership comes at a time when the e-commerce industry in India is at an inflection point with the pandemic accelerating the sector’s growth as the lockdown has hit physical retail businesses throughout the country.

As per a report by unicommerce, the e-tailing industry in India saw a 36% Y-O-Y growth in Q4,2020. Besides Amazon and Flipkart, Reliance and Tata Group have also forayed into the e-tailing industry to tap the growing market and scale their omnichannel capabilities.
 
“As part of this partnership, Adani Logistics Limited will construct a massive 534,000 sq. ft. fulfilment centre in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai that will be leased to Flipkart to address the growing demand for e-commerce in Western India and support market access of several thousands of sellers and MSMEs in the region,” Flipkart said in a statement.
 
The e-tailer added that it is also developing its third data centre at the AdaniConnecX facility as part of one of the largest private cloud deployments in the country, thereby further strengthening its growing marketplace e-commerce business in India.

“The data centre has been designed to meet the highest standards in reliability, security, and sustainability,” it added.

Flipkart’s CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said the partnership has brought a unique combination of logistics, real estate, green energy, and data centre infrastructure capabilities to the company.

“Our logistics network and technology stack are instrumental in making this a reality. These investments will help us strengthen our presence and capabilities in India to support MSMEs and sellers while also accelerating job creation and growth,” he added.