On Monday, Flipkart announced a commercial alliance with the Adani Group to improve the Walmart-owned company’s logistics and data centre capabilities, thus, creating approximately 2,500 direct jobs. Flipkart will collaborate with Adani Logistics Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, in this two-pronged alliance, in order to improve its supply chain infrastructure, and further enhance its ability to support its increasing customer base, according to a statement.
Furthermore, Flipkart will establish its third data centre at Adaniconnex’s Chennai facility, leveraging the latter’s expertise and industry-leading data centre technology solutions, the company announced. EdgeConneX and Adani Enterprises Ltd have formed a new joint venture called Adaniconnex. The partnership’s financial details were not disclosed.
As part of this collaboration, Adani Logistics Ltd will construct a 5.34 lakh sq ft fulfilment centre (warehouse) in its upcoming logistics hub in Mumbai, which will be leased to Flipkart, to meet the increasing demand for e-commerce in western India and help the market access of thousands of sellers and MSMEs in the area.
According to the announcement, the centre, which will use cutting-edge technology, is scheduled to be operational in the third quarter of 2022, and will have the capacity to house 10 million units of sellers’ inventory at any given time. The facility would boost local employment and generate approximately 2,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs, in addition to improving Flipkart’s supply chain infrastructure to support MSMEs and sellers.
On the other hand, the data centre has been built to meet the highest standards of efficiency, protection, and sustainability, capitalising on the Adani Group’s ability to generate and source green power as the country’s largest solar player. According to the release, the AdaniConneX data centre is a new facility that allows Flipkart to build the data centre to its increasing infrastructure needs, emphasising security and maintaining data locally within India.
“I am excited to see two of India’s fastest-growing companies collaborating to help develop some of the most important and cutting-edge infrastructures that our country needs. This is what the Atmanirbharata should be about, according to Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ).
“The Adani Group is unparalleled in its approach to infrastructure development across India. What it brought to us was a one-of-a-kind mix of logistics, real estate, renewable energy, and data centre technology capabilities,” said Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy. He went on to say that the Flipkart Group is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to a diverse range of goods made available by sellers across the world, and that it is constantly innovating to drive greater affordability.
“Our logistics network and technology stack have played critical roles in making this a reality. These investments will enable us to strengthen our presence and capabilities in India to better support MSMEs and sellers while also accelerating job creation and growth,” stated Kalyan. He also mentioned that this large collaboration spanning the logistics and data centre sectors is a one-of-a-kind business model,_ and that it is a fantastic opportunity to serve Flipkart’s physical as well as digital infrastructure needs.
