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

Flipkart on Monday said it has entered into a commercial partnership with the Adani Group to strengthen logistics and data centre capabilities of the Walmart-owned company and create about 2,500 direct jobs.

In this two-pronged partnership, Flipkart will work with Adani Logistics Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, to strengthen its supply chain infrastructure and further enhance its ability to serve its rapidly growing base of customers, a statement said. In addition, Flipkart will set up its third data centre at Adaniconnex's Chennai-based facility, leveraging the latter's expertise and industry-leading data centre technology solutions, it added.

Adaniconnex is a new joint venture formed between EdgeConneX and Adani Enterprises Ltd.

Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.

As part of this partnership, Adani Logistics Ltd will construct a 5.34 lakh sq ft fulfilment centre (warehouse) 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. The centre, which will leverage state-of-the-art technologies, is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2022 and will have the capacity to house 10 million units of sellers' inventory at any point, the statement said. In addition to strengthening Flipkart's supply chain infrastructure to support MSMEs and sellers, the facility will enhance local employment and create about 2,500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs, it added.

The data centre, on the other hand, has been designed to meet the highest standards in reliability, security, and sustainability that will capitalise on the Adani Group's capability as the largest solar player in the country to generate and source green power. The AdaniConneX data centre is a 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 statement said.

''I am delighted to see two of India's fastest-growing businesses come together to help build some of the most critical as well as state-of-the-art infrastructure that our nation needs. This is what Atmanirbharata should be all about,'' Karan Adani, Chief Executive Officer of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), said.

He added that this broad-ranging partnership across the logistics and data centre businesses is a unique business model, and this is a great opportunity to serve Flipkart's physical as well as digital infrastructure needs. ''The Adani Group is unmatched in the way it has gone about building infrastructure across India. What it brought to us was a unique combination of logistics, real estate, green energy, and data centre infrastructure capabilities,'' Flipkart Group Chief Executive Officer Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.

He added that the Flipkart Group is focused on ensuring that customers get access to a wide range of products made available by sellers across the country as it continuously innovates to drive greater affordability. ''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 said.