Flipkart, a major Indian e-commerce firm has launched its first grocery fulfilment centre in the northeast. This is part of the continued business efforts to make online shopping and grocery delivery more accessible to a growing number of people across the country.
The fulfilment centre located in Palasbari on the outskirts of Guwahati in Assam which will generate over 300 direct and indirect jobs as well as provide market access to thousands of local sellers, MSMEs, and farmers from Assam and the Northeast.
Moreover, Customers will be able to choose from over 7,000 regional grocery products in more than 200 categories, including everyday household necessities, essentials, tea, snacks and beverages, confectionery, personal care, and more.
“The northeast has emerged as one of Flipkart’s most important regions, with lakhs of sellers, customers, and kirana partners embracing the online service to meet their daily essentials,” said Smrithi Ravichandran, vice president of Flipkart’s Grocery division.
“We are delighted to launch our first-ever grocery facility in the northeast, which will not only enable us to bring the convenience of online commerce to customers’ doorsteps, but will also benefit the local economy by expanding opportunities for farmers and merchants.” As an all-women-run fulfilment centre, this will provide a major boost to our female employees’ in their career progression.”
After Coimbatore, which is almost entirely run by women, this is Flipkart’s second facility in India. Customers from over 800 PIN codes will be able to shop at the centre, which spans 123,000 square feet. Agartala, Aizawl, Darjeeling, Dibrugarh, Imphal, Kohima, and Shillong are among the cities and towns in the vicinity to Guwahati.
Flipkart’s grocery service offers a better user experience, voice-activated buying, financing options, and open box deliveries.
“We are elated to introduce our latest facility in Assam as this will help bring several customers, sellers, MSMEs, and farmers into the digital fold, resulting in local prosperity and new livelihood opportunities,” said Rajneesh Kumar, Flipkart’s senior vice-president and chief corporate affairs officer.
Further, Ravichandran mentioned that this latest facility adds to the company’s efforts to promote the Northeast’s socio-economic development.
Flipkart Grocery presently serves over 1,800 cities and over 10,000 PIN code areas across all 28 Indian states.
Flipkart has made its app available in 11 Indian languages so far, including Odia, Bengali, and Assamese, in an effort to make e-commerce more inclusive for users.