Following the launch and success of the India Fulfillment Network in Bengaluru, DHL Supply Chain, the global market leader in contract logistics, has expanded its India Fulfilment Network (IFN) to Ahmedabad, Mumbai, and Delhi, in line with the company’s focus to support growth of the Indian eCommerce ecosystem by expanding its infrastructure and services for the sector. Till date, DHL Supply Chain has invested over INR 25 crores in capacity building through the India Fulfillment Network.
The eCommerce market in India is expected to be USD 74.8 billion by the end of 2022 and projected to grow at ~35% to USD 188 billion by 2025.This shift has been facilitated by the movement of both buyers and sellers on to online channels. Relatedly, the expansion of eCommerce and 3PL sectors is also fueling demand for new warehousing space, which is expected to increase by 160% over last year.
In line with the above, IFN is designed to be a launch pad curated for easing the B2C fulfillment process. It is a 360-degree supply chain solution for enterprises across sectors, allowing them to manage their fulfillment operations seamlessly in a fully online marketplace scenario. In addition to this, IFN also offers carrier agnostic transportation network linkages to brands and companies desiring to sell online, providing them with last mile delivery services to further bolster their independent dot.com models.
DHL Supply Chain’s strategically located sites, in proximity to major urban centers, will cater to sectors like fashion, apparel, accessories, cosmetics, consumer electronics etc. IFN is an omni-channel offering which will enable pan-India eCommerce order fulfillment with use-cases ranging from a single warehouse setup to dynamically linked multiple micro-fulfillment centers allowing brands to choose a suitable strategy for fulfilling orders from their online shoppers. Companies have experienced 20% increase in business gained online, due to quicker fulfillment and deliveries. IFN’s model enables merchants to directly sell their products across the whole country and be closer to online buyers, leveraging DHL Supply Chain’s network without having to make large investments in infrastructure and IT while providing end-to-end visibility of the operations.
Commenting on this expansion, Vikas Anand, Managing Director, DHL Supply Chain, India said, “Building on the success of the India Fulfillment Network in Bangalore, brands and organizations can utilize our footprint across India to empower their omni-channel sales via a state-of-the-art plug and play model that will perform a vital role in boosting their overall business”. He further added, “Using IFN not only reduces delivery times, but also helps avoid long distance shipments across the country, thus reducing CO2 emissions occurring from transport.”
Presently, DHL Supply Chain fulfills over 100,000 orders every day from its eCommerce operations in India. DHL’s innovative approach will level the playing field between SMEs and multinational eCommerce conglomerates who can afford to operate in multiple markets and commit to next-day deliveries. With DHL’s radio frequency enabled infrastructure along with a robust IT platform linked to the eCommerce marketplaces and delivery partners, organizations can also tailor the service to specific regions within the country, as well as scale up to match order volumes.
