Walmart-owned Flipkart on Thursday said it has expanded its network in Gujarat with the addition of four new supply chain facilities that will support local sellers from the state and cater to the growing demand for e-commerce. The new facilities are located in Ahmedabad and Surat, and are collectively spread across an area of nearly 5 lakh square feet, helping create more than 5,000 direct and indirect local jobs in the state, a statement said.

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This will further help strengthen the support for close to 35,000 local sellers from Gujarat to get national market access while ensuring wider selection and faster deliveries for the customers, it added. "The expansion of the supply chain in Gujarat is a testament to Flipkart's commitment to serving customers from the state and nearby region in a fast and seamless manner and contributing to its economic growth by enabling market access to MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and other local sellers," it said.

The addition of new facilities will also augment Flipkart's capabilities to cater to more consumers, including lakhs of first-time e-commerce customers as the region witnesses robust demand for e-commerce services, Flipkart added. Over 52 percent of new Flipkart consumers come from tier-II cities and beyond, indicating the increasing adoption of e-commerce services and growing opportunities for sellers from these regions.

Flipkart said these fresh investments in the state will support thousands of small businesses. Over time, the Flipkart group has created over 1.3 lakh direct and indirect local jobs in the state, while bringing market access to under-served communities in Gujarat, it added.

"Gujarat understands the importance of trade in bringing prosperity in the lives of sellers and fulfilling customers' varied requirements. E-commerce has played a pivotal role in taking the local seller ecosystem to a pan-India customer base," Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said. Rupani added that the government is committed to the overall development of the state, including the building of an enabling ecosystem for e-commerce by working closely with industry leaders like Flipkart to spur growth in the region.

"A robust supply chain has a cascading impact on almost all aspects of trade and business. Over the past many years, Flipkart has made heavy investments in a world-class, tech-enabled supply chain and last-mile infrastructure that has created lakhs of local jobs and has been pivotal to path-breaking customer experiences," Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said.