Tag: Amazon

Amazon launches largest Fulfillment Center in India

Staff ReporterBusiness, India 0

Amazon has announced the expansion of its infrastructure footprint opening its largest fulfillment center in India. The 400,000 square feett center, located in Shamshabad, has roughly 2.1 million cubic feet of storage space. It is the fifth fulfillment center in Telangana and the largest in the country, Amazon said in a news release. In total, Amazon has upped its storage capacity to 3.2 million cubic feet in Telangana to enable faster deliveries to customers in the region, the company said.

“Amazon India’s latest investment … evidently signifies the growing interest of large global enterprises in the state,” K.T. Rama Rao of the government of Telangana said in a statement. “The (center) will enable thousands of small and medium businesses selling locally created products such as apparels, handlooms and handicraft to service customers seamlessly across the country and the globe,” he said.

“It will also fuel the growth of ancillary businesses such as packaging, transportation, logistics and hospitality across the state,” Rao added. “We are committed to enabling the ease of doing business and enabling companies like Amazon.in to expand their presence in Telangana.”

Added Amazon India vice president of India customer fulfillment Akhil Saxena, “Our vision is to transform the way India buys and sells. At Amazon, we have been consistently investing in our infrastructure and delivery network, so we can increase our speed of delivery and provide a superior experience to both – customers and sellers.

“With the launch of our largest fulfillment center here in Telangana, we strongly believe that we will be able to better serve our customers with one-day and two-day delivery,” Saxena added. “The (fulfillment center) will enable sellers to use local infrastructure, save capital and help them grow their businesses.”

Saxena noted that the center will work with the local communities to create many employment opportunities for the youth. Amazon continues to work with sellers in Telangana providing them with a marketplace to sell their products to millions of customers and scale their business to greater heights, he said. There are more than 10,000 sellers in Telangana, according to Saxena.

Leveraging its fulfillment centers with state-of-the-art infrastructure, Amazon provides a positive customer experience through its Fulfilment By Amazon program, the company said.

When using FBA, sellers across India send their products to Amazon’s fulfillment centers and once an order is placed, Amazon picks, packs and ships the order to the customer, provides customer service and manages returns on behalf of the sellers, it said. Orders fulfilled by Amazon are eligible for cash on delivery, guaranteed next-day, same day, release day, morning delivery and Sunday delivery, the company noted.

Sellers always have the flexibility to choose the number of products they want to have fulfilled by Amazon and scale according to their business requirements, it added.

Hindus seek apology as Amazon sells Lord Hanuman underwear

Staff ReporterCulture/Religion 0

Upset Hindus are urging online retailer Amazon.com for the immediate withdrawal of men’s underwear, doormat and sweatpants carrying images of Hindu deity Lord Hanuman, besides a Hanuman cloth doll; calling these highly inappropriate. Hanuman men’s underwear, made from satin cloth, sells for $49.62 at Amazon.com.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that Lord Hanuman was greatly revered in Hinduism and was meant to be worshipped in temples or home shrines and not to wear on your hip/crotch or legs or put your feet on or touch with your feet or to be randomly thrown around (in case of a cloth doll). Inappropriate usage of Hindu deities or concepts for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the faithful.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, also urged Amazon.com President Jeffrey P. Bezos to offer a formal apology, besides withdrawing these products, as this was not the first time for the company to offer such products which were deemed offensive by Hindu devotees.

Hinduism was the oldest and third largest religion of the world with about one billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought and it should not be taken frivolously. Symbols of any faith, larger or smaller, should not be mishandled, Rajan Zed indicated.

Zed further said that such trivialization of Hindu deities was disturbing to the Hindus world over. Hindus were for free artistic expression and speech as much as anybody else if not more. But faith was something sacred and attempts at trivializing it hurt the followers, Zed added.

Amazon.com, Inc., a Fortune 500 company founded in 1994, and headquartered in Seattle (USA), claims to offer earth’s biggest selection.

Amazon Prime Video Partners with S.S. Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks to launch “Baahubali: The Lost Legends” a new animated series based on India’s massive blockbuster film, “Baahubali”

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Prime Video along with acclaimed filmmaker SS Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks, today announced a partnership to extend the magnum opus ‘Baahubali’, a film that earned over ₹600 crores in worldwide box office collections, into a new multi-episode animated series titled – “Baahubali: The Lost Legends”.

“S.S. Rajamouli is one of the most visionary movie minds in current times and we are thrilled to have him launch this exclusive series, Baahubali: The Lost Legends,” said Nitesh Kripalani, Director and Country Head, Prime Video India. “The animation series will allow our customers to discover hidden stories and legends from the Baahubali world. And now for the first time, customers can watch the exclusive trailer first on www.Amazon.in”

“What we managed to showcase in the film was just the tip of the iceberg,” said director S. S. Rajamouli. “From the minute I started working on this story, I knew the world of ‘Baahubali’ can’t be encompassed into a film or two, simply because there’s so much more to tell and animation is another way to do that. We are happy to be collaborating with Graphic India and Amazon to bring the ‘Lost Legends’ to audiences through Amazon Prime Video.”

“Filled with political intrigue, betrayal, war, action and adventure, this animated series will take audiences on new adventures beyond the film, as we learn for the first time the events that shaped Baahubali from a young prince into a legendary hero,” added Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO, Sharad Devarajan. “Amazon Prime Video is the perfect partner to help us reach Baahubali’s millions of fans through their unparalleled digital reach.”

CEO of Arka Mediaworks, Shobu Yarlagadda said, “Having created so many iconic stories and characters, there is no one more equipped than Graphic India, to take the story of Baahubali forward. We are very excited for what’s to come.” As a part of festive celebrations, customers can watch the exclusive teaser trailer of Baahubali: The Lost Legends, the animated series, exclusively on www.Amazon.in only on October 1 and 2, 2016.

Baahubali: The Lost Legends is set before the Kalakeya invasion depicted in the movie, when Baahubali and Bhallaladeva are still both young princes of Mahishmati.  Two brothers competing to rule the greatest kingdom of its age and the epic adventures they must endure to prove they are worthy to one day wear the crown. Under the watchful eye of Sivagami, and the warrior, Katappa, one shall rise to be King of the throne, while the other shall become King of the people.  The animated series will feature new, never before revealed stories about the characters from the film including Prince Baahubali, Bhallaladeva, Kattapa and Sivagami as well as dozens of new characters that will expand the world of Baahubali and reveal hidden secrets for millions of fans.

The series will follow the relationship between the two cousins as they journey across the Kingdom of Mahishmati, uncovering hidden mysteries, stopping ancient terrors and defending their people from danger. The animated series was conceived by S. S. Rajamouli, Sharad Devarajan and Arka Mediaworks, who will all be Producers along with Jeevan J. Kang, Graphic’s EVP Creative and the lead character designer for the new animated series. Graphic’s senior animation writer, Ashwin Pande, will also be a Producer.

Amazon Prime already offers unlimited free One-day and Two-day delivery to over 100 cities on eligible items from India’s largest selection of products, 30 minutes early access for members on top deals and more benefits for an unparalleled shopping experience. Customers who are not already Prime members can learn more about the program at www.amazon.in/prime

The Amazon.in marketplace is operated by Amazon Seller Services Private Ltd, an affiliate of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN). Amazon.in seeks to build the most customer-centric online destination for customers to find and discover virtually anything they want to buy online by giving them more of what they want – vast selection, low prices, fast and reliable delivery, and a trusted and convenient experience; and provide sellers with a world-class e-commerce platform

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.

GRAPHIC INDIA is a character entertainment company focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories through mobile and digital platforms.  Led by media entrepreneur Sharad Devarajan, Graphic India is owned by U.S. comic book Company, Liquid Comics and CA Media LP, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, LLC (TCG). The Company’s mission is to create enduring stories and heroes that foster the imaginations and fuel the inspirations of a new globalized generation of youth in both India and around the world. www.GraphicIndia.com

Amazon Follows Microsoft’s Footsteps, Announces India Region

Ajay GhoshFinance/Economy, Science & Technology 0

The Indian subcontinent is fast becoming the hotbed of cloud computing. At the Azure Conference hosted at Pune in March 2015, Bhaskar Pramanik, chairman of Microsoft India shared the plans of setting up three data centers in India. Close on the heels, Amazon announced that it is all set to launch India region this year. IBM’s SoftLayer is already in the process of setting up its India data center in Mumbai. India, which has been the home of global outsourcing giants like Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, and Wipro is witnessing the rise of billion-dollar startups. According to YourStory, a well-known media company that tracks the startup ecosystem in India, startups in the country have raised over $3.5 billion deals just in the first of half of 2015. Swiggy, PeperTap, Grofers, Simplilearn, Lookup, FirstCry, Holachef , Porter, Instalivly , UrbanClap and Jugnoo are some of the fastest growing startups that have raised funding twice within the first half of 2015. During the last two years, Indian startup ecosystem has witnessed quite a few high profile acquisitions. Bitzer Mobile acquisition by Oracle, Little Eye Labs acquisition by Facebook and Yahoo’s acquisition of Bookpad made the headlines. ZipDial was snapped up by Twitter earlier this year. A majority of these startups rely on the cloud for their infrastructure. From Amazon to Microsoft to IBM to Google, every cloud player is eyeing for a slice of the pie. According to Zinnov Management Consulting, a leading market research and analyst firm in India, the cloud market in India will grow at 45% CAGR to $14.8 billion in 2020. The study estimates that the private cloud market will increase to $7.4–7.6 billion in 2020. The public cloud market is expected to grow to an almost of equivalent size at $7.0–7.4 billion in 2020.

Digital India is one of the pet initiatives of Narendra Modi, PM of India. The vision of Digital India is to have inclusive growth in areas of electronic services, products, and manufacturing. Some of the key projects of this initiative include a secure digital locker for the citizens, an eSign framework that would allow citizens to digitally sign documents, and broader availability of WiFi in smaller towns and villages. This ambitious project opens up doors for multinational technology companies to partner with the Indian government. To effectively pitch their cloud platforms, these companies need to have local presence of their infrastructure.

Amazon already enjoys a decent traction in India. It has a vibrant ecosystem that includes partners that have built cloud practices and Independent Software Vendors. The AWS Consulting Partners in India include Accenture, Blazeclan, Frontier, Intelligrape, Minjar, Progressive, PWC, SaaSforce, SD2labs, Team Computers, Wipro, and many others.

A majority of the AWS customers host their applications in the ap-southeast–1 region hosted in Singapore. Enterprises that need dedicated connectivity rely on Tata Communications for configuring AWS Direct Connect. AWS tests the waters by first setting up edge locations before deciding on the full-blown regions. In July 2013, Amazon announced the availability of two edge locations in Chennai and Mumbai in India that serve as Point of Presence (POP) for its CDN and DNS services. These edge locations in India currently support all CloudFront and Route 53 capabilities, including delivery of websites (including dynamic content), live and on-demand streaming media, and security features like custom SSL certificates. Though AWS never discloses the actual location of the data centers, it is widely believed Amazon has partnered with Tata Communications to host its infrastructure. With two years of presence in India, AWS is now confident of running the dedicated region. The company might expand its existing footprint in Chennai and Mumbai for setting up its India region.

Microsoft is not far behind in terms of Azure adoption in India. With over two decades of local presence, Microsoft Corporation has established itself as a trusted partner of global system integrators, enterprises, and the government. The state government of Maharashtra is using Microsoft Azure for the digitisation of land records. Fortis Hospitals, one of the leading hospitals in India is in the process of shutting down its data centers to move all core systems, including hospital information systems, accounts, and billing, to Microsoft Azure. Microsoft Ventures, an accelerator set up by Microsoft in Bangalore focuses on mentoring and supporting startups. A majority of the graduating startups built their products and services on Azure.

Factors such as vibrant startup ecosystem, the presence of global system integrators and enterprises combined with tech-savvy government put India on the global map. Top cloud providers are moving fast in tapping the opportunities in India.

One section of the industry that gets impacted by these new investments from Amazon and Microsoft are the local data center providers. Netmagic, Reliance, Tata Communications, Ctrl-S, and other players thrive on the data sovereignty and data residency policies defined by the public sector and government agencies. AWS and Azure will snatch the business right under the nose of these incumbent players. But this phenomenon is not unique to India. Every hosting provider is fighting a battle with the agile, self-service cloud providers.

Amazon to Invest in India to Make It Biggest Non-U.S. Market

Ajay GhoshBusiness, Finance/Economy, Science & Technology 0

Amazon is planning to invest billions of dollars to catapult India as the world’s largest market outside of the United States, according to news reports. The e-commerce retail company said it could invest as much as $5 billion in the country.

Amazon, which entered India in 2013, committed to investing $2 billion in its Indian operation last year with an eye on capitalizing on the country’s expanding middle class. A large portion of the middle class, according to reports, is going online at a rapid rate. Most of the funds are expected to go toward expanding the company’s network of warehouses and data centers, as well as strengthening its marketplace platform.

It hopes to compete with India-based e-commerce retail rivals like Bangalore-based Flipkart, which was founded by former Amazon employees Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal. CEO Jeff Bezos said Amazon’s presence in India has already exceeded expectations when it invested the $2 billion.

A report put together by The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India forecast a 67 percent increase in average annual online spending in 2015. Consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers projected India’s e-commerce industry was likely to balloon in value from some $17 billion in 2014 to $100 billion by 2019.

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