new delhi amazon has set up a logistics company in india to deliver products directly to consumers opening a new front in the battle for top honours in the countrys fastgrowing online retail industry amazon transportation services private limited a subsidiary of usbased amazon will ship goods from sellers who transact on the companys online marketplace in india such a service is already on offer from flipkart through logistics company ekart and snapdeal which bought a stake in delivery firm gojavas last week we want to change how india shops said samuel augustine thomas director of transportation for amazon in india the logistics arm has been set up to aid in lastmile delivery as products can be shipped faster he said products sold on the amazon marketplace are now shipped to some 19000 pin codes across the country atsl will be one of the logistics partners for amazons indian marketplace the companys indian marketplace expects to sell goods worth over rs 12000 crore 2 billion this fiscal the company will continue to work with other partners including india post and courier companies like gati blue dart and dhl experts are of the view that lastmile delivery will increasingly be a crucial front in the war for leadership in indias ecommerce industry which is expected to be worth 43 billion rs 25 lakh crore by 2018 startups specialising in providing thirdparty delivery logistics to etailers have emerged across the country including delhivery which most recently raised funding of about 35 million but in recent months the top online marketplaces are strengthening their own inhouse logistics fleets all large marketplaces have opened their own lastmile logistics arms in india as the capability to deliver goods next day doesnt exist in indias logistics sector said ankur bisen senior vp at retail consulting firm technopak also companies with logistics capability can deliver goods for competitors creating a potential new line of business it makes sense to hive off logistics divisions or operate as separate arms as they may achieve a scale and reach their full potential by servicing other ecommerce companies said bisen amazon currently operates nine fulfilment centres ecommerce jargon for warehouses in eight indian states it was the first online marketplace to offer twoday and oneday guaranteed delivery in india a norm in the us market this prompted snapdeal and flipkart to follow suit and launch sameday delivery as well with flipkart announcing plans to launch threehour delivery this year bengalurubased flipkart is due to spin off logistics arm ekart which so far has been a division of ws retail as a separate entity this year easyship launched recently amazon india also recently launched easyship an assisted shipping platform for 12000 out of its 20000 sellers a platform which the company has now taken global with easyship our sellers can now choose their courier partners and ship even on the same day said an amazon india representative with little to choose between the top online retailers and capital no longer