Dive Brief:
- Amazon sellers can now store U.S.-destined inventory in bulk at the e-commerce giant's new distribution center in the manufacturing hotspot of Shenzhen, China, according to an April 9 announcement to sellers.
- The Global Warehousing and Distribution location will allow sellers to "seamlessly replenish" goods for Amazon's U.S. fulfillment network when needed, per the announcement. Global Warehousing and Distribution is positioned as a low-cost storage option at a product's manufacturing origin, with cross-border transportation serviced via Amazon Global Logistics.
- The company said benefits to using the Shenzhen facility include storage costs up to 45% lower than its U.S.-based bulk storage services, Amazon Warehousing and Distribution. Sellers can also get inventory to U.S. fulfillment centers up to seven days faster through the Shenzhen storage and Amazon Global Logistics combination, it added.
Dive Insight:
Amazon called the services powered by the Shenzhen facility the first step in its ambition to help merchants sell their goods "globally from day one." The e-commerce giant is growing its capabilities as an end-to-end supply chain services provider for sellers, in part by building up its global warehousing and cross-border logistics services. Amazon is facing steep competition in the space from rival Walmart, which has been scaling its own international logistics services for merchants.
The Shenzhen location enables sellers manufacturing in China to store inventory closer to the origin point, and then bring products into the U.S. only as demand builds, Sunny Jain, worldwide head of Fulfillment by Amazon, said in a LinkedIn post.
"It's about cash flow, flexibility, and the ability to test new regions without excessive risk," Jain said. "The response has been immediate. Within two days of our announcement, sellers are already booking shipments."
Interested sellers can create a delivery request for the Shenzhen facility within Amazon's Seller Central portal, according to Amazon's announcement.
Jain said the Shenzhen location is only the beginning, with Amazon "expanding to more locations in China and building connectivity to fulfillment networks around the world." He did not specify which locations, but the South China Morning Post reported that Amazon plans to extend its Global Warehousing and Distribution model to China's Yangtze River Delta region and expand distribution to Europe and Japan.
China-based sellers play a significant role in powering sales on Amazon's website, representing roughly half of the e-commerce giant's global active seller base, per Marketplace Pulse research published in September 2025.
