MAM
Springer to commence media business publishing from India
BANGALORE: The world’s second largest player in publishing technical articles with a 10 per cent global market share and the largest in books with a 25 per cent market share – Germany’s Springer Science Business to Business (SSB2B) is bullish on India.
SSB2B, one of the leaders in scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing is making its presence in India through two entities – Springer (India) in Delhi and Scientific Publishing Services in Chennai. Today, SSB2B CEO Haank announced that India would continue to play a strategic role in the STM market as well as in business process outsourcing.
Currently, 25 per cent of SSB2B’s 5000 strong labour force is in India, and the company plans to increase India’s share to 50 per cent of their global projected work force over the next few years, even if this means job cuts for their European and American labor force. “We have not taken it upon ourselves to subsidise the German economy, we have a responsibility to our share-holders”, said Hank during a press conference in Bangalore.
Elucidating his reasons for the increased love for India, Hank said, “ Indian labor is cheaper than European, having similar or better skills, and the productivity, quality of output and speed is superior to the operations in Europe and the US. Indian labor costs just 35 per cent, even if you add another 35 per cent towards coordination, traveling, etc, India is still more cost-effective. Add to this the fact that 98 per cent of Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publication globally is in English, and with an Indian’s knowledge of English.”
SSB2B with revenues of about 1 billion Euros, of which 300 million Euros comes from the B2B and media business publications plan to start a media business publication in India. Currently all the 100 or so trade journals are in German.
SSB2B has 70 publishing companies in USA, Europe and Asia, with 1450 journals and over 4000 new books published every year.
Haank is very bullish about the internet too. He says “The Internet has revolutionised how everyone communicates and has accelerated the speed of scientific discovery. Among all of the publishing areas, scientific publishing has been the most affected by the Internet. In most cases, it has replaced paper – first with the advent of electronic journals, then with the digitisation of journal backfiles, etc. In the future, books, too, will be affected.”
He added, “Springer has been actively involved with the Indian digital library and other resource-sharing initiatives by providing globally acknowledged scientific and research content. Springer in India, is involved in networking of all the major research institutes, special libraries and engineering colleges to our global database platform, SpringerLink.
Some of the major consortia initiatives in India are UGC Infonet (University education), INDEST (Technical Education), CSIR (Industrial Research), ISI (Statistical Research), FORSAA (Physical Sciences Research) and TIFR (Research in Basic Science).
“Our vision is to provide a global forum for knowledge exchange in academic and professional publishing by fostering partnerships and co-publishing with societies and professional bodies to serve the information needs of the communities across the globe. India is also a part of our global initiative for developing countries”, concluded Haank.
Brands
Amazon Now to reach 100 cities with 1,000 plus centres in Rs 2,800 crore push
Rs 2,800 crore push fuels rapid delivery expansion as quick commerce heats up
NEW DELHI: Amazon India is significantly expanding its ultra-fast delivery service Amazon Now, with plans to scale operations to 100 cities across India, backed by a network of over 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres.
The move is part of a broader Rs 2,800 crore investment aimed at strengthening the company’s operations network while also enhancing safety, health and financial wellbeing programmes for thousands of associates, including fulfilment centre staff and delivery partners.
Amazon Now offers a curated selection of thousands of daily essentials, ranging from groceries such as fresh fruits, vegetables and frozen food to personal care, fashion and beauty products, small appliances, baby products, pet supplies and healthcare supplements. These are delivered within minutes, positioning the service at the centre of India’s rapidly evolving quick commerce landscape.
The expansion will take Amazon Now beyond its existing footprint in Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru to a wide mix of metro and non-metro cities, including Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Meerut, Mysore, Panipat, Kochi, Amritsar, Mangalore and Vizag.
A key pillar of the initiative is its growing supply ecosystem. The company said the expansion will enable more than 16,000 farmers to directly connect with customers through sellers on the platform, using Amazon’s technology and logistics backbone to deliver fresh produce efficiently.
Explaining the momentum, Amazon India VP everyday essentials Harsh Goyal said, “Customers continue to enjoy Amazon Now, appreciating our delivery speed, value and selection, especially the quality of fresh produce sourced directly from farmers. Encouraged by this success, we have further accelerated our expansion plans and will scale Amazon Now to 100 cities, fuelled by a network of more than 1,000 micro-fulfilment centres.”
He added that the platform is designed to offer unmatched convenience, with thousands of essentials delivered in minutes, over a million items available for same-day delivery, and millions more the next day through Amazon’s wider marketplace.
At the core of Amazon Now is a network of compact, tech-enabled micro-fulfilment centres strategically located close to customer neighbourhoods. These facilities use advanced inventory systems to optimise product placement based on hyperlocal demand, enabling faster and more efficient deliveries.
With scale, speed and supply chain integration coming together, Amazon’s latest push underscores its ambition to become a dominant player in India’s quick commerce space while reshaping how everyday essentials reach consumers.
