Amazon has opened a new distribution center in Shenzhen, China, giving sellers a way to store U.S.-bound inventory closer to the point of manufacture before shipping products into the United States.
According to an April 9 announcement sent to sellers, the site is part of Amazon’s Global Warehousing and Distribution offering and is designed to help merchants replenish inventory into the company’s U.S. fulfillment network as needed.
Amazon is positioning the Shenzhen facility as a low-cost bulk storage solution at origin, with cross-border transportation handled through Amazon Global Logistics. For sellers manufacturing in China, the model provides a way to hold stock closer to production and only move it into the U.S. market when demand justifies it.
The company says the benefits are significant. Storage costs at the Shenzhen facility can be up to 45% lower than those of Amazon’s U.S.-based bulk storage service, Amazon Warehousing and Distribution. Amazon also says that combining Shenzhen storage with Amazon Global Logistics can shorten the time needed to move inventory into U.S. fulfillment centers by up to seven days.
The new site is being presented as the first step in Amazon’s broader effort to help merchants sell globally from the outset. The company has been steadily expanding its position as an end-to-end supply chain services provider, strengthening both its international warehousing offer and its cross-border logistics capabilities. That push comes amid growing competition from Walmart, which has also been scaling up international logistics services for merchants.
Sunny Jain, worldwide head of Fulfillment by Amazon, said in a LinkedIn post that the Shenzhen facility allows sellers manufacturing in China to store inventory close to origin and move products into the U.S. only as demand builds. In his words, the value lies in improved cash flow, greater flexibility, and the ability to test new markets without taking on excessive risk.
He added that the market response was immediate, saying that within just two days of the announcement, sellers had already started booking shipments.
Merchants interested in using the facility can create a delivery request through Amazon Seller Central, according to the company’s guidance.
Jain also made clear that Shenzhen is only the beginning. Amazon plans to expand this model to additional locations in China while also building stronger connectivity to fulfillment networks in other parts of the world. While he did not name those specific locations, the South China Morning Post reported that Amazon intends to extend its Global Warehousing and Distribution model to the Yangtze River Delta and broaden distribution links to Europe and Japan.
The move reflects the strategic importance of China-based merchants within Amazon’s marketplace ecosystem. According to Marketplace Pulse research published in September 2025, sellers based in China account for roughly half of Amazon’s global active seller base.
