A micro-fulfilment centre (MFC) is a small warehouse inside a city that stores a limited range of fast-selling items close to customers so orders can be picked and delivered in minutes. Amazon says its Amazon Now service is served by close to 800 micro-fulfilment and urban fulfilment centres in over 120 cities.
MFC versus dark store
The two are close in meaning. Both are closed to walk-in shoppers, hold a narrow range and are set up for fast picking. Amazon uses MFC; Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart say dark store. Treat the choice of word as branding, not a different operating model.
What an MFC means for a brand
A small floor means few SKUs, so range and stock depth are decided hard. Stock-outs hurt, so track fill rate. Whether the platform buys your stock or you keep it depends on the inventory-led model the platform uses.
Amazon Now figures, with caveats
Amazon's page says deliveries arrive "in minutes", lists groceries, personal care, fashion, beauty, small appliances and home items, and mentions plans for over 300 cities. It carries no publication date, so we cannot say the figures hold as of November 2026. Press reports around the April 2026 expansion announcement quote different centre counts; we did not open them, so we do not repeat them. The page does not describe seller terms.
For the selling side, read Flipkart Minutes vs Blinkit vs Amazon Now once published, or quick commerce vs marketplaces for FMCG.
What Outlook Business reported in April 2026
Outlook Business reported that Amazon announced on 27 April 2026 an expansion of Amazon Now to 100 cities, with around 300 micro-fulfilment centres existing then and over 1,000 planned, linked to a ₹2,800 crore investment. It gave no completion date. So the plan and the later figure on Amazon's page differ in date and wording; neither is a current count for November 2026.
How a brand should read these numbers. Store counts are marketing figures. What matters to you is whether the MFCs in your target cities stock your SKUs and how fast they replenish. Ask for city-wise availability, not totals.
Also ask whether your product needs a licence to be stored in a small site, for example food items needing FSSAI cover. Rules differ by product and platform model; confirm with your account manager and a compliance adviser.
Blooprint, a Bengaluru e-commerce agency, helps brands list and advertise on quick commerce through quick commerce management.