Target Leaps into Last-Mile Delivery with Latest Acquisition

August 15, 2017  by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Industry   

The retailer said the acquisition will improve and expand its delivery capabilities, and accelerate its investments and ongoing efforts to transform its supply chain.

“Grand Junction’s technology and algorithms will help Target deliver to guests faster and more efficiently,” said Arthur Valdez, Target’s executive vice president and chief supply chain and logistics officer. “This acquisition is part of Target’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Target’s supply chain to provide greater speed, reliability and convenience for guests.”

He said the acquisition also will boost the company’s ability to offer new services such as same-day delivery, assembly and installation.

San Francisco-based Grand Junction offers a software platform that is used by retailers, distributors and third-party logistics providers to manage local deliveries through a network of more than 700 carriers.

Currently, Grand Junction is working with Target on its same-day delivery pilot at the Target store in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood.

“We’ll work together to expand our same-day delivery pilot to a few more New York City-area stores this fall, and then in 2018, we plan to offer the service in more major cities,” said Valdez. “Beyond that, we’ll leverage Grand Junction’s platform – which is already used by hundreds of carriers – to become even faster and more efficient in how we get products to our guests.”

“It’s a thrill to join a brand like Target, especially at a time like this when the company is dedicated to making supply chain and local delivery a game-changer,” added Rob Howard, Grand Junction’s founder and CEO.