DC Velocity - July 2017

newsworthy

alliances

Software consulting company Open Sky Group has
helped Clemens Food Group successfully upgrade to
the latest version of the JDA Warehouse Management
system at its facility in Pennsylvania. … Lakeland has
awarded Kerry Logistics Network Ltd. a contract to
be its logistics service provider. … Yusen Logistics has
deployed Manhattan Associates Inc.’s warehouse and
distribution management solution, Manhattan Scale, as
the fulfillment engine to power its expanding logistics
services operation. … Walgreens Boots Alliance has
selected E2open’s sales & operations planning solutions
in a bid to improve its supply chain performance. … NYK
Line (North America) has joined MatchBack Systems
Inc.’s customer base. MatchBack Systems is a software-
as-a-service (SaaS) company that specializes in interna-
tional (ISO maritime) container supply/demand match-
ing. … Ingenious Designs LLC, a subsidiary of Home
Shopping Network, has implemented the Snapfulfil
cloud warehouse management system, while third-party
e-commerce fulfillment and distribution provider Total
Reliance has renewed its contract with Snapfulfil for two
more years. … Florida’s Jaxport was selected to serve
as the Southeast distribution point for Alfa Romeo’s
Giulia, a new mid-sized sedan manufactured in Italy. In
addition, Central Florida-based dining products supplier
Blackwood Industries Inc. is now importing all of its
shipments from Asia through Jaxport. … Konexial and
Cloud Logistics have partnered to launch the GoLoad
service, a program that directly connects a networked
transportation solution to drivers’ smartphones, helping
bring any shipper’s transportation management system
(TMS) into the network.

Wal-Mart tells motor carriers: It’s either Amazon or us

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has told its for-hire motor carriers that if they also haul goods for Amazon.com Inc., they will have to stop doing so in return for keeping Wal-Mart’s business, according to a leading transport and logistics consultant.

Speaking late last month at the SMC3 annual summer conference in Palm Beach, Fla., Satish Jindel of SJ Consulting Group said Wal-Mart’s warning is the latest move in what he called an e-commerce “cold war” between the two retail titans, which have built dominant positions in different segments of the trade. Prior to Jindel’s address, it was reported that Wal-Mart had told some technology companies that if they want its business, they can’t run applications for the retailer on Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud-computing service, Amazon Web Services, and instead must use Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp.’s cloud service, known as Azure.

Jindel, who made a presentation on Amazon’s take-no-prisoners rise to online retail dominance, said he became aware of Wal-Mart’s actions through some of his sources. A Wal-Mart spokesman denied that the company was taking such steps and called Jindel’s assertions “wrong.” By law, a trucker holding common carrier authority must haul goods upon shipper request. In addition, a shipper cannot prevent a common carrier from hauling for another shipper. Jindel said, however, that Wal-Mart’s actions were legal because it wasn’t telling carriers they couldn’t haul for Amazon.

Wal-Mart is a large user of trucking services, utilizing its
private fleet, dedicated contract relationships, and the for-
hire truck network. Wal-Mart drivers log about 700 million
miles annually.

FIGHTING BACK

Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, which has lagged well behind Amazon in e-commerce growth, is moving aggressively to narrow the gap. It bought fast-growing e-tailer Jet.com Inc. last August for $3.3 billion and installed Jet’s founder, Marc Lore, as head of its e-commerce business. Wal-Mart announced in June that it had acquired Bonobos, an upscale men’s retailer, for $310 million. Bonobos, along with Modcloth, a specialty women’s apparel brand acquired in March by Wal-Mart, will be overseen by Lore, who will market the clothing lines on Jet.com and the companies’ own websites.

In his presentation, Jindel repeated his warning that Amazon will decimate traditional retailing unless retailers can muster adequate responses to the Seattle-based giant’s encroachment. Jindel urged traditional retailers to leverage their large physical store footprints to grow their “ store-to-door” distribution models. Citing his company’s data showing that Framingham, Mass.-based office superstore Staples Inc. has 1,255 stores, Cincinnati-based retailer Macy’s Inc. has 823, and Wayne, N.J.-based toy retailer Toys “R” Us Inc. has 875, Jindel said repositioning many of the locations as fulfillment centers will enable the retailers to provide next-day deliveries at a competitive cost, improve their product visibility capabilities, and handle returns more efficiently.