Logistics

A diverse mix of retail tech start-ups have been selected to participate in a program aimed at enhancing retail innovation.  

Lowe's is amping up its distribution game with a new direct fulfillment center near Nashville.   At a square footage of 1.1 million, the facility will be a Lowe's first in that it will ship packages directly to customers.  

Online retail giant Amazon is not looking for a repeat of holiday 2015, when increased fulfillment costs due to a surge in orders took a bite out of its holiday quarter earnings.   The company is adding 18 warehouse facilities this quarter in preparation for the holiday surge, according to a report by Recode. Last year, it added six.  

Dollar General has purchased 41 former Walmart Express locations across 11 states in a move designed to allow the discounter to expand its fresh meat and produce offerings.   Dollar General said it expects to relocate 40 existing Dollar General stores into the purchased sites by October 2016. It will also enter one new market.   Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.  

Five specialty retailers are deploying a cross-border shipping solution to make it easier for international customers to buy from their sites.   The retailers — Evolue, Kathy Kuo Home, The Land of Nod, The New York Times Store and Soludos — are expanding their online reach through the Pitney Bowes Borderfree solution. The technology and cross-border shipping services enable global shoppers to simply and conveniently buy items online in over 70 currencies from more than 220 countries and territories.  

The world’s biggest online retailer took a big step to move drone deliveries forward.   Amazon has entered into a partnership with the British government that will allow the retailer to test and develop new drone delivery systems.  

Influential and longtime Walmart executive Don Soderquist died after complications related to heart surgery. He was 82.   Soderquist joined Walmart in 1980 as executive VP of administration and logistics and was a driving force behind the company’s growth. From 1988 to 1999, he served as vice chairman and COO. He retired in 2000 and remained on the Walmart board until 2002.   

Unsecured creditors of Sports Authority said in court papers that the bankrupt retailer should not waste its dwindling funds preparing a plan to end its Chapter 11.     The unsecured creditors argued the company, which filed Chapter 11 in March, is "administratively insolvent," meaning it cannot even pay the cost of running its bankruptcy case, Reuters reported.