Logistics

Miami Gardens, Fla. — Demolition has begun at Palmetto Gardens Plaza, a 7.1-acre shopping center site in Miami Gardens, Fla. The site is being prepared for the development of a 63,000-sq.-ft. shopping center that will include a 41,000-sq.-ft. Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market and an additional inline and outparcel space of 20,000 sq. ft. — now available for lease.

Seattle – Amazon.com is reportedly piloting an in-house delivery service that would use trucks driven by Amazon-hired contractors to deliver packages from area distribution centers to customer homes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com is testing the service in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York.

The service could potentially reduce shipping times and costs and also enable same-day shipping. It is also seen as a direct competitive move against UPS, as well as Wal-Mart, EBay and Google.

Regional grocer Weis Markets is pressing forward with a $101 million capital expenditure program this year as it looks to restore top line growth at its Northeast operations.

The operator of 166 stores, 122 of which are located in Pennsylvania, confirmed a previously disclosed capital expenditure budget of $101 million would be used to fund 16 projects. Those projects consist of two new stores under construction in Selinsgrove and Enola, Pa., 13 remodels and expansion of a 1.1 million-sq.-ft. distribution center in Milton, Pa.

Sunbury, Pa. – Weis Markets plans to invest $101 million in its growth program in 2014. That figure encompasses spending on 16 projects during 2014, including expansion of Weis’ 1.1-million-sq.-ft. distribution center in Milton, Pennsylvania.

King of Prussia, Pa. - eBay Enterprise is releasing a new offering for clients using its Ship-From-Store solution. The new solution leverages EBay Enterprise’s solutions with freight companies to provide its Ship-From-Store clients with discounted shipping rates, free or discounted branded packing supplies and rebates for high-volume orders that they would not be able to obtain on their own.

Phoenix -- Leslie's Poolmart, Inc. said it will grand-open 20 retail locations throughout the U.S. on April 25; stores will open in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

In total, Leslie's plans to open 45 new stores this year, between April and May of 2014.

Mississauga, Canada - Federal Express Canada Ltd. has reached an agreement with Home Hardware Stores Ltd. that allows individual dealer-owners the ability to house full-service FedEx Authorized ShipCenters within their stores. The FedEx Authorized ShipCenters will be rolled out across Canada in a series of implementation waves throughout the year.

Hershey achieved many of its sustainability goals more quickly than planned and the efforts of product lifecyle and reverse logistics leader GENCO illustrate how Hershey made it happen.