Logistics

Bentonville, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday it has launched an expansion of its solar initiative in Arizona at its Buckeye distribution center near Phoenix.

According to the retailer, the distribution center will feature Walmart's largest solar installation to date with over 14,000 solar panels on a 1 million-sq.-ft. building and parking canopies that will produce up to 30% of the DC’s energy needs.

The solar panels will generate up to 5.3 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy per year.

By David Zahn, [email protected]

Bangladesh, India -- A Tuesday report by Reuters said that the Indian joint venture of Wal-Mart Stores and Bharti Enterprises has announced plans to open three to five cash-and-carry/wholesale stores in India by the end of the year.

The partnership currently operates 17 wholesale stores in India. 

Foreign ownership regulations in India do not allow global hypermarket and supermarket chains to open retail stores in the country, but they are allowed to operate wholesale operations.

New York -- A report released Tuesday by e-commerce marketplace technology provider Merchantry found that marketplace customer experience compares unfavorably to that of e-commerce sites, particularly in regard to comprehensiveness of product information and logistics transparency.

The State of Online Marketplaces report, conducted by Merchantry in concert with the e-tailing group, found that online marketplaces need a lot of improvement before their full potential is realized.

Des Moines, Iowa -- Kum & Go and Casey’s General Stores announced that they have signed an agreement for Casey’s to acquire 22 convenience stores from Kum & Go.

The stores are located in Iowa, Missouri and North Dakota.

Washington, D.C. -- Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 8.5% in September compared with the same month last year, and strong increases are expected into the holiday season despite talk of a possible strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

Retailers and suppliers efforts to conduct commerce more efficiently are poised to benefit from the merger of two of the nation’s leading supply chain standards-setting groups.

WASHINGTON — Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to increase 8.5% in September compared with the same month last year, and strong increases are expected into the holiday season despite talk of a possible strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.