Q&A: Why Target is acquiring Grand Junction

Target is looking to expand its delivery capabilities by acquiring Grand Junction, a transportation technology company. Arthur Valdez, Target’s executive VP, chief supply chain and logistics officer, and Rob Howard, CEO of Grand Junction, discussed the acquisition in the following Q&A, posted on the retailer's website.



Why did Target decide to acquire Grand Junction?

Arthur: Target is transforming its supply chain and logistics capabilities so we can serve guests with more speed and convenience, while creating new offerings and services. Whether guests shop online or in a store, they expect to get products quickly and on their terms.



With this acquisition, Target will have immediate access to Grand Junction’s technology and carrier network, which will accelerate the work we’re doing to improve our speed of delivery. It will also boost our ability to offer new services – like same-day delivery, and even assembly and installation – to our guests.



We’ve been working with Rob and his team on our same-day delivery pilot at our store in New York's Tribeca neighborhood. So we’ve already gotten a glimpse of what Grand Junction’s capabilities can do for our guests. We can’t wait to bring them onto the Target team to help meet our guests’ delivery needs nationwide.



Can you tell us how Grand Junction works?

Rob: Grand Junction offers a software platform that allows retailers to determine the fastest, most efficient method for local deliveries. We’ve also built a network of more than 700 carriers who connect to the platform, essentially creating a marketplace for local delivery. The platform also gives retailers visibility of deliveries and tracks carrier performance.



How will Grand Junction and Target now work together?

Arthur: Grand Junction will become part of our technology team, which is already a strong partner in our supply chain transformation efforts. 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. 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.



Rob: Our team is excited about the opportunity to continue our work with Target on same-day delivery service, and for the software platform we created to be a real differentiator for Target throughout its entire network of stores and distribution facilities. 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. We can’t wait to get started!