AMZN Amazon.com Inc

By Paul Page 

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Amazon.com Inc.'s logistics shopping basket isn't quite full yet. The e-commerce giant is in the market for a technology platform that would help the company run its rapidly expanding freight transportation network, WSJ Logistics Report's Erica E. Phillips writes. In recent weeks, Amazon has requested detailed information from several logistics tech specialists, including how the systems can help Amazon manage shipments in an increasingly complex and international supply chain. The hunt suggests Amazon is keenly focused on going it alone in running freight operations rather than using third parties. It also recalls Amazon's move into warehouse automation, when it sought existing technology rather than starting from scratch. Amazon ended up buying all of Kiva Systems, which is now Amazon Robotics.

While Amazon focuses on expanding shipping services, the company is expanding its sales efforts in seemingly surprising ways. C hief Executive Jeff Bezos is promising more retail stores -- real, physical stores -- that could give the e-commerce giant a footprint beyond the distribution centers it has been building , the WSJ's Greg Bensinger reports. Speaking to shareholders, Mr. Bezos isn't saying how far he will go beyond the bookstore the company opened at a Seattle outdoor mall and one Amazon is building near San Diego. Amazon's still focused on building its Prime membership, and that's where the bulked-up shipping services will play role. The $99 package, he says, should offer so many benefits that consumers will feel they "are being irresponsible" if they aren't members.

The inventory-focused transformation plan at Target Corp. is off to a slow start . The discount retailer saw consumers pull back spending in the first quarter and is warning that "excess" stocks at competing stores may be driving down the market, the WSJ's Khadeeja Safdar and Lisa Beilfuss report. Target's grim report adds to the growing divide that's showing up in the retail world this year, with clothing-heavy department stores faltering while more nimble online sellers and home improvement stores improving. By first-quarter measures, Target is showing mixed results in its bid to get better control of inventory and manage its suppliers more closely. The company trimmed inventories since January, but inventory on its balance sheet at the end of April still was far ahead last year. With sales falling 5.4%, the company couldn't cut inventory fast enough.

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

The battle over genetically modified foods in the supply chain may heat up very soon. A new scientific report throws heavy weight behind food industry groups that say crops modified to resist pests and disease are safe to consume, the WSJ's Jacob Bunge reports. The verdict in an academic report comes in one of the most hotly debated areas in the food industry, one that's triggered regulation around the world and demands on producers and retailers for greater supply chain transparency. It's unlikely to end debates over potentially unknown effects from genetically engineered crops -- or eliminate some consumers' deep distaste for the technology. But food industry groups and big seed developers including Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co. are likely to point to the results as evidence that efficiency in agriculture won't compromise health.

Count FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Fred Smith as a supporter of driverless cars . The express-shipping industry leader signed onto a message from business and former military leaders who want to limit the ability of states to regulate the cars, the WSJ's Mike Ramsey reports. Mr. Smith is wading into a debate that so far has focused on passenger cars, but the questions around the technology are creeping into the freight business and carry weight for truck operators. Mr. Smith and other backers want federal law that would override a potential patchwork of state rules they said could hinder research. Mr. Smith has pushed for years to have transportation governed under uniform standards across state lines, and FedEx's stance on driverless cars suggests the developing technology has a future in the freight business.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

Deutsche Post AG named Tim Scharwath as the management board member responsible for DHL Global Forwarding and Freight. (WSJ)

General Electric Co. Chief Executive Jeff Immelt expects stronger growth in the second half of the year, saying, "We see big deals under way." (WSJ)

U.S. airlines expect a record 231.1 million passengers to fly this summer, 4% more than last summer. (WSJ)

Sales at Staples Inc. declined in the most recent quarter and online sales were flat. (WSJ)

Oregon's Port of Portland will lose its last container shipping line when Westwood Shipping ends its service this month. (The Oregonian)

Railcar parts maker Columbus Steel Castings Co. filed for bankruptcy protection after halting steel foundry operations. (MarketWatch)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its pharmaceuticals sourcing pact with McKesson to jointly buy generic drugs. (Fortune)

Union Pacific Corp. expects second-quarter freight volume to fall from a year earlier at a double-digit rate. (Omaha World-Herald)

Logistics provider RPM Consolidated Services is taking over a large warehouse near the Port of Baltimore for Starbucks Corp. (Business Journals)

FedEx expects to complete its acquisition of TNT Express NV by June 6. (The Loadstar)

Port cargo employers on the West Coast and the union representing port clerks are close to completing new contracts. (Apparel News)

India's Tata Group plans an online marketplace 'Tata CLiQ' that will integrate e-commerce sales with goods at physical stores. (Economic Times)

The expanded Panama Canal will pressure on Colombia's ports to upgrade their infrastructure. (Bogota City Paper)

Combined containerized imports at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma increased in 7.1% in April while exports expanded 7.2%. (Journal of Commerce)

Tennessee regulators fined FedEx $4,000 for a fatal accident at its Memphis air express hub last November. (Memphis Commercial Appeal)

The share of containerized cargo moving on ships through freight forwarders has been growing, reaching 37.5% last year. (American Shipper)

ABOUT US

Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @brianjbaskin, @lorettachao, @RWhelanWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ, and follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

Subscribe to this email newsletter by clicking here: http://on.wsj.com/Logisticsnewsletter .

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2016 06:51 ET (10:51 GMT)

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