Target buys delivery specialist

Grand Junction to help retailer make mark in same-day service.

MINNEAPOLIS — Target Corp. is acquiring Grand Junction, a San Francisco-based transportation technology company, as the Minneapolis-based retailer looks to expand its delivery capabilities.

Grand Junction has already been working with Target on a small same-day delivery pilot out of its store in New York City’s TriBeCa neighborhood.

Arthur Valdez, Target’s chief supply chain and logistics officer, said the retailer will tap Grand Junction’s expertise to roll out that service throughout the city this fall and to other cities next year.

In a blog post on Target’s corporate website, Valdez said Grand Junction will help Target offer product assembly, installation and other services.

“Grand Junction’s technology and algorithms will help Target deliver to guests faster and more efficiently,” Valdez said in a statement. “This acquisition is part of Target’s ongoing efforts to strengthen Target’s supply chain to provide greater speed, reliability and convenience for guests.”

Founded in 2014, Grand Junction has software that manages local delivery for retailers, distributors and third-party logistics providers. Its network includes more than 700 carriers.

Target has dabbled with sameday delivery, initially rolling out a pilot program in Minneapolis, Boston and Miami in 2014. The company hasn’t said much about that test. It also partnered with Instacart on same-day grocery delivery in some places.

The retailer has begun stepping on the gas in this area since it hired Valdez last year from Amazon, the company that’s set the bar in the retail world for not just same-day delivery but also delivery within two hours with its Prime Now service.

Target recently launched a next-day delivery of household items, a service it calls Target Restock, in the Minneapolis area.

The acquisition also comes amid a flurry of bigger acquisitions in the retail landscape with Amazon buying Whole Foods, and Walmart making a number of its own buys, including Jet. com, Bonobos and ModCloth.