Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Business & Economy

Data to Drive Future of Amazon-Whole Foods Grocery Delivery

Thursday, February 8, 2018, By Daryl Lovell
Share
facultySchool of Information StudiesWhitman School of Management

This week Amazon announced it will begin delivering groceries from Whole Foods via Prime Now service to customers in Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Virginia Beach. The company says it plans to expand the service to other U.S. cities later this year.

Why these four cities to start? Associate professor Lee McKnight in the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at Syracuse University says it’s likely the customer data sets are driving the initial pick of the delivery pilot markets.

McKnight says:

“Amazon is orchestrating their respective Amazon Prime and Whole Foods customer data sets, and their overlap, to both optimize customer experience, and learn as much as possible from the data on these first four pilots before they scale to new markets. Picking Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas and Virginia Beach to start Amazon Prime Whole Foods 1-hour delivery is no doubt itself a data-driven choice.

“Many other grocery and food retailers and distributors, who were anxious when their stock dropped after Amazon’s Whole Foods acquisition, are likely today again re-assessing their cyber-physical strategic strengths and weaknesses. Many already have somewhat analogous tie-ups or delivery service offerings. But none have the scale and market scope Amazon offers. Can they best compete by working with Amazon Prime? Or, for example, can they best serve their local markets with Uber? GrubHub? All of the above? Or can they seriously expect to continue to compete going it alone?

“Amazon must both expand Whole Foods market reach cloud-style, and avoid delivering ‘not fresh’ services anywhere for this initiative to succeed. It would leave a very bad taste in Amazon and Whole Foods customers’ mouths, if Alexa were to get a cyber-pants on fire reputation for lying about freshness and quality. Hence their modest initial synchronized service roll-out, since even Bezos cannot afford to get this wrong.”

===================

Julie Niederhoff is an assistant professor in the Supply Chain Management department at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University. Her research addresses issues of how individuals make decisions within the supply chain and what effect these have on the efficiencies and profits of the firms. She says Amazon has new unique opportunity with this new service, but fulfillment remains a question.

Niederhoff says:

“Amazon has the unique opportunity to use the physical infrastructure of Whole Foods to bring fresh food delivery to limited test markets. Fulfillment remains a question, though. Whole Foods has long offered online ordering with in-store pick-up, but recent struggles with in-store inventory may worsen under even higher demand unless really careful forecasting is done over a (potentially) more limited list of products. However, if the orders are being fulfilled from a more centralized location, some volume benefits may allow a steady use of space and labor.”

 

 

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Communications and Marketing

T 315.443.1184   M 315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu | @DarylLovell

820 Comstock Avenue, Suite 308, Syracuse, NY 13244
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu

Syracuse University

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Daryl Lovell

  • Julie Niederhoff

  • Lee W. McKnight

  • Recent
  • Empowering Learners With Personalized Microcredentials, Stackable Badges
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Hope Alvarez
  • WISE Women’s Business Center Awarded Grant From Empire State Development, Celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Dawn McWilliams
  • Rose Tardiff ’15: Sparking Innovation With Data, Mapping and More
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By News Staff
  • Paulo De Miranda G’00 Received ‘Much More Than a Formal Education’ From Maxwell
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Jessica Youngman
  • Law Professor Receives 2025 Onondaga County NAACP Freedom Fund Award
    Thursday, July 3, 2025, By Robert Conrad

More In Business & Economy

WISE Women’s Business Center Awarded Grant From Empire State Development, Celebrates Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The WISE Women’s Business Center, in collaboration with the Whitman School of Management, announced the renewal of WISE as an Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) through the Empire State Development EAC  program. This award ensures WISE’s continued designation as one of…

Calling All Alumni Entrepreneurs: Apply for ’CUSE50 Awards

Did you cultivate your entrepreneurial skills as a student at Syracuse University and either founded or currently own your own business as an Orange alumnus? If so, you’re encouraged to apply for the University’s third annual ’CUSE50 Alumni Entrepreneur Award,…

Whitman Honors Outstanding Alumni and Friends at 2025 Awards and Appreciation Event

Vice Chancellor and Whitman School of Management Executive Dean Mike Haynie and Interim Dean Alex McKelvie, along with other staff and faculty members of the Whitman School, gathered in New York City on May 15 to recognize a select group…

Libraries Innovation Scholar Launches Utopia, a Transparent Beauty Brand

Trey Augliano ’27, a rising junior in the Whitman School of Management majoring in entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and marketing management, recently launched Utopia Beauty, a science-driven beauty retailer that promises to bring transparency and trust to the personal care…

Registration Open for Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference July 8-10 in Las Vegas  

The second annual Sports, Entertainment and Innovation Conference (SEICon)—named by Zoomph as one of the best sports business conferences of 2025—will be held from July 8-10 at MGM’s iconic Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. SEICon is a partnership between UNLV…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.