Scoop: Brittain Ladd on Amazon's Local Vending Machine and Autonomous Robotic Rivians for Hyper-efficient grocery delivery

In this episode of the Retail Genetic Podcast, Scot interviews Brittain Ladd, a supply chain and logistics consultant and former Amazon employee, about Amazon's innovative fulfillment concepts, particularly Local Vending Machines (LVMs) and robotic micro-fulfillment centers within next-generation Rivian vans. They discuss Amazon's strategy to improve rural logistics and grocery delivery, aiming to compete with Walmart by redefining the store concept through mobile, AI-driven vending vans. These vans, acting as robotic convenience stores, would be stocked based on predicted demand and efficiently replenished using a "printer cartridge" system. Ladd believes this approach, combined with advancements in autonomous vehicles and humanoid robots, could position Amazon to surpass Walmart in the grocery market by 2035 and potentially challenge UPS and FedEx in the logistics sector. The conversation also touches on Amazon's potential to lease its robotic technology and even acquire the U.S. Postal Service.