Transportation, inventory, warehousing, and information management activities can interact in inverse ways. What trade-offs will Petco have to make in offering its customers same-day delivery?

Petco recently formed a partnership with Target-owned Shipt to expand its same-day delivery options, which it already offers in some markets through Instacart’s PetcoNow service. Shipt now delivers goods from Petco stores to nearly 70 million households in as little as one hour. Many analysts were positive about Petco’s move to maximize same-day delivery coverage for its customers. Same-day delivery is now an expectation for online consumers in almost every category. However, critics of the partnership questioned why Target would offer its Shipt service to competitors like Petco instead of using Shipt exclusively to deliver its own pet products, including its private-label Boots & Barkley brand. Critics also noted Petco’s frequent in-store stockouts, which would affect its ability to deliver desired products.