By Peter Baker, Bloomberg • June 25, 2018 07:27:56Amazon.com Inc., which recently announced plans to open a new fulfillment center in Texas and build a fulfillment center at its fulfillment center near Denver, is not alone in trying to reshape the retail sector with a mix of self-driving trucks, self-service grocery delivery, and the use of robots.
Amazon is still the undisputed king of the self-checkout world, with more than 100 million transactions a day.
The company is now looking to extend its reach by opening a new center in Houston, the company said Wednesday.
The Houston center, which will be built with $1 billion in public and private investment, is a major hub for the delivery industry.
The warehouse is expected to employ 3,000 people by 2019 and generate $1.3 billion in annual revenue, Amazon said.
The company said the facility will have 40 automated truck routes and 100 self-serve stores, including 24 delivery zones.
The first two will be fully self-sustaining, Amazon Chief Financial Officer Michael Wertz said at a conference call Wednesday.
Wertz did not say when Amazon plans to add a third self-loading facility in Texas.
The expansion comes as Amazon continues to invest in self-parking and other technology to make its delivery system more reliable.
Amazon, whose shares closed at $54.30 Wednesday, has been trying to find ways to get more people to use its self-navigation technology, which has been rolled out to more than 3.5 million locations.
The Texas facility is expected be the largest such fulfillment center outside of New York and Los Angeles, according to Bloomberg data.
Amazon is currently building a new $1 trillion fulfillment center on the outskirts of Dallas, and is building new fulfillment centers at two fulfillment centers in Seattle and New Jersey.