Target has gradually added more food to their store inventory over the last decade or so, and that’s an area where they want to grow. The problem is that as their food selections have grown, they’ve created a patchwork supply chain to get food items into stores. That’s inefficient, and has left some Target stores with empty shelves. The company’s solution may be to hire someone else to help.

That’s how they’re handling another facet of their grocery business, after all, partnering with Instacart for delivery service and Curbside for curbside pickup. That will mean more grocery business if both services expand nationwide and let Target sell more groceries online, but in order to do that, they need to able to keep items in stock.

Reuters reports today that Target is considering hiring a wholesaler or even another retail company to help them with these problems. Target wouldn’t name any candidates or even specify when they might bring on partners in the future, but analysts have some possible candidates: competitor SuperValu in Minneapolis has a wholesale grocery business, and other companies whose names you wouldn’t recognize since they aren’t consumer-facing could also get the job.

Exclusive: Target considers outside help for fresh food business [Reuters]

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