In the last few years, though, it has made deals with states to collect sales tax and built huge warehouses to stage their products.

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Underneath us a sand road, which will one day be paved, was already flanked on both sides by endless fields of crops, burnt-out forest and farmers so sure that they would not get arrested they had built houses, silos, warehouses and roads.

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Webvan built a sophisticated distribution system, based on centralised warehouses, but it proved too costly to sustain while the company tried to grow its business.

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To REIT analysts this is an anomalous circumstance unlikely to be repeated soon in an industry not normally given to overexpansion: Many warehouses in the early part of the decade were built to house tech gear and retail inventory.

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The vehicle has a built-in safety system that uses lasers and three-dimensional models of its surroundings to navigate obstacle-strewn warehouses.

FORBES