"As the size shrinks there is a growing need for doing repeated trips from the fulfillment centers to the pickup points. Grocers are forced to set up these fulfilment centers close to the customer, and once you get close to the customer you have to shrink the size of your warehouse," Narang said. "The old architecture of delivery where you have a giant distribution center four or five hours away from the end consumer does not work anymore. Walmart said the use of automated vehicles will also allow store associates more freedom to perform "higher level" tasks, including picking and packing online orders and customer assistance. Walmart, the nation's biggest seller of grocery items, is testing the Gatik autonomous vehicles as part of its transition to a "hub and spoke" model for grocery delivery where dark stores are closer to the consumer and used to serve several retail stores. "Having the trust from the world's largest retailer has been a massive boost for what we do and is a validation for our technology, our solution, our progress."
#MEDIA SHUTTLE PRICING DRIVER#
"Taking the driver out is the holy grail of this technology." Gatik CEO Gautam Narang, who founded the company in 2017, told CNBC.
"Through our work with Gatik, we've identified that autonomous box trucks offer an efficient, safe and sustainable solution for transporting goods on repeatable routes between our stores." "We're thrilled to be working with Gatik to achieve this industry-first, driverless milestone," Walmart senior vice president Tom Ward said in a news release about the project. The partnership is focused on the so-called middle mile - the transport of goods within the supply chain most often from a warehouse to a fulfillment center or a warehouse to a retailer. The safety driver was pulled over the summer.
The program began in December 2020 after getting approval from the Arkansas State Highway Commission.
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