Mountain View, Calif.-based Gatik announced last month it has entered into a multi-year deal with Kroger to transport customer orders within its Dallas distribution network. Under the collaboration, Gatik’s medium-duty autonomous box trucks will deliver ambient, refrigerated and frozen products from an automated Kroger Customer Fulfillment Center (CFC) in Dallas to several local supermarkets. Thanks to legislation enacted by the state legislature in 2017, driverless trucks are allowed to operate on roads in Texas.
Expected to launch in Q2, the operation will include consistent, repeated delivery runs multiple times per day, seven days a week. Automating the middle mile brings Kroger one step closer to automating its entire e-commerce network. The chain has also been experimenting with driverless home delivery through a partnership with Nuro.
“We’re deeply familiar with operating our autonomous fleet within the Dallas ecosystem, and we’re very excited to bring that experience to support Kroger in its mission to reshape the future of goods delivery,” said Gatik co-founder and CEO Gautam Narang in a statement.
Both Walmart and Canadian grocer Loblaw also use autonomous trucks from Gatik to transport products. n
