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Walmart, Ford plan multi-city pilot of self-driving delivery vehicles

Partnership with Argo AI to test autonomous technology in dense urban settings

Russell Redman

September 16, 2021

4 Min Read
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The last-mile delivery service will use Ford driverless vehicles with the Argo AI Self-Driving System to deliver Walmart online orders to customers.Ford Motor Co.

Walmart is working with Ford Motor Co. and autonomous vehicle developer Argo AI to launch a self-driving vehicle delivery service in three major metropolitan markets.

The last-mile delivery service — slated for in Miami; Austin, Texas; and Washington, D.C. — will use Ford driverless test vehicles equipped with the Argo AI Self-Driving System to deliver Walmart online orders to customers, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford said yesterday. The automobile giant noted that service will mark Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the United States.

“We’re excited to expand our autonomous delivery efforts in three new markets alongside Argo and Ford,” Tom Ward, senior vice president of last-mile delivery for Walmart U.S., said in a statement. “This collaboration will further our mission to get products to the homes of our customers with unparalleled speed and ease and, in turn, will continue to pave the way for autonomous delivery.”

No launch timetable for the new service was disclosed, but Ford said initial integration testing is due to start later this year. Through the program, Walmart customers will be able to place online orders of groceries and other popular items for door-to-door autonomous delivery directly to their homes. Walmart shoppers within defined service areas of the three markets will be able to access the service, whose reach will be extended over time.

Related:Walmart further embraces drone delivery with DroneUp investment

The pilot stands to yield key learnings in how autonomous technology can enhance customer experiences, as well as optimize logistics and operations and gauge consumer expectations as preference shift to next-day or same-day delivery, particularly in urban markets with a higher concentration of deliveries, according to Ford.

“Argo and Ford are aggressively preparing for large-scale autonomous vehicle operations across a broad footprint of U.S. cities,” stated Scott Griffith, CEO of Ford Autonomous Vehicles & Mobility Businesses. “Pairing Walmart’s retail and e-commerce leadership with Argo and Ford’s self-driving operations across these multiple cities marks a significant step toward scaling a commercial goods delivery service that will ultimately power first-to-scale business efficiencies and enable a great consumer experience.”

Argo’s cloud-based infrastructure will be integrated with Walmart’s online ordering platform to route orders and schedule package deliveries to customers’ homes. 

Walmart_Ford_Argo-autonomous_vehicle-storefront.jpg

Ford said the new service will represent Walmart’s first multi-city autonomous delivery collaboration in the United States.

Besides testing self-driving technology in Pittsburgh, Detroit and Palo Alto, Calif., Argo and Ford have been operating in Miami and Washington, D.C., since 2018 and in Austin since 2019 to build autonomous ride-hailing and delivery services. Walmart and Ford also previously piloted online order delivery via self-driving vehicles in Miami in late 2018.

Related:Walmart invests in electric self-driving company Cruise

“Our focus on the testing and development of self-driving technology that operates in urban areas where customer demand is high really comes to life with this collaboration,” commented Bryan Salesky, founder and CEO of Pittsburgh-based Argo AI. “Working together with Walmart and Ford across three markets, we’re showing the potential for autonomous vehicle delivery services at scale.”

Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart has engaged in a range of autonomous vehicle delivery partnerships in recent years. This past April, Walmart said it invested in San Francisco-based Cruise, a majority-owned subsidiary of General Motors, to use Cruise electric-powered autonomous vehicles for last-mile delivery. The move followed a pilot with Cruise’s self-driving vehicles announced last November and begun early this year.

In 2020, Walmart tested the unmanned Nuro R2 delivery vehicle in Houston to bring online grocery orders to customers’ homes. And in July 2019, Walmart announced it was working with Gatik on a “middle-mile” logistics pilot using the tech startup’s self-driving Ford Transit Connect vans to help move goods from the Walmart Supercenter in Rogers, Ark., to a Walmart Neighborhood Market in nearby Bentonville. That test shifted to fully driverless Gatik vehicles earlier this year.

In February 2019, FedEx announced a partnership with Walmart, Target and Walgreens to test last-mile delivery of small-shipment online orders via the FedEx SameDay Bot, a wheeled, shoulder-high delivery robot. Other Walmart partners in pilots of self-driving vehicles for online grocery delivery have included Udelv (in Surprise, Ariz.)Ford (in Miami-Dade County, Fla.) and Waymo. In the test with Waymo (formerly Google’s self-driving car project), conducted in Chandler, Ariz., autonomous vehicles picked up customers at their homes and took them to the store to collect their orders.

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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