Sponsored By

Walmart to go driverless in expanded Arkansas pilot of middle-mile delivery

Test of Gatik autonomous vehicles also set to launch in Louisiana

Russell Redman

December 15, 2020

3 Min Read
Walmart-new Gatik autonomous box truck.png
In the next phase of the pilot, expanding from Arkansas to Louisiana, Walmart will use Gatik's latest Autonomous Box Trucks.Walmart

Building on an earlier test, Walmart next year plans to go fully driverless in an autonomous vehicle pilot in Arkansas as well as bring the middle-mile delivery technology to Louisiana.

Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer product at Walmart U.S., said in a blog post Tuesday that Walmart’s pilot of self-driving vans from Palo Alto, Calif.-based Gatik, launched in July 2019, will drop the safety driver and go solo on a two-mile route between a “dark” Supercenter in Rogers, Ark., and a Neighborhood Market in Bentonville, Ark.

During the initial pilot, the Gatik vehicles — three modified Ford Transit Connect vans driving up to 10 times a day, seven days a week — transported customer orders with human safety operators as backup. Ward noted that the vans safely traveled more than 70,000 operational miles in autonomous mode. (See a video of the Gatik self-driving van here.)

“Now, we’re taking the next step forward: Gatik’s multi-temperature Autonomous Box Trucks will operate this route driverless in the state of Arkansas. This achievement marks a new milestone that signifies the first-ever driverless operation carried out on the supply-chain middle mile for both Gatik and Walmart,” he explained. “When we begin incorporating driverless Box Trucks into the Bentonville operation next year, the pilot will continue as it always has. But now, we’ll be working with Gatik to monitor and gather new data to help us stay on the leading edge of driverless autonomous vehicles.”

Related:Loblaw turns to self-driving vehicles for middle-mile delivery

Walmart_Gatik_autonomous_delivery_truck_driver.png

Backup drivers rode along in the Gatik vehicles during the initial Walmart pilot in Arkansas.

Also in 2021, Walmart aims to test a different application of the Gatik Autonomous Box Trucks in another location and on a larger scale. Plans call for the retailer to pilot the self-driving vans, initially with a safety driver, on a 20-mile route between a Supercenter in New Orleans to a Walmart pickup point in Metairie, La., where customers can collect their orders.

“This unlocks the opportunity for customers who live further away from our store in New Orleans to benefit from the convenience and ease of Walmart’s pickup service,” Ward said. “With 90% of Americans living within 10 miles of a Walmart, a closer store isn’t always the answer. Perhaps it’s just a pickup location, with an autonomous vehicle making deliveries on a constant loop. Our trials with Gatik are just two of many use cases we’re testing with autonomous vehicles, and we’re excited to continue learning how we might incorporate them in a delivery ecosystem.”

Though the test with Gatik focuses on middle-mile logistics, Bentonville-based Walmart has engaged in a number of tests of autonomous vehicles for delivery of online orders of groceries and other items.

Related:Walmart tests self-driving van for ‘middle-mile’ logistics

Last month, Walmart said it plans to pilot all-electric delivery vehicles with self-driving car company Cruise in Scottsdale, Ariz. And last December, the retail giant unveiled a pilot of Nuro unmanned vehicles for grocery delivery in Houston. That followed a February 2019 announcement by FedEx of 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 pick up customers at their homes and take them to the store to collect their orders.

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

Stay up-to-date on the latest food retail news and trends
Subscribe to free eNewsletters from Supermarket News

You May Also Like