• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Driverless Trucks to Deliver Toilet Paper to Dallas Sam’s Clubs

Driverless Trucks to Deliver Toilet Paper to Dallas Sam’s Clubs

Walmart
Tractor trailers sit parked outside a Walmart Inc. distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas. Photo: Bloomberg.
June 8, 2022
Bloomberg

Self-driving trucks will soon make deliveries to Walmart Inc.’s Sam’s Club stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, marking a significant expansion of autonomous vehicles operating in live traffic. 

Gatik, a pioneer of driverless technology, will partner with Georgia-Pacific to drop off goods such as plates, Dixie cups and toilet paper to 34 of the warehouse stores starting in July, the companies said in a statement Tuesday. The midsize trucks with 26-foot trailers are categorized as Class 6 vehicles, which are smaller than the Class 8 big rigs that currently handle the job. 

The deal expands Gatik’s driverless-truck operations on the busy roads of the nation’s fourth-largest metropolitan area, while building on autonomous service to Walmart facilities that it already handles in Arkansas and Louisiana. The trucks will operate on fixed routes around the clock, seven days a week, and Gatik has its eye on expanding beyond North Texas. 

“We’re starting out in the Dallas market but the focus will be on rolling it out nationwide,” Gatik Chief Executive Officer Gautam Narang said in an interview. The goal is to disrupt short-haul networks that were traditionally served by trucks with 53-foot trailers, he said. 

Georgia-Pacific, which is owned by closely held Koch Industries, said the Gatik partnership would eventually reduce cost and complexity in its supply chain. The trucks will be integrated into the transportation operations of KBX Logistics, another Koch company. 

Scarce Truckers

The autonomous trucks will lead to savings at a time when “truckers are hard to come by,” said Paul Snider, president of KBX Logistics. That will enable the company to reduce inventory on hand at Sam’s Club stores. 

“It allows us to replenish more frequently and accurately,” he said. 

Koch Disruptive Technologies, also an arm of the family-owned empire, led an $85 million Series B funding round for Gatik last year to expand the company’s autonomous middle-mile transportation network.  

Gatik has been operating self-driving trucks for Walmart in the company’s headquarters city of Bentonville, Arkansas, since 2019. It went fully autonomous last year after initially employing a safety driver, Narang said. The company also serves Walmart in Louisiana, and has operations with Loblaw Cos., Canada’s largest grocer, in Ontario.  

While the Gatik vehicles serving Georgia-Pacific won’t replace Sam’s Club drivers, Walmart is sure to be watching closely as it pays more for truckers. The company said in April that it would raise starting pay to as much as $110,000 a year.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Last Mile Delivery Logistics Logistics Outsourcing LTL/Truckload Services Transportation & Distribution Technology Artificial Intelligence HR & Labor Management Automotive Consumer Packaged Goods E-Commerce/Omni-Channel Retail
  • Related Articles

    Toilet Paper Makers’ Message to U.S. Consumers: We’ve Got This

    Drones, Driverless Trucks and Robots: Dreams of a Final Mile

Bloomberg

Corporate Net-Zero Goals Don’t Add Up to a Net-Zero Planet

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • FedEx

    FedEx Faces Big Changes as New Boss Confronts Higher Costs, Angry Contractors

    Last Mile Delivery
  • 0621_Burrito.png

    Chipotle Zeroes in on Supply Chain Traceability and Visibility

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • cyber crime

    The Cyber Blind Spot That Makes Every Supply Chain Vulnerable

    Regulation & Compliance
  • e-commerce package

    Retailers Need 'Frenemy' Delivery Networks, American Eagle CSCO Says

    Last Mile Delivery
  • coworkers collaborate

    Podcast | Linking Planning and Execution for Real-Time Decision-Making

    Sales & Operations Planning

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GreyOrange Here
Honeywell Intelligrated IFM Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
Lucas Systems Nvidia Old Dominion
ORTEC Parsyl QIMA
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Verity
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing