Shipping and mailing company Pitney Bowes will use self-driving trucks to support its e-commerce operations in Dallas beginning next year through a deal with autonomous trucking vendor Gatik, the firms said today.
Under the agreement, Mountain View, California-based Gatik will integrate its class 6 autonomous box trucks into the Pitney Bowes e-commerce logistics network in the Dallas, Texas, market beginning in the first quarter of 2023.
Gatik said its trucks are designed for “middle mile” routes, and will establish a continuous, operational loop across Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes’ facilities in the region, making multiple deliveries per day with speed and efficiency.
The trucks will have human drivers in the cab during the initial phase of the rollout, with a “safety operator” occupying the autonomous vehicles to monitor performance. The firm will use data collected from each delivery to improve network design and identify additional opportunities for cost savings and service improvements. In the long term, Pitney Bowes said it is looking to integrate autonomous vehicles across its national e-commerce logistics network.
“Our partnership with Gatik promotes growth and accelerates the modernization and expansion of our network with technology solutions that are redefining ecommerce logistics,” Stephanie Cannon, SVP, Head of Global Platform and Network, Pitney Bowes, said in a release. “Gatik’s flexible and responsive logistics network enables us to tailor our Designed Delivery services to provide shippers with unmatched solutions. Pitney Bowes and Gatik’s innovative strategies align to remove cost and complexity from ecommerce logistics to better serve our clients.”
The deal follows news in June that Gatik had agreed to provide its autonomous trucks to paper manufacturer Georgia-Pacific and Koch Industries transportation arm KBX. That deal also called for the vehicles to drive in Dallas, delivering goods 24 hours a day across a network of 34 Sam's Club retail locations.
