Ford's Autonomous Cars Will Whisk Walmart Deliveries to Doorsteps
As self-driving cars come closer to reality, automakers and tech giants are increasingly viewing driverless deliveries as even more lucrative than the robo-taxis that will initially hit the streets to transport commuters. Automating the arrival of goods to consumers’ front porches would slash shipping costs roughly in half, experts say. Consultant McKinsey & Co. predicts that in less than a decade, 80 percent of all items will be delivered autonomously.
Ford has already been testing autonomous deliveries of groceries and other goods with Postmates and Domino’s Pizza Inc. Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo, which plans to launch a commercial driverless car service next month, has a partnership with Walmart to transport online shoppers to its stores.
“Like us, Walmart believes that self-driving vehicles have an important role to play in the future of delivery,” Brian Wolf, director of business development for Ford's autonomous vehicle business, wrote in a Medium post. “Together, we’ll be gathering crucial data about consumer preferences and learning the best way we can conveniently connect people with the goods they need.”
Others grocers are also eyeing a self-driving future. Kroger Co., the largest grocery chain in the U.S., announced in June a partnership with autonomous-vehicle startup Nuro to test the delivery of groceries in unmanned road vehicles that can steer from the store to a customer’s home.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-14/ford-s-autonomous-cars-will-whisk-walmart-deliveries-to-doorsteps?srnd=technology-vp
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