Kroger celebrates autonomous reefer operations

Dec. 26, 2023

Grocery retailer is using Gatik’s ‘freight-only’ medium-duty box trucks to move fresh food from its Dallas fulfillment center to multiple retail locations in ‘successful’ collaboration.

Commercial Vehicle Staff

Gatik and The Kroger Co. recently celebrated their multi-year collaboration in which Kroger is using Gatik’s medium-duty autonomous refrigerated box trucks to transport fresh products from its customer fulfillment center in Dallas, Texas, to multiple retail locations.

The celebration of the operation, which began earlier this year, featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony with city and state officials, including Tennell Atkins, Dallas Mayor Pro Tem and council member, and representatives from the Texas Department of Transportation and Texas Department of Public Safety, according to a news release.

“You are changing the world,” Atkins remarked during the ceremony. “We are looking at the 21st century. Gatik and Kroger’s cutting-edge partnership is making an impact in Dallas and throughout the state of Texas.

“I thank you for your collaboration.”

Over the past eight months, the companies report “safely and consistently” making delivery runs multiple times per day, seven days per week across Kroger’s Dallas distribution network. The operations increased the speed, responsiveness, and frequency of fulfilling Kroger e-commerce orders, Kroger maintained.

Tennell Atkins, City of Dallas Mayor Pro Tem and council member, addresses representatives from Gatik, Kroger, City of Dallas and Texas State.

“Kroger is committed to creating a seamless shopping experience for our customers—whether that’s through home delivery, a store pick-up, or shopping in the store, and our collaboration with Gatik enables us to continue and enhance that experience,” said Ben Hamilton, Kroger vice president of logistics and engineering network strategy. “What has always been important to customers is that they get what they need on time. But what we have seen through this collaboration is that as important as it is to be on time, it is also really important to have good customer service.

“With Gatik’s autonomous box trucks, we are able to be quicker with our deliveries, and focus more on the customer service side of things, which ultimately leads to happier customers and repeat customers.”

The state of Texas has emerged as a national leader in the deployment of autonomous technology, and the support from municipal and state government representatives has been instrumental in facilitating Gatik’s successful operations with Kroger, Gatik added. This support underscores the state’s commitment to fostering technological innovation and advancing the development of a high-performance transportation ecosystem.

“Texas is at the center of Gatik’s commercial growth strategy, so we’re very pleased to see the tangible benefits of our autonomous trucking solution realized through our partnership with Kroger,” said Gautam Narang, Gatik CEO and co-founder. “The support we’ve received from state and local officials throughout our journey in Texas has been phenomenal, and we’re excited to continue safely scaling our industry-leading freight-only operations in the state.”