Walmart
in a new partnership with Cruise
will bring fleet of 100% renewable-energy vehicles to Scottsdale, AZ beginning
in 2021. While the U.S. is reentering
the Paris Agreement within the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate
Change, Walmart will launch a pilot in Scottsdale, Ariz., with self-driving car
company Cruise to operate an entire fleet of all-electric delivery vehicles
powered with 100% renewable energy. The project will support the retail giant’s
initiative to reach zero emissions by 2040.
So, as part of the pilot, customers can
place an order from their local store and have it delivered, contact-free, via
one of Cruise’s all-electric self-driving cars. Johnson
stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the
supply chain and includes such things as; corporate partnerships, fresh
foods, online ordering, delivery, self-driving cars, plant based foods,
sampling, toy’s, cereal, developing brands,
grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous
delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital
hand-held marketing.
All food and beverage retailers to
survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence
revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that
are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different. Does your retail path forward look more
like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?
Walmart's Relevance
Tom Ward, senior vice president of
customer product, Walmart U.S. stated “Technology
that has the potential to not only save customers time and money but also is
helpful to the planet is technology we want to learn more about,”.
Ward continued, “This year, we’ve had our
foot on the accelerator expanding our pickup and delivery services, so
customers can get the items they need quickly and safely,” he continued. “In
April alone, we launched Express Delivery and have since scaled it to
more than 2,800 stores, reaching more than 65% of American households.”
In case you did not know this pilot is
focused on renewable energy, it is not Walmart’s first foray into self-driving
delivery vehicles. Earlier this year, the retailer tested the unmanned Nuro R2 delivery vehicle — which only hauls products and has no onboard driver or
passengers — in Houston, as well as autonomous Toyota Priuses to bring Walmart
online grocery orders to customers’ homes. Both vehicles are powered by Nuro’s
self-driving software and hardware.
“You’ve seen us test drive with
self-driving cars in the past,” Ward said, “and we’re continuing to learn a lot
about how they can shape the future of retail. We’re excited to add Cruise to
our lineup of autonomous vehicle pilots as we continue to chart a whole new
roadmap for retail.”
The
world is evolving fast and Walmart is as well, in addition to electrifying and
zeroing out emissions from all of its vehicles, that does including long-haul
trucks, by 2040, Walmart, with over 11,500 stores worldwide, is building on
its long-standing commitment to climate action by also harvesting
enough wind, solar and other renewable energy sources to power its facilities
with 100% renewable energy by 2035, and transitioning to low-impact
refrigerants for cooling and electrified equipment for heating in its stores,
clubs and data and distribution centers by 2040. How are you going to extend
the ‘halo’ of better for you in 2021?
Foodservice Solutions® specializes in
outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify
additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and
brand and menu integration strategy. Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche
visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment