French supermarket Carrefour is trialling autonomous last-mile delivery that can reach speeds of up to 70km/h in a partnership with Goggo Network. The trial is for residents of Plateau de Saclay or the Silicon Valley Européenne, about 20km South of Paris.
Once customers have placed their orders online, fulfilment takes place at the automated Plessis-Pâté warehouse, dispatched to the Carrefour Massey Drive and then loaded onto the autonomous shuttle. When the vehicle arrives at its destination, customers can unlock their locker using a code received by text message. Only once all the lockers have been emptied will the shuttle return to be re-stocked.
“As a digital retail company, we want to leverage digital technologies and innovation to design and test new services for our customers – services which increasingly meet their expectations, such as this one for students and employees on the plateau de Saclay. By joining forces with an innovative start-up company (Goggo Network), we are showing just how dynamic the Carrefour Group is when it comes to developing the logistics and retail services of the future,” said Elodie Perthuisot, the Carrefour Group's Executive Director of E-Commerce, Data and Digital Transformation.
The shuttles are configured to make a 15km rotation trip and are monitored with a 5G connection.
“We are honoured by the trust that the Carrefour Group has placed in us to co-develop the automated last-mile delivery services of the future. We will do everything possible so that this initial test on the 5G Open Road results in our collectively deploying these types of services nationally or even internationally. This strategic partnership with a leading mass merchandising player is completely in line with Goggo Network’s desire to design the automated logistics solutions for the future,” said Yasmine Fage, Co-founder of Goggo Network.
