Multinational food and beverage giant PepsiCo has entered into a multi-year strategic agreement with autonomous technology developer Gatik to integrate autonomous freight into its North American supply chain.
The deal represents the largest commercial autonomous freight deployment in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector to date. The expanded rollout follows initial pilot operations that commenced in 2022, with Gatik's autonomous fleet already active across regional transportation networks in Texas, Arizona, and Arkansas.
Regional Transport Networks and Operational Flexibility
The partnership focuses on middle-mile logistics within PepsiCo's regional transportation networks. These high-frequency, time-sensitive routes move finished goods and raw materials daily between production sites, warehouse hubs, and distribution centres.
Gatik's autonomous medium-duty trucks are engineered for end-to-end deliveries across both highways and urban surface streets. A core technical component of the deployment is Gatik's dynamic route orchestration software, which allows PepsiCo to modify dispatch and routing plans in real time.
This operational flexibility enables PepsiCo to adapt to shifting daily logistics demands:
📍 Adjust Stop Sequences – Adding or removing delivery locations dynamically based on daily inventory demands.
📈 Adapt to Demand Shifts – Re-routing fleet assets to high-volume locations during peak periods.
🚛 Optimise Distribution Centres – Coordinating arrival times to reduce yard congestion and warehouse wait times.
This flexibility allows PepsiCo to reduce delivery variability and add freight capacity without requiring major modifications to its existing warehouse infrastructure.
Performance Metrics and Supply Chain Resilience
Integrating autonomous assets is designed to address key structural challenges in regional logistics, including freight capacity shortages and delivery schedule variability.
According to operational data from the initial 2022 deployment, Gatik has maintained a 98 per cent on-time delivery rate across PepsiCo's active routes. By scaling the technology, PepsiCo aims to build additional logistics capacity, shorten transit windows, and improve overall customer service metrics.
Jim Farrell, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at PepsiCo, highlighted that Gatik’s autonomous capabilities provide the scale and reliability necessary to modernise the company's regional transportation networks, helping to ensure consistent retail shelf availability.
Workforce Planning and Fleet Integration
The commercial expansion is structured to run alongside PepsiCo's established private driver fleet. The companies indicated that the autonomous deployment is strategically targeted at high-demand, regional routes that are historically difficult to staff.
Gautam Narang, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Gatik, stated that the multi-year contract serves as industry validation of autonomous trucking operating at a true commercial scale within one of the world's most complex supply chains.
The phased expansion will continue to integrate Gatik's vehicles into PepsiCo's daily operations, with both companies focusing on upskilling logistics personnel to manage the hybrid autonomous and human-driven fleet.
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