IKEA’s China subsidiary has begun using self-driving vehicles in Hefei to ferry products from the nearby warehouse to the store for customers to pick up orders and to restock shelves, the retailer said in a news release on Monday.
The permanent addition of the electric vehicles followed a successful pilot program during which average customer waiting times were reduced by two-thirds, improving the customer experience and worker efficiency.
IKEA is deploying two automated mini-trucks made by Neolix, a company spokesman said via email. The Swedish retailer said it worked with the manufacturer to test the robot vehicles, which successfully covered 47,000 miles.
Customers saw average wait times for store pick-up reduced from six hours to just two, while IKEA reduced transportation costs by more than 50%. The company said it is evaluating which markets would benefit from the same delivery model. Future deployments would also depend on favor regulations and infrastructure for autonomous vehicles. In China, IKEA is also testing autonomous deliveries to customer residences.
“Autonomous delivery is no longer just a concept. At IKEA we are deploying it in daily operations in China, together with partners. The value is practical: smoother deliveries, better use of time, and a more efficient last mile,” said Susanne Waidzunas, global supply manager, Inter IKEA Group.
The electric vehicle measures 11.5 feet long and nearly 4.3 feet wide. It can handle all driving tasks without human intervention within specific conditions or areas, such as cities with approved road access rights and mapped roads. A human operator closely monitors the vehicle from a central location.
If the vehicle encounters an issue on the road during its journey, the operator can take control and manually guide it around any obstacles.
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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
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