Autonomous Trucks: The Changes They Will Make in Supply Chains By Benjamin Gordon

Benjamin Gordon With a high demand for product delivery caused by companies like Amazon that provide fast shipping. There is a high demand for individuals who will get these products to the doorsteps of the people making the orders, and fast. In 2017, there were over 87 billion packages delivered globally, and the need for delivery carriers is only increasing. Mail carriers are able to get these packages out by through large cargo ships, planes, mail cars large semi-trucks. But what supply chains are lacking is access to people to deliver these packages. There has been a growing movement towards creating autonomous trucks to help ease high-demands on the drivers of these trucks.

Supply Chain Companies

Benjamin Gordon, an investor in Supply Chain Companies, wrote about autonomous trucks. These autonomous vehicles first appeared in the 1980s when a university in Munich, Germany. Worked with Mercedes-Benz to come out with autonomous driving. This has now evolved into brands like Tesla releasing cars with autopilot and auto-park features. But Gordon has now seen the demand for this kind of technology in supply chain companies. That requires a high demand for delivery to happen.

Of course, there were Tesla and Uber started to use autonomous vehicles. But Gordon realized that what needed to be of autonomous delivery trucks. Not only do these trucks deliver packages, but they also have the capability to deliver everyday supplies. To stores all over the country enabling shelves to be stocked for consumers. Gordon sees the benefits of these autonomous trucks and their impact on the capabilities within supply chain companies.

Tesla In 2015

While there was a lot of attention brought to Tesla in 2015 when their autopilot feature was introduced. This stirred immense competition in what the next best vehicle would be to put this feature with. Gordon noticed that the larger truck companies were starting to take these ideas and to conform them to begin to operate autonomously. One company spearheading much of the innovation on safety features was the software company Peloton. The peloton was finding ways for trucks to fall into a sequence with one another based on how the vehicles were braking.

While having the safety factor of trucks. Being in sequence with one another is critical, the leading factor of semi-truck accidents actually comes from fatigued drivers. While Gordon does present ways to help prevent hazards like vehicle crashes. By taking stress off of the drivers, there is the opportunity for safer driving habits with the new technology of keeping a safe distance. With advances like autonomous trucks, there is a chance of an increase in safer driving habits that will help supply chain companies improve delivery rates and increase their capabilities.