According to procurementmag.com, PepsiCo has expanded its autonomous freight deployment across Texas, Arkansas, and Arizona — the largest such rollout to date — achieving a 98% on-time delivery rate in those regions.
Multi-state autonomous rollout with Gatik
PepsiCo’s autonomous freight expansion is executed through a multi-year partnership with Gatik, a technology company specializing in middle-mile autonomous trucking. The collaboration began in 2022, when PepsiCo deployed its first Gatik autonomous vehicle. Since then, the program has scaled to cover high-volume distribution networks across three U.S. states: Texas, Arkansas, and Arizona. Gatik currently manages logistics for hundreds of PepsiCo locations in these states, handling time-sensitive daily transportation requirements on surface roads and freeways without manual intervention.
The system enables dynamic route adjustments — stops can be added or removed in real time to align with demand fluctuations at PepsiCo’s distribution centers. According to the report, this flexibility strengthens delivery consistency and adds scalable capacity within PepsiCo’s supply chain. Jim Farrell, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain at PepsiCo, stated:
“Serving our vast network of customers requires a supply chain that is safe, reliable and built for the future. Gatik is already operating inside our networks and brings the autonomous freight technology, commercial experience and scale we need to strengthen service, add capacity and move products more consistently for our customers.” — Jim Farrell, Senior Vice President of Supply Chain, PepsiCo
Commercial validation and industry context
Gautam Narang, CEO and Co-Founder of Gatik, emphasized the significance of operational scale:
“Autonomous trucking has reached commercial scale when it operates inside one of the most demanding supply chains on the planet. That is what Gatik is doing with PepsiCo. Our autonomous trucks are already moving products every day across Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, and this partnership is proof that Gatik is becoming central to how the world’s largest companies move goods.” — Gautam Narang, CEO and Co-Founder, Gatik
This deployment follows broader industry momentum. In 2024, Walmart launched autonomous freight trials with Gatik in Arkansas — the same state now included in PepsiCo’s expanded footprint. Meanwhile, U.S. Xpress and Kodiak Robotics began revenue-generating autonomous hauls across Texas highways in Q3 2025, reinforcing regional infrastructure readiness. The 98% on-time performance achieved by PepsiCo and Gatik exceeds the 92.3% industry average for U.S. food and beverage shippers reported by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) in its 2025 Logistics Performance Index.
Complementary AI and sustainability initiatives
PepsiCo’s autonomous freight initiative is part of a wider technology integration strategy. In 2025, the company began deploying Salesforce Agentforce AI to enhance customer experience and sales processes. Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, noted:
“AI is reshaping our business in ways that were once unimaginable. This collaboration with Salesforce is another step toward a more connected and adaptive PepsiCo, deploying AI to unlock smarter and faster decision-making, fuel innovation and power sustainable growth.” — Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
In parallel, PepsiCo partnered with Yara International in 2025 to scale low-carbon farming across Latin America and Europe, targeting measurable emissions reductions in agricultural sourcing. These efforts collectively support PepsiCo’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions across its value chain by 2040, as verified in its publicly disclosed 2025 Sustainability Report.
Source: procurementmag.com
Compiled from international media by the SCI.AI editorial team.
