California-based Kodiak Robotics is working with Illinois supply-chain company Martin Brower to move freight autonomously for fast-food outlets.

Martin Brower and Kodiak are using autonomous vehicles to haul food between Dallas and Oklahoma eight times per week.

The companies are working together to deliver time-critical refrigerated freight autonomously. Since the companies began working together in 2022, Kodiak has completed over 600 autonomous deliveries for Martin Brower. Kodiak and Martin Brower are also exploring ways to expand their commercial operations across the Martin Brower network.

Kodiak operates what Martin Brower calls a shuttle lane, where autonomous trucks shuttle full trailers between major hubs and local drivers handle distribution of goods to multiple restaurants, including two of the top five largest fast-food chains in the USA. The companies are working together to explore additional shuttle lane opportunities that will optimise and future-proof Martin Brower’s network, allowing it to serve the growing demands of its customers.

“We chose Kodiak because we share a mutual commitment to safety and customer service,” said Mark Grittner, director at Martin Brower. “By working together, we are able to benefit from the safety, reliability and efficiency provided by Kodiak’s autonomous technology while also ensuring our local drivers can continue to provide the best-in-class customer service that is foundational to Martin Brower’s reputation.”

Don Burnette, CEO of Kodiak, added: “Your next order of fries may have travelled on a Kodiak truck. Autonomous trucks are well-suited to the difficult work of long-haul driving, while allowing our partners’ local drivers to handle last-mile deliveries and provide a personal touch for customers. Martin Brower’s shuttle lane model is an ideal application for Kodiak that enables us to demonstrate the value of our technology within our customers’ existing networks.”

As part of the partnership, Martin Brower has joined the Kodiak partner deployment programme, which helps carriers establish autonomous freight operations and seamlessly integrate the Kodiak Driver self-driving system into their fleets.

Kodiak Robotics (kodiak.ai) was founded in 2018 and is a specialist in autonomous ground transportation. The company is developing a technology stack purpose-built for long-haul trucks, making the freight industry safer and more efficient. Its modular hardware approach integrates sensors into a streamlined sensor-pod structure that optimises for perception, scalability and maintainability. The company delivers freight daily for its customers using autonomous technology. Kodiak also leverages its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy autonomous capabilities for the US Department of Defense.

For nearly 90 years, Martin Brower (martinbrower.com) has been a supply chain partner to leading brands. It has more than 13,000 employees and delivers 730 million cases annually to over 26,000 locations worldwide.