Bringing more resiliency to the supply chain

What excites us most about Outrider's technology is its potential to bring more resiliency and velocity into the global supply chain. The challenges facing our supply chain have never been more apparent. All you have to do is turn on any major news channel, or look at the steadily increasing prices for basic goods. The reality is that there's no easy fix. As our consumption has increased in lockstep with the lengthening of the global supply chain, we've become overly dependent on a complex system that is showing major signs of fragility. With the threat of trade wars, extreme weather events and worker shortages, the problems will only get worse. That is, unless we find ways to build more resiliency into the system.

Automation in the yard

Roughly 10 billion tons of freight moves through North America every year. Most of this is moved by truck, and just about all the stuff we buy in stores or online ends up at a logistics hub during some stage of the journey. Distribution yards are a critical link in the supply chain, but they are chaotic, dirty and dangerous environments. Roughly 50,000 diesel yard trucks shuttle trailers back and forth between loading docks and parking spots within distribution yards on a daily basis. Every year in North America, these yard trucks emit 3.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of one coal-fired power plant. So the yards are dirty, but they also operate inefficiently, especially considering the lack of available workers to drive the trucks. Some are estimating the country is short as many as 80,000 workers. In light of these facts, a solution that introduces automation on a modern electric vehicle platform, is a game changer. Enter Outrider.

Outrider's Autonomous Trucking System

Outrider’s zero-emissions autonomous solution involves converting electric yard trucks into Level 4 autonomous vehicles operating on its proprietary software. The Outrider System autonomously moves trailers to and from loading docks and parking spots. It hitches and unhitches trailers, robotically connects and disconnects trailer brake lines, interacts with loading docks, tracks trailer inventory and locations, and centrally manages and monitors all system functions. It’s a system that is being tested at scale, with its recently opened 350,000 sq/ft testing facility in Colorado, $118 million in investments, and strategic partnerships with some of the largest manufacturers and distributors of consumer packaged goods.