Ford Partners With Postmates To Pilot Customer, Merchant Interaction With Self-Driving Vehicles

"We have a shared vision with Postmates to help people unlock the best of their cities," said Jim Farley, Ford executive vice president and president of Global Markets. "When you combine the power and reach of self-driving vehicles with the deep knowledge of the Postmates team, the scale and scope of the expertise we put into action grows exponentially."

Postmates helps customers in more than 250 cities get whatever they need, whenever they need it -- from popular restaurants, to coffee runs, alcohol, fresh groceries and drugstore essentials. As the originators of on-demand 'anything,' Postmates gives customers access to more than 250,000 merchants that were previously inaccessible online. The company helps local brick and mortar businesses better compete on a level playing field -- with local merchants seeing 4X revenue growth on average after joining the platform.

"Ford's self-driving technology has the potential to not only make our delivery network faster and more efficient, but to ultimately connect more customers to more local businesses," said Vivek Patel, Vice President of Business Operations at Postmates. "Expanding access to smaller, local merchants is at the core of our business. We view self-driving vehicles as another potential tool that can even the playing field for these businesses, and ensure that geography alone does not equal destiny." 

Postmates is focused on finding innovative ways to make deliveries faster and more efficient. Postmates has the largest on-demand delivery fleet of couriers in the country, and is focused on investing in the R&D of emerging transportation technologies to better power local retail growth and ease traffic congestion and emissions. In January 2017, Postmates became the first on-demand delivery service to begin testing deliveries via robotic rovers for short distance deliveries -- to improve efficiency and improve Postmates courier earnings by reducing to shorter distance, less profitable jobs.

More information on Ford's self-driving technology and business development efforts can be found here.

About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 203,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

About Postmates
Postmates helps people unlock the best of their cities – and their lives, with an insanely reliable on-demand "everything" network. Launched in 2011, Postmates originated on-demand delivery and now helps customers in over 250 cities get whatever they need, whenever they need it. Postmates has the largest on-demand delivery fleet in the U.S. of more than 120,000 Postmates operating domestically, as well as in the company's first international market of Mexico City. Postmates provides access to +250,000 merchants and is helping transform the way food and merchandise move around cities – by connecting the city to customers, while helping local brick and mortar businesses better compete against retail goliaths. Headquartered in San Francisco, with 550 employees, Postmates is building a movement. Have chips but no guac? Postmate it. Your date night? Postmate it. Game day? Postmate it. Run out of caffeine? Postmate it. Learn more: www.postmates.com.   

SOURCE Postmates

Related Links

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