![]() ![]() The primary challenge is navigating the regulatory environment surrounding drone aviation: The pilot program marks a turning point for Alphabet’s Project Wing division, giving the team ample room to experiment with airborne burrito deliveries in one of the first commercial programs of its kind to be greenlit by the US Federal Aviation Authority. Google parent company Alphabet is teaming up with fast casual chain Chipotle to test drone delivery for Virginia Tech students, according to a report from Bloomberg. Other companies, such as Chipotle and Alphabet (Google’s parent company) are already experimenting with drone delivery. In fact, many experts believe Amazon already has all the necessary technology in place. Technology is not the primary hurdle Amazon must clear in implementing Prime Air. Amazon Must Clear Regulatory Hurdles Before Using Drones Clearly, Amazon needs to create alternative shipping methods to avoid this sort of disaster. roads will become terribly clogged by 2040, which would be a disaster for Amazon. They predict that, unless something changes, U.S. Department of Transportation has warned that the current infrastructure in the United States isn’t sufficient. Opening up these new shipping lanes is crucial for ecommerce stores like Amazon. Because they operate in a new, untrammeled layer of physical space - below 400 feet, an airspace that is currently unoccupied in most of the country - they open up a vast new shipping lane. When I began talking to others in the drone industry about Amazon’s interest in autonomous flight, they all pointed out that drones offer a way to leapfrog roads. Instead of relying on human delivery, which is prone to be late or incorrect, drone delivery can be controlled directly by Amazon itself. By continuing to increase their delivery speed, Amazon can gain a competitive advantage over ecommerce rivals.Īdditionally, by using drones, Amazon can completely eliminate many of the issues that come with traditional delivery methods. Wal-Mart recently purchased Amazon competitor Jet.com for $3.3 billion, ratcheting up the online selling competition between Amazon and Wal-Mart. Instead, over the next few years, Amazon wants to add as much capacity to its operations as possible, and rather than replace partners like UPS and FedEx, it is spending boatloads on planes, trucks, crowdsourcing and other novel delivery services to add to its overall capacity and efficiency. … not trying to replace third-party shippers. Some think that Amazon is trying to completely replace the third-party companies, such as UPS and FedEx, that is uses for delivery. Clearly, they are intent on using all the resources at their disposal to significantly decrease the time between an order being placed and the package actually being delivered. Amazon Is Rapidly Expanding Its Delivery MethodsĪmazon clearly has plans to massively expand their delivery operations, and drones are only a small part of those plans.Ī plans to roll out thousands of branded semi-trucks to help shuttle inventory between its facilities, an effort to take more control of its shipping processes.Īdditionally, Amazon is using a crowdsourced delivery method and is building a fleet of airplanes to supplement the standard delivery options they currently use. Here’s what we currently know and where we think things may be headed. However, we can make some educated guesses based on the actions of the company, the current state of drone use in the United States, and general market conditions. ![]() It’s hard to know precisely because the company is notoriously secretive. What will the future of drone delivery look like for Amazon? Here’s the original Prime Air promo video:īut even though Amazon has been discussing drone delivery for upwards of three years now, they still have not put the program into action. Founder Jeff Bezos said back in 2013, “One day, Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road today.” The delivery was made in under 10 minutes.įor several years now, Amazon has also been indicating that they intend to begin using drones to deliver products. They are also beginning to push their on-call delivery service, Prime Now, which is currently available in 20 metro areas.Īmazon’s fastest order delivered to date was a four-pack of Starbucks vanilla Frappuccino to a customer in Miami. Over the years, they’ve increased their delivery speed to the point where they now offer free 2-day shipping with Amazon prime. ![]() Since its founding in 1994, Amazon has been massively disrupting the retail world. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |