We have already discussed the revolution in logistics that the use of drones may cause, in the article Vaccination logistics in hard-to-reach places and in this other Drones: Is the technology a breakthrough or a threat?. Despite being a widely discussed and very current topic, there was always that feeling that this would still be a distant reality, due to the difficulties related to regulation and especially to safety. However, in October 2019, some facts determined a historic milestone regarding the use of drones in commercial deliveries, which may define the beginning of the era of the use of drones in logistics.
It took place in Christiansburg, in the state of Virginia in the United States. In partnership with FedEx and the Walgreens pharmacy chain, the company Wing, from Alphabet (which owns Google), delivered orders directly to city residents on October 18, which marked the first commercial trip ever made by a drone for home delivery of products. In addition to immediate deliveries, the service includes scheduled deliveries, allowing users to schedule drone deliveries for specific times. For now, the service is limited to some products from the partner pharmaceutical network.
Video 1 – First commercial U.S. in-home drone service operated by Wing in Virginia.
In the same month, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted UPS a license to own and operate a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles. This concession is essential for the service to be used on a large scale, and may soon be used by the general public. For now, UPS has been using its drones to deliver medicines at a university hospital in the US, in the B2B model. However, UPS is partnering with another US pharmaceutical retail giant, CVS Pharmacy, to deliver prescription drugs directly to customers, in a B2C model similar to competitors Wing/FedEx.
Video 2 – Use of drones to deliver medicines in North Carolina.
Other companies like Amazon and Uber have also invested in drone delivery services, and soon they should also obtain a license similar to the one obtained by UPS. The immediate applications of logistics using drones are still limited, and can be very useful in situations of great need and urgency, such as the distribution of medicines, or in remote places, where access through traditional routes is complex or restricted. However, from the moment that these companies obtain enough experience for the service to offer security and reliability, it should be expanded to the most diverse applications.
The American precedent seems to make this future closer and closer to us, however, in Brazil, we still have some time before the commercial application of drones, since Brazilian legislation is, in general, more restrictive and slow. Yet we are witnessing history being written right before our eyes. It will be up to logistics managers to adapt to this new paradigm and take advantage of the new opportunities that present themselves.
References:
https://medium.com/wing-aviation/wing-launches-americas-first-commercial-drone-delivery-service-to-homes-in-christiansburg-f8e8c3b2bb47
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/virginia-town-becomes-home-to-nations-first-drone-package-delivery-service/2019/10/19/4b777d24-f1ff-11e9-89eb-ec56cd414732_story.html
https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/1/20893655/ups-faa-approval-delivery-drones-airline-amazon-air-uber-eats-alphabet-wing
https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/201910253033/the-drones-are-coming
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/21/ups-partners-with-cvs-to-develop-drone-delivery-service-for-prescriptions.html
Henrique Alvarenga
He has been working in consultancy for 7 years, with experience in more than 20 Demand Planning and S&OP projects, Logistics Network Design, Logistics Master Plan, Inventory Policies, Operations Strategy and Market Intelligence
