“I would expect logistics companies to be, not worried exactly, but concerned, as it would represent a big upset to their operating model’- Andrew Underwood, partner and head of UK supply chain management practice at KPMG.
The logistics world will change significantly over the next fifteen years due to unmanned aircraft (UAVs), also known as drones. Drones have the potential to change the way supply chains and deliveries are organized. In particular, these UAVs will provide a good solution in places with major traffic jams and at the more remote locations. UAVs can be introduced for many different purposes. The implementation of the UAVs can provide the following benefits: faster and up to five times cheaper than transport by truck, the ability to fly solar or other non-fossil fuels, reduce local congestion and improve urban air quality and liveability.
Companies like Google, Amazon and DHL strongly believe in the UAVs potential and the regulatory framework for commercial UAV deliveries will be facilitated in the coming years, making the above-mentioned parties invest in this technology. To take DHL as an example: DHL has been testing UAVs for commercial delivery of goods in remote settings. The first major project focuses on delivering urgent medicine from the countryside in Germany to the island of Juist (12 km away). See a glimpse of this project in the video below – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeWjnKfpXq4
Currently the UAV is being tested for delivery of goods to a DHL parcel locker in a remote mountainous region in southern German. Leading concept is that the distribution centre is instructed to deliver a particular package through the air by a fully autonomous flying device. At the destination, there is a special station where the drone or the aircraft leaves his package and the recipient can pick up the package. This test was once again successful, which means that DHL wants to continue to test / develop further at other locations and in other countries. If companies as DHL are able to demonstrate the safety of UAVs and society accepts package distribution with drones, then the chance that package distribution with UAVs will become mainstream within the foreseeable future is considerable.
References
DHL.com (2017). Available at: http://www.dhl.com/en/press/releases/releases_2015/group/dpdhl_group_to_foster_global_growth_through_pioneering_innovation_approach.html. [Accessed on 02/10/2017]
Mobiliteitsalliantie.nl (2017). Available at: https://mobiliteitsalliantie.nl/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Feitenonderzoek-versie-1-september2016.pdf. [Accessed on 09/10/2017]
Deingenieur.nl (2017). Available at: https://www.deingenieur.nl/artikel/pakketvliegtuig-dhl-bezorgt-autonoom. [Accessed on 09/10/2017]
Theguardian.com (2017). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/25/german-dhl-launches-first-commercial-drone-delivery-service. [Accessed on 09/10/2017]
Hi Babette,
I must say that currently I do not believe that drones will take over delivery inside the big cities. However, they will have potential in remote areas. Cities are not attractive at the moment because the drones can only carry a limited amount of goods and therefore have to travel from and to the distribution center too often. Cars on the other hand can drive a route with different stops. A route that is optimized in such a way that it decreases time and distance. Furthermore, car delivery can bring goods all the way to your front door, whereas drones cannot even land close to your house because of the limited space inside cities. Without a solution for these problems, drones will not play an important role in delivery in the near future. What is your opinion on this?
Kind regards,
Marvin
Hi Babette,
Thank you for your interesting post. I agree with you that drones will most likely disrupt the logistics industry in a massive way. Do you think that our city structures should be altered in order to adjust to the use of drones? Currently, Amazon is building towers throughout cities, that serve as charging and take-off points. also, drones currently are having problems navigating through narrow streets, which is required to deliver a package from door-to-door. How do you think this will work in the future?
Williams, C. (2017, 7 6). Future Of Retail: Drones To Play A Big Role In The Next 10 To 20 Years. Retrieved 10 10, 2017, from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bisnow/2017/07/06/future-of-retail-drones-to-play-a-big-role-in-the-next-10-to-20-years/#14392ba33eb2
Hi Babette,
Interesting blog you posted a few days ago. I indeed agree with the rising potential of drone delivery, but there are for sure several reasons why drone delivery is not about to be implemented shortly. I found several articles that describe great issues that need to be solved before UAV delivery becomes a standard. Hereby you can think about the following issues:
– Will drones ever work for really heavy items to completely disrupt the truck industry?
– Imagine how much only Amazon ships per day, will it ever be feasible that huge amounts of drones will cause horizon pollution?
– One of the biggest problems impacting drone deliveries is that they can not fly long enough to carry out multiple deliveries. Just flying out for a single delivery is already a challenge.
– Due to previous reason, is it ever going to be profitable on the short term?
(Vanian, J. 2017; Neagle, C. 2015)
I think above mentioned questions are important issues that can potentially postpone the whole drone delivery implementation longer that we think. But nevertheless, I assume drone delivery will take over the couriers/delivery industry at least partly.
With kind regards, Brend
Vanian, J. (2017) ‘Sorry, Drone Deliveries Aren’t Coming Soon’ Retrieved from: http://fortune.com/2017/02/09/drone-deliveries-gartner-amazon-google/
Neagle, C. (2015) ‘FAA deems Amazon delivery drones ‘airworthy,’ with heavy regulations’ Retrieved from: https://www.networkworld.com/article/2900044/opensource-subnet/faa-deems-amazon-delivery-drowns-airworthy-with-heavy-regulations.html