Distribution, environment, innovation, retail, services, sustainability, technology
Ready for deliveries via drone? It’s been a lot of talk, and testing since we saw Amazon first demonstrate drones in 2013, but it seems that little has been done to implement drone delivery for the average consumer.
Well, that’s about to change. That is, if you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth right now, you are in luck. Walmart has announced it is expanding its drone delivery program to millions of people in 30 municipalities around the geography.
Why drones? They are a great way to deliver fast service for small packages. Drone delivery lowers carbon emissions, but does add some noise to the environment. For Walmart, it can impact the scale of its delivery fleet in the U.S. – 80,000 trailers, 12,000 drivers, driving 1.1 billion miles each year. Drones weigh 400 times less than cars, run on electric power, and can make a delivery in less than a third of the time.
Delivery time is roughly 30 minutes, but works best in places with open areas such as suburbs. Drones can fly at speeds up to 65 miles per hour and hover several hundred feet above the ground. Customers can watch the progress on an app which includes time and precise delivery location. The drone hovers about 20 feet above the ground, then disengages the package from a long wire system.
The company uses drones from Zipline and Wing (an Alphabet company) and has made hundreds of thousands of deliveries testing the deliveries.
However, the service is not free and not all items are eligible for drone delivery. The delivery fee for this service is $3.99 and the order can weigh up to 10 pounds. Walmart stated that the top-selling item at one of its current hubs isn’t an emergency item – it’s Hamburger Helper (ok, that might be an emergency if it’s dinner time). Products delivered tend to be a last-minute purchase or forgotten ingredient, plus medicine and treats.
Give it a try!
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Poll students: What are their opinions about using drones for supply chain and deliveries? Have they seen or used a drone service?
- Show Wing website: https://wing.com/
- Show a video using Wing for delivery: https://youtu.be/xfaMJgHX_4E?si=CbTn6buiixf9adJH
- For schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area (or other areas using drone delivery), consider assigning a project whereby students order using drone delivery. Have them evaluate the service.
- In teams, have students develop a promotional plan for the drone delivery service.
- Who is the target market for drone delivery?
- What is the key message?
Source: Birch, K. (16 January 2024). Walmart: Reducing emissions with drone technology. Sustainability magazine; Nassauer, S. (9 January 2024). Walmart expands drone delivery in Dallas as it races Amazon. Wall Street Journal; Shankland, S. (9 January 2024). Walmart expands Dallas drone deliveries to millions more Texans. CNET; other news sources.
