K
Kathleen Martin
Guest
Grandiose promises of drone deliveries have been around for years, but the recent surge of commercial and civil drone activity may spark a wider adoption.
I first addressed the state of commercial drone delivery last year.
According to a recent report by McKinsey & Co., there have been over 660,000 drone deliveries to global consumers in the last three years. As of early 2022, more than 2,000 drone deliveries occur each day worldwide. McKinsey projects global deliveries for 2022 will be close to 1.5 million, up from under half a million in 2021.
Here is a list of recent updates from companies advancing drone deliveries.
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., is teaming up with California-based Elroy Air, which is building an autonomous vertical take-off and landing aerial cargo system. FedEx Express will test Elroy Air’s Chaparral drones within FedEx’s middle-mile logistics operations, moving shipments between sortation locations autonomously.
The Chaparral aircraft can pick up 300-500 pounds of cargo autonomously and deliver it up to 300 miles by air.
FedEx and Elroy Air have been working together since January 2020 and will continue their collaboration to pursue certifications and begin flight testing in 2023.
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Wing
Wing
Alphabet subsidiary Wing launched its first commercial drone delivery service in a U.S. metro area on April 7 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to several thousand suburban homes. The drones fly health and wellness products from Walgreens directly to customers’ homes, ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, prescription pet medications from Easyvet, and first-aid kits from Texas Health.
In March 2022, Wing completed 200,000 all-time commercial deliveries across its global markets. In 2021, Wing completed just over 100,000 drone deliveries in Australia. Recently, it had its busiest week ever, with more than 1,000 global deliveries in a single day (one every 25 seconds).
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Walmart
Walmart and DroneUp
Walmart and DroneUp, a global drone technology and services provider, have announced commercial drone delivery operations at three stores in Northwest Arkansas, operating from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days per week, to deliver items to eligible Walmart customers by air in as little as 30 minutes.
“When we invested in DroneUp earlier this year, we envisioned a drone delivery operation across multiple stores,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president of last mile at Walmart U.S. “Opening our first hub within months of our initial concept showcases DroneUp’s ability to execute drone delivery operations safely and with speed.”
Continue reading: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/daily-drone-deliveries-surpass-2000-globally
I first addressed the state of commercial drone delivery last year.
According to a recent report by McKinsey & Co., there have been over 660,000 drone deliveries to global consumers in the last three years. As of early 2022, more than 2,000 drone deliveries occur each day worldwide. McKinsey projects global deliveries for 2022 will be close to 1.5 million, up from under half a million in 2021.
Here is a list of recent updates from companies advancing drone deliveries.
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp., is teaming up with California-based Elroy Air, which is building an autonomous vertical take-off and landing aerial cargo system. FedEx Express will test Elroy Air’s Chaparral drones within FedEx’s middle-mile logistics operations, moving shipments between sortation locations autonomously.
The Chaparral aircraft can pick up 300-500 pounds of cargo autonomously and deliver it up to 300 miles by air.
FedEx and Elroy Air have been working together since January 2020 and will continue their collaboration to pursue certifications and begin flight testing in 2023.
–
Wing
Wing
Alphabet subsidiary Wing launched its first commercial drone delivery service in a U.S. metro area on April 7 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex to several thousand suburban homes. The drones fly health and wellness products from Walgreens directly to customers’ homes, ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries, prescription pet medications from Easyvet, and first-aid kits from Texas Health.
In March 2022, Wing completed 200,000 all-time commercial deliveries across its global markets. In 2021, Wing completed just over 100,000 drone deliveries in Australia. Recently, it had its busiest week ever, with more than 1,000 global deliveries in a single day (one every 25 seconds).
–
Walmart
Walmart and DroneUp
Walmart and DroneUp, a global drone technology and services provider, have announced commercial drone delivery operations at three stores in Northwest Arkansas, operating from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days per week, to deliver items to eligible Walmart customers by air in as little as 30 minutes.
“When we invested in DroneUp earlier this year, we envisioned a drone delivery operation across multiple stores,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president of last mile at Walmart U.S. “Opening our first hub within months of our initial concept showcases DroneUp’s ability to execute drone delivery operations safely and with speed.”
Continue reading: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/daily-drone-deliveries-surpass-2000-globally
