Amazon is a machine when it comes to speedy and efficient deliveries. But the latest addition to its delivery options, using a drone, has raised some eyebrows. The expectation is to deliver orders per drone to residents in more US cities, the UK, and Italy by the end of the year.
According to Business Insider, the fastest Amazon can deliver a simple box of cookies is just over 15 minutes. It’s been in the delivery game with drones for over a year.
“At our facility in College Station, Texas, our fastest click-to-delivery time in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 15 minutes and 29 seconds for a box of Annie’s Cocoa and Vanilla Bunny Cookies,” reads a statement.
But compared to what Wing drone deliveries have been achieving with deliveries for Walmart, Amazon still has to speed up its drone delivery service. Wing has a record of delivering items from store to door with their drone in 2 minutes 47 seconds.
Amazon’s drone can only handle one item at a time and cannot weigh more than 2.2kg.
Amazon’s drone delivery standards
The company started delivering drones to customers just over a year ago. It only operates in smaller areas like College Station in Texas and Lockeford in California.
In September 2023, Amazon unveiled its latest edition, the MK30. For now, it can only carry packages the size of a shoe box with a maximum weight of 2.3kg.
Amazon’s MK30 drones fly at 40 to 120 meters altitude, using built-in sense-and-avoid technology to ensure they don’t bump into obstacles.
To streamline efficiency and capacity, Business Insider is reporting the company only makes deliveries available between 9:30 am and 5 pm on certain allocated days of the week.
Speedy delivery per van
Amazon remains one of the fastest delivery companies known worldwide when it comes to traditional transportation methods.
Amazon Stores’ CEO Doug Herrington says the company has reached a new record for speedy delivery globally, with more than 7 billion units arriving the same or the next day. A further four billion deliveries were made in the US and more than 2 billion in Europe.
It’s been hailed as a “massive accomplishment,” Herrington says they have everything to celebrate. “We achieved our fastest-ever global shipping speeds last year by focusing on a few key initiatives,” says Herrington.
He says things like improving their inventory placement and building their same-day delivery service contributed to this.
Investing in faster deliveries for 2024
Amazon continues improving its same-day delivery service, aiming to improve its record.
“Amazon delivered to Prime members at the fastest speeds ever in 2023—and is working to get even faster in 2024,” says the company.
Last year, the goal was to double the number of same-day delivery sites. For now, it’s already at 55 sites. In the US, it’s adding nine new ones to serve 18 cities over the course of this year.
“These smaller sites are hybrid: part fulfillment center, part delivery station,” Harrington shared in his blog.
With more delivery sites spread evenly across the city, products’ “fulfillment, sorting, and delivery” can happen all from one site. This makes the delivery process even faster.
Harrington says they constantly innovate to reach customers “where they are, regardless of location.”
About the author
Mia is a multi-award-winning journalist. She has more than 14 years of experience in mainstream media. She's covered many historic moments that happened in Africa and internationally. She has a strong focus on human interest stories, to bring her readers and viewers closer to the topics at hand.
