Retail giant Walmart has announced it will expand its drone delivery to 1.8 million more homes in Dallas Fort-Worth. In the last two years, Walmart completed 20,000 safe drone deliveries.
Drone delivery will now be available to 75% of the Dallas Fort-Worth community. Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president for innovation and automation, says the initiative will bring shoppers the ‘ultimate convenience’. “Customers will have access to a broad assortment of items from Walmart available for delivery to their home in just minutes,” she says.
The drone expansion includes over 30 stores in Dallas Forth-Worth. It marks a significant milestone – the first time a US retailer has offered drone delivery to a single market. Customers have the option of having items delivered in 30 minutes or less. The company will work with partners Wing and Zipline to make deliveries sustainable.
Also read: Drones lead Ireland’s last-mile delivery revolution
Focus on speedy delivery
Drone specialists Wing designs, manufactures, and deploys delivery drones. While Zipline is the world’s largest autonomous delivery company. Zipline currently completes a delivery every 70 seconds. Its services stretch over four continents. Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, co-founder and CEO of Zipline, says: “Walmart is leading the U.S. in using robotics and AI to help people save money and live better. We’re excited for folks across Dallas-Fort Worth to experience delivery that is 7x as fast, zero emissions, and whisper quiet with our next-generation technology.”
Adam Woodworth, Wing’s CEO, says 2024 is the year of drone delivery. “The response has been incredible from customers ordering drone delivery from Walmart every day, and it’s a testament to our partnership that we’re now expanding our footprint to bring this innovative delivery option to millions of Texans,” he says.
In November 2023, the company announced it would revamp the largest number of stores daily. Over the next two years, Walmart will invest $9 billion to upgrade over 1,400 stores.
Fleet management
There are several reasons drones are being used for delivery. The standout has to be the speed of delivery. Drones fly above ground and are not restricted by traffic. Another factor is deliveries will not be hampered by the issue of labor shortages, and they may be in flight during a lunch hour when a person has to take breaks – the drone does not.
Drones are cost-effective. Imagine a courier fleet’s fuel bill at the end of each month. The drone does not travel on roads, so there is less wear and tear on the drone than a vehicle that may be stranded at a service center for a particular problem. Vehicle repairs can be costly. In addition, drones do not emit toxic fumes. Drones are able to travel above rough terrain and provide an aerial route straight to the delivery point.
About the author
Sharl is a qualified journalist. He has over 10 years’ experience in the media industry, including positions as an editor of a magazine and Business Editor of a daily newspaper. Sharl also has experience in logistics specifically operations, where he worked with global food aid organisations distributing food into Africa. Sharl enjoys writing business stories and human interest pieces.
