In what could be a step forward in the delivery chain and processes of products and services, American medical products delivery company Zipline is set to ensure a partnership between themselves and retail chain Walmart.
As part of a trial test scheduled for early January 2021, the pilot program near Walmart’s headquarters in Arkansas will see on-demand healthcare products’ deliveries. The service range is set to be within 50 miles radius of the Walmart store. This could signal the start of nation-wide operations depending on the company scalability of Zipline.
Zipline conceptualized and implemented the drone delivery service in 2016. Receiving a good level of success for the same, the first time it was introduced was with the objective of delivering blood to patients in Rwanda’s remote areas. Similar deliveries were carried out in Ghana as well, where rain-affected areas got essentials and supplies.
The need for warehouse inventory check was also addressed using a similar set of drones. Later it was also announced that Zipline would be coming to India, specifically the state of Maharashtra, with the intention of starting operations to cover a wide area of distribution centers. In the United States, this will be their second feature presence after tying up with a hospital system based out of North Carolina.
Although it would take some time based on the pilot project results and feasibility, we could be seeing more of drone deliveries. Their competitor Amazon also got the required approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to start a drone airline.
Should the streamlining of this process become more efficient, then Zipline’s patented drone delivery technology could set to benefit them across major domains. A partnership with Walmart means they could have an access to an expanded range based on the retail chain’s inventory. They could shift to groceries, cosmetics and fertilizers, and much more product range.
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