Is the drone the future of the logistics industry?

The future of logistics is automation, labor costs are expensive, and drones are gradually becoming the brain and muscle of the logistics industry.

Is the drone to subvert the logistics industry, or is it just a juggling?

Most people have a negative view on the drone taking over the logistics industry. The black-pressed drone rushed down to the innocent passer-by, throwing the parcel into the car and slamming into the glass window. This is ridiculous at the moment, but is this a reasonable fear?

The irony is that this sentence: "Advanced technology is not necessarily daunting."

People still have illusions about the future vision of no one. For example, drones can take delivery to the doorstep within ten minutes; online shopping, Jingdong drones can deliver goods to your hands within 30 minutes.

However, it seems that the concept of drones has been raised for a long time. Civil drones have also infiltrated into our lives for some time, but there is no drone service in the life, and there are no drones in the sky.

In fact, there is still a long way to go before drones can develop in the logistics industry. The main obstacles to this development are airspace regulation, weight, and the need for certified pilots.

What makes consumers uneasy about the drone technology and digital technology subversion is that people misunderstand technology and think that it is a machine without soul and destroying employment. Many people are talking about the fear of being replaced by machines in the discussion of new technology changes.

In fact, everyone will benefit from drones. Company, consumer, economic, and even the environment. The transportation and logistics industry has benefited from the fact that drone services are worth $127 billion worldwide, of which $13 billion is based on drone transportation.

How will logistics drones unfold?

Shipping: It used to be the only mode of transportation for international trade, and shipping only solved part of the application. Traditionally, shipping is a low-cost solution for low-value goods, and transportation capacity is limited by the limited number of pick-up locations (ports). In addition, the tracking capability of seaborne cargo is limited, and the drone can strengthen the inspection and review process to track the cargo in real time during cargo handling.

Railway freight: Like the sea, the drone can be used as a supplement to the railway. When the train crosses the country, the drone can unload the parcel without stopping the train, making rail freight more efficient.

Truck Freight: Truck unloading locations are more flexible than ports and railroads. However, in densely populated areas, or in remote areas where road infrastructure is weak, trucking can be hampered, and drones can provide faster solutions at this time, while drones can also eliminate the need to pay for loading and unloading trucks. And the need to track inventory.

Air transport: The aircraft is limited by the location of the fixed port, and the drone provides superior flexibility at the point-to-point. Therefore, drones are expected to be a cheaper and more versatile alternative to the use of aircraft.

The era of drone logistics is coming

Although drones are difficult on the road to commercialization, obstacles will be cleared sooner or later. Domino has begun drones in New Zealand with drones; Google's parent company, Alphabet, uses drones to ship Chipotle burritos to the Virginia Tech campus; Zipline uses drones to deliver medicines faster in Ghana and other African markets.

These examples are trivial today, but they are milestones in the development of drone technology. Due to weight limitations, early drones shipped lightweight items such as pizza and medicine. In the future, once the safety of the drone is guaranteed, the delivery weight will no longer be a disadvantage.

Last year, Amazon provided the service of the day, not the next day. More than 2 billion Prime members have chosen the service of the day, and this year Amazon’s speech fee is $800 million to provide day-to-day delivery services to quality customers.

Drone in the warehouse

Although commercial drones for delivery are not ready to take off, drones have already demonstrated their value indoors.

The supply chain has been digitized, and drones are only part of this larger shift. In industries with lower profit margins, increasing cost savings is critical, and drones are helping to improve operational efficiency, productivity and profitability.

The future of logistics is automation, and labor costs are expensive. Take Wal-Mart as an example. They operate more than 190 distribution centers throughout the United States. The smallest distribution center is as large as 17 football fields. Wal-Mart has begun to use drones and other storage robots to automate work traditionally done by humans. .

These drones can collect data, monitor inventory, operate forklifts, and update the company's Warehouse Management System (WMS) tasks. Their two drones can work for more than 100 people with an accuracy of almost 100%. In addition, because technology is not limited by human capabilities, they can work around the clock.

In summary, drones are gradually becoming the brain and muscle of the logistics industry.