Drone Delivery: Everything You Need to Know

Delivery drones have been a topic of interest in the shipping world for a number of years now, but are they really about to take over the industry? And how does drone delivery work? In this article, you’ll learn what drone package delivery is, where and how it’s being used and what might be on the horizon for this exciting new shipping method.

What is Drone Delivery?

Drone delivery refers to the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, to deliver lightweight packages. Drone package delivery replaces the traditional delivery truck or van and driver, with the primary goal being to get packages to people faster. With close to 800,000 drones now registered in the US, including 396,746 for commercial use, drone delivery has the potential to make a huge impact on the shipping industry.

How Does Drone Delivery Work?

Delivery is the final stage of any online order transaction, and drone delivery is no different. When a company receives a customer order, it’s processed and fulfilled by an employee in a store or fulfillment center, including packaging the product for shipment to the recipient’s address. Rather than placing the package in a truck or van to be delivered, the item is loaded onto a drone, which then flies to the intended drop-off destination. Once there, it hovers in place and gently lowers the package to the ground.

Delivery drones fly autonomously and can be controlled remotely. They’re able to get packages from A to B quickly and efficiently because they can soar over traffic and use GPS to follow a more direct delivery path. Plus, they’re equipped with sensors and cameras that enable precision guidance and delivery, depositing packages right on the customer’s doorstep before flying back for the next order.

How Delivery Drones are Being Used

Not long ago, drone delivery sounded like the stuff of science fiction. But today, delivery drones are being used across many industries and for a variety of purposes. According to McKinsey, 2023 saw more than 800,000 commercial drone deliveries worldwide. Statista values the drone delivery market at around $1.7 billion currently and predicts it will scale up to become a $4.35 billion industry by 2027.

So, who’s using drones and how? Let’s look at some of the key use cases.

• eCommerce
• Food Delivery
• Medical Supplies
• Disaster Relief 
• Remote Locations
• Last-Mile Delivery

eCommerce

eCommerce is embracing drone delivery, primarily for the promise of speed. While Jeff Bezos’s prediction that drones would soon be as common as mail trucks may not have come true just yet, WalMart already offers drone delivery from locations in Texas, Arkansas and Virginia, and Amazon offers the service in Arizona, Texas and Italy, with plans to expand to other regions. 

Food Delivery

A number of companies offer drone delivery service for restaurants, including DroneUp, Flytrex and Zipline. Fast food companies like Chick-fil-A and Wendy’s are offering drone delivery in select areas, and in the Shenzen region of China, a company called Meituan has been delivering food orders by air since 2022.

Medical Supplies

In the medical industry, drones can be used to safely and quickly deliver life-saving medical supplies including vaccines and medication. In the future, they may even be used to deliver medicine straight from the hospital pharmacy to a patient’s bedside, saving nurses time and energy, or to expedite home-based care by sending blood directly to the lab following a house call, for example.

Disaster Relief

When disaster strikes, regular supply chains are often disrupted — and time is of the essence. Delivery drones offer the ability to quickly reach disaster zones that may be difficult or dangerous to access by ground, bringing in emergency supplies without putting additional lives at risk.

Remote Locations

Drones are also being used to deliver packages to remote, rural and hard to reach locations, which can bring much needed goods to areas that may be underserved. In addition to bringing medical supplies and humanitarian aid, drones can deliver everyday goods such as groceries to places where access is challenging.

Last-Mile Deliveries

When packages need to be transported from a local retailer, warehouse or distribution center to a nearby customer, drones can make the delivery quickly and more efficiently than a delivery truck. Drones are being used for last-mile delivery of small to medium-sized packages in a few key urban areas across the country.

Companies that Use Drones for Delivery

• Amazon Prime Air
• UPS Flight Forward
• Alphabet Wing
• WalMart
• DHL

Amazon Prime Air

Amazon Prime Air uses drones for ultra-fast delivery (under one hour) of individual Amazon packages weighing up to five pounds. Launched in 2022, the service currently operates in College Station, TX, and the Phoenix, AZ metropolitan area, with plans to expand to additional areas in the future.

UPS Flight Forward

Launched in 2019, UPS Flight Forward became the first company to receive FAA certification to operate an unlimited remote-controlled drone delivery network in the US. In 2021, they began delivering COVID-19 vaccines for a healthcare company in North Carolina after designing a custom, drone-sized cold chain solution. In 2023, Flight Forward was approved to operate drones “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS), paving the way for expansion with the use of a ground-based surveillance system.

Alphabet Wing

Wing Drone delivery, which is owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, offers drone delivery service on three continents: Europe, Australia and North America. The company partners with retail, logistics and healthcare organizations including WalMart, DoorDash and Coles Supermarkets in Australia to provide on-demand delivery for everyday needs.

WalMart

WalMart currently offers drone delivery for eligible orders and customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company’s recent expansion of this service gives them the “largest drone delivery footprint of any U.S. retailer,” according to their website. WalMart plans to expand drone delivery to include stores in more than 30 additional towns in the area through its partnerships with Wing and Zipline, another drone delivery pioneer.

DHL

Logistics leader DHL uses drones to deliver life-saving medical supplies and rapidly transport lab tests in remote areas including Lake Victoria, Tanzania, and the North Sea Island of Juist, Germany. DHL was also the first parcel service to use drones as part of the delivery chain, starting with two Bavarian Alps towns in 2016.

How Drone Delivery Got Started

UAVs were originally developed for military use, initially for training purposes and later for reconnaissance. As the technology advanced, UAVs were sent on more sophisticated missions, such as into combat and to drop psyops leaflets. Since the early 2000s, drones have been increasingly used by both government agencies and private corporations for a wide range of purposes, ranging from terrain surveillance to climate and weather monitoring.

Delivery drones hit the mainstream following Jeff Bezos’s 2013 announcement that Amazon would soon deploy them in select areas. Ongoing technological advancements over the past decade have given rise to a multitude of drone delivery vendors and uses, bringing the promise of rapid, safe drone delivery to the masses.

The Benefits of Drone Delivery

Compared to traditional delivery methods, drone delivery offers a number of benefits.

• Faster Deliveries
• More Cost Effective
• Improved Accessibility
• More Eco-Friendly

Faster Deliveries

Drones can travel the most direct route from a pick-up point to the drop-off location, bypassing traffic congestion and other obstacles that trucks may encounter on the ground. Speed is one of the primary reasons many organizations are looking to adopt drone delivery, especially for time-sensitive deliveries such as medical or emergency supplies.

More Cost Effective

Delivery drones use considerably less fuel than traditional delivery methods, while also eliminating the need to pay a driver. Faster delivery times compound the cost savings, making drone delivery a bottom-line-friendly option.

Improved Accessibility

Drones make it possible to quickly and safely access hard-to-reach areas. This includes remote or isolated places, islands and any location reachable only via difficult terrain that makes it challenging or dangerous to get to by road.

More Eco-Friendly

Drone delivery uses less energy than traditional delivery methods, especially for last-mile deliveries. Using less fuel also produces less emissions, reducing the carbon footprint and the overall environmental impact of delivery.

The Problems with Drone Delivery

While drone delivery is becoming increasingly mainstream, some concerns remain.

• Privacy Concerns
• Regulatory Obstacles
• Weather Conditions
• Safety Issues

Privacy Concerns

With drones regularly being used for surveillance, some people worry that delivery drones may also be taking photos or collecting data while making deliveries, because they use the same GPS and cameras to navigate. Privacy concerns make some hesitant to adopt drone delivery.

Regulatory Obstacles

All air travel in the US is regulated closely by the FAA as well as local officials, and drones are no exception. Gaining clearance for takeoffs and landings is complex and costly, which makes it difficult for drone delivery networks to get started as well as to expand their service areas.

Weather Conditions

Delivery trucks can handle any kind of weather, as the USPS’s motto famously states: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” Drones, on the other hand, can’t fly in high winds, heavy rain or other extreme weather conditions, which can lead to delivery delays and reliability issues.

Safety Issues

The possibility of drones crashing in populated areas poses a risk to humans. Some questions have also been raised about the potential impact on wildlife, especially birds. These concerns make some consumers and organizations hesitant to adopt drone delivery.

Delivery Drones: What the Future Holds

As drone technology continues to improve, delivery drone adoption is likely to become increasingly widespread. Advancements in AI and machine learning technology make drones better able to fly autonomously, with little to no human direction. Improvements in the strength and lightweight composition of the materials used to make drones are improving flight dynamics. New battery technologies are extending flight times, and better drone design is leading to increased payload capacities.

Add to all of these improvements ongoing consumer and business demands for speed, efficiency and eco-friendliness, and drone delivery is ready for takeoff. According to Forbes, “The implications for both businesses and consumers are nothing short of transformative.”

How Ernest Can Help Improve Your Delivery Processes

If you’re not quite ready to enlist the help of UAVs to get products from your warehouse to your customers, Ernest is standing by to make the most of your current delivery processes. Our team of experts can assess everything from your packaging design, processes and machinery to what materials you’re using and find ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. 

Whether you’re looking to save on costs or reduce your carbon footprint, we’re ready to help. Let’s talk about how Ernest can help you achieve lift off for your packaging goals.