The retailer is launching three full-time DroneUp airport “Hubs” for on-demand delivery operations. The first operation has already taken flight at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Farmington, Arkansas.
DroneUp, LLC, a leading global provider of drone technology and services, and Walmart announced the first multi-site commercial drone delivery operations. The three locations, which will be located at Walmart stores in Northwest Arkansas, will operate from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m., seven days per week, to deliver items to eligible Walmart customers by air in as little as 30 minutes.
Recommended AI News: Robotic Assistance Devices Receives Orders for 14 ROSA Stationary Security Robots
“When we invested in DroneUp earlier this year, we envisioned a drone delivery operation that could be quickly executed and replicated across multiple stores,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president of last mile at Walmart U.S. “Opening our first hub within months of our initial concept showcases DroneUp’s ability to safely execute drone delivery operations with speed. We’re already hearing great customer feedback at our first site in Farmington, Arkansas, and look forward to opening additional locations.”
DroneUp’s delivery operation provides Walmart customers a safe, convenient, fast, and sustainable delivery option on thousands of items – even the most fragile – powered by a crew of skilled operators. Enjoying the benefits of drone delivery is as easy as:
- Verify: Customer enters their address to verify eligibility.
- Shop: Customer selects from thousands of items for delivery.
- Secure: Operators pack the order and secure the box to the drone using a patented delivery release mechanism.
- Deliver: The flight engineer manages a controlled and guided delivery, placing the order gently at the customer’s home.
Eligible customers in Farmington, AR can begin placing orders at droneupdelivery.com. The additional locations at Walmart Neighborhood Market #5837 in Rogers, AR and Walmart Supercenter #100 in Bentonville, AR, are planned to open in the coming months.
“Teaming up with Walmart to launch three delivery Hubs marks a significant leap forward in the broader use of UAS to provide last-mile consumer delivery services and supply chain efficiency options,” said Tom Walker, CEO, DroneUp. “Walmart and DroneUp provide an unrivaled ability to pick, pack, and deliver via drones directly from the store to consumers offering efficiencies no other retailer can match. We are proud of our team’s ability to deliver the technology helping Walmart launch a new era of commercial drone operations.”
Recommended AI News: Virtana Survey: 70% of Cloud Decision Makers Identify Silos as Impediment to Digital Transformation
Walmart is well-positioned to be the drone delivery leader as it already has significant infrastructure in place to serve the public – more than 4,700 stores stocked with 120,000 of the most purchased items, located within 10 miles of over 90 percent of the U.S. population. Similarly, DroneUp’s airport “Hubs” house convenient on-site operations where FAA certified flight engineers can conduct multiple and simultaneous deliveries.
Drones are uniquely valuable due to their flexibility, speed, and low cost. Drones also require fewer fossil fuel-powered vehicles for short delivery trips. DroneUp has worked closely and continuously with the FAA to ensure the safe operation of drones in the National Airspace and has more than 190 active waivers and authorizations with the FAA to support DroneUp flights across the U.S.
Recommended AI News: Snowflake Shapes the Future of Data Science with Python Support
[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]
Comments are closed.