Drones could provide the next boost in the e-commerce sector. These unmanned aircraft can deliver packages more cheaply and quickly.
Regulations and laws are still holding back courier services and online retailers (for now). But that doesn't mean that testing isn't in full swing. For example, parcel delivery company DPD recently opened special drone terminals in France.
Drones can deliver packages to hard-to-reach places. Think of houses in the mountains, on islands, remote regions, or snowbound areas.
In short: any destination that is difficult to reach.
They are an ideal addition to the vehicle fleets of courier services such as GLS, TNT, UPS, DHL, etc. Legal issuesare still preventing full rollout. But it seems only a matter of time before this is resolved.
DPD has been testing its drone deliveries for over a year now. Last September, one flew 1,200 kilometers carrying a 2-kilogram package. They are now twice as powerful.
With an average speed of around 30 kilometers per hour, they appear to be slower than regular road traffic. But this is offset by the high coverage of "pickup parcel shops" that the larger couriers have. DPD has around 16,000 of these spread across Europe.
Hourly deliveries can become a reality this way—if they leave at the time of ordering.
DPD experimented with fully automated drone terminals in France. They see this as the next milestone in parcel delivery by drones.
How? Unmanned aircraft automatically connect to the correct package. They are equipped with GPS and cameras and can collect and store data.
CEEMA is the European test center that was founded in 2008. They have a reserved area where they test drones weighing up to 150 kg.