Amazon declares drone ambitions
Amazon has once more hit the headlines, unveiling its latest ambitious venture this week: aerial delivery drones, that according to Amazon, in four to five years’ time will deliver packages weighing up to five pounds from the fulfillment center to your house in less than half an hour.
The octocopters, will be part of a program called Amazon Prime Air. Currently however there are regulatory issues that need to be overcome. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing in 2014 regarding the utilization of drones in the commercial sphere— in particular whether drones can meet the relevant safety and privacy criteria.
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Google plans to develop robots for the supply chain
Google, in a similar manner to Amazon, has also revealed plans for an ambitious project for the future. Over the past year Google has secretly bought several robotics and artificial intelligence start-ups. The main goal is to begin developing advanced robots capable of operating in portions of the supply chain, such as the electronic assembly section of a manufacturing plant.
The main goal of developing such technology, according to Andy Rubin, the executive leading the project, is to “free humans from drudgery and repetitive tasks.”
Google has not made the amount it will be spending on the project public. A target date has also not been given. Rubin has however acknowledged the project is a moonshot which will require a 10-year vision.
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Christmas 2013 will be the most under-stocked in recent years
According to KPMG, compared to last year’s Christmas period, fashion retailers will be holding a 3-4% lower amount of stock. It is hoped in doing so that heavy discounting of excess stock can be avoided, as a result of dwindling customer purchases and over ordering—an issue retailers have had to contend with in previous years.
The change in practice is in part due to merchandising departments having greater sway over buyers regarding inventory management. A further reason, according to David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, is that credit insurance is becoming increasingly unavailable. Many retailers must thus self-fund their stock purchasing. Stock holdings are therefore being kept to a bare minimum.
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Have a great weekend!
