Wings teams up with FedEx for Drone delivery
Wings, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, has partnered up with FedEx Express to use drones instead of trucks for last mile residential deliveries. In a pilot project authorized by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the residential deliveries will be made by drones on behalf of pharmacy retailer Walgreens.
Wings drones are designed to deliver small packages and through this project will be able to cut the delivery time of pharmaceutical products to “a matter of minutes”. In a statement about the project Don Colleran, CEO of FedEx Express, stated that the company hopes that the trial “will enhance the last-mile service for urgent, same-day deliveries, customers in rural or semi-rural areas, and other exceptional needs.”
The use of drones for commercial delivery may soon become a reality as this is not the only project that has been FAA approved. This month the FAA gave its approval for UPS to offer unlimited drone operations.
You can read more about the project here.
More pick-up locations for Counter
Amazon has announced that it has partnered with GNC, Health Mart and Stage Stores to offer more locations for its Counter service. Counter allows customers to be able to pick-up their parcels from a partner store that offers the service.
The increased amount of Counter partner stores is part of Amazon’s growing Hub network. The network also includes Amazon lockers, Key by Amazon, which allows keyless entry into homes and vehicles, and Amazon Day. This network could change the way parcels are delivered by offering alternatives to traditional delivery options.
According to Patrick Supnac, Worldwide Director of Amazon Hub, these alternative options not only give customers a service which is “fast, flexible and convenient” but also gain “additional foot traffic” at the partner stores. For example, department store chain Kohl’s increased its partnership with Amazon from some to all stores after trials led to increased revenues.
To read the fully story click here.
Best Buy offers free next-day delivery
Best Buy has announced that it will offer free next day delivery on thousands of its items from across the store. The announcement has come just in time for the holiday season where Best Buy will be competing against other firms for customers.
Best Buy’s new announcement follows an industry trend as earlier in the year, competitors Amazon, Walmart and Target all made similar announcements that they would offer next day delivery to customers. Free next day delivery will be available on most of Best Buy’s products. However, unlike its rivals, the service will be available to the majority of its customers without the need for a sign-up fee or minimum spend.
According to the announcement, “99% of customers will be able to receive free next-day delivery” and will offer free standard shipping to customers who live in an area where the service is not available. In a bid for holiday season sales, it remains to be seen whether this announcement will boost sales.
Click here to read more.
Have a great weekend!
