For some people, drones are toys. To others, they are deadly weapons. For supply chain strategists, they’re starting to look like an important new tool for getting work done. Amazon’s early and very visible foray into drone delivery looked a bit like a stunt, but it has continued to press ahead with patent filings and with substantial ongoing investment in the technology, infrastructure and even politics of making it a reality.
Recent news, coupled with preliminary SCM World data on disruptive technologies, points towards a suddenly urgent need to at least consider where and how drones might fit into your supply chain strategy.
Unleashing Potential
This past month, the Federal Aviation Authority extended its first ever exemptions to the “line of sight” rule. This rule – that prohibits controlling aerial drones via any means other than the operator’s eyesight – means that their use for business is limited. Among the most common applications up to now are those that extend what can be done with ladders, ropes and manned aircraft, namely inspecting and servicing things like telecom towers, pipelines and big construction projects.
One of the first exemptions was made to a company called PrecisionHawk, which makes drones for aerial farm inspections among other things. The breakthrough is less about the drone itself and more about the air traffic control system, called low altitude traffic and airspace safety, or LATAS. LATAS is free for users willing to accept PrecisionHawk’s terms of service. It’s a deceptively big accomplishment comprising technology and regulatory cooperation among Verizon,
This is big, because the whole concept depends on units being autonomous in supply sensing applications like Land O’Lakes’ use of drones to look for pest, drought or disease in crops, or
After all, if operators must drive alongside in a pickup like a hunter keeping his dog on a leash, how much is really gained?
Drones to Your Doorstep
The other interesting news item comes from a maker of drone logistics systems called Matternet, based in Silicon Valley. It has co-developed a van-based docking and package handling system with Mercedes-Benz that allows aerial drones to operate from the roof of a vehicle, like fighter jets from an aircraft carrier. The symbiosis solves a bunch of problems including battery life and range, payload limitations and unit safety and service in the field.
Like PrecisionHawk, Matternet boasts a few regulatory blessings including NASA and the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation, but its emphasis is decidedly consumer-facing, with a mission like Amazon
The practicalities and business case start to make sense here, when you imagine a Mercedes Vision Van loaded with packages parked unobtrusively in a dense urban city center like London or Basel, hosting a gang of drones that drop boxes on balconies. It can work.
Drones on the Digital Roadmap
Whether we’re talking supply sensing applications like agricultural inspection by drone, or demand response applications like 30-minute delivery by Amazon Prime Air, it’s increasingly clear that drones deserve consideration as part of your digital roadmap. Plus, ground and even ocean-going drones are developing fast, with problem-solving applications such as driver hour limitations, inaccessible or hazardous locations and massive materials handling chores, similar to what BASF is doing with autonomous vehicles in its mega-plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
The big takeaway is that nearly a third of all supply chain professionals surveyed said that drones are disruptive and important to their strategy. This is a threefold increase from just two years ago when we first asked our community about this in 2014 (see chart above).
The near future includes more active lobbying by businesses to get regulatory approval for wider use, and accelerated investment in technologies for safe control.
It would be a mistake to ignore drones when roadmapping the digitized future of your supply chain.
