Is Amazon readying drones to delivery packages?

December 2 2013

The future of shipping is here. In reality it is more likely five plus years away, but a plan is in place to revolutionize the way consumers receive packages once they order online.

Earlier this year, this blog covered the possibility of drones could being used to deliver packages. It was more of a pipedream and something that is being tested overseas. FAA regulations alone are a major hurdle that the service would need to overcome to be successful.

However, on a recent edition of CBS's "60 Minutes," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the company's plan to use the flying machines to deliver packages. Known as "octocopters," the devices can carry up to five pounds, which is 86 percent of their business, to any location within a 10-mile radius of a fulfillment center.

Shipments could be completed within 30 minutes. This model of service would only be effective in urban areas that have a dense population in a 10-mile radius.

"The hard part here is putting in all the redundancy, all the reliability, all the systems you need to say, 'look, this thing can't land on somebody's head while they're walking around their neighborhood,'" Bezos said. "And, you know, I don't want anybody to think this is just around the corner. This is years of additional work from this point."

Companies do not need to worry about drones becoming a standard part of shipping anytime soon, but it is something that organizations should be aware of. Logistics and deliveries are a crucial component to every business and organizations need to ensure they are optimized, which a third party solution provider can handle.