Drone Express, a commercial drone delivery service and a division of TELEGRID Technologies, Inc., has partnered with FarEye, an Intelligent Delivery Management Platform, to power autonomous drone deliveries for leading retailers in the United States.
As the e-commerce delivery economy rapidly increases, retailers are under pressure to evolve faster in the last mile to meet the growing demand while providing a great customer experience. These expectations lead to driver shortages, complexities in carrier partnerships, and order fulfillment in the retail market. Autonomous drones have been identified as a viable, more sustainable and cost-efficient alternative mode of delivery to ensure the overall customer experience is not negatively impacted by these challenges.
Drone Express operates as a logistics company, working with companies to strategically introduce drone package delivery into their supply chains and service offerings. The company has partnered with FarEye to enhance the drone delivery customer experience. FarEye provides Intelligent Delivery Orchestration solutions helping retail enterprises provide new delivery experiences. End-to-end visibility is achieved by optimizing routes resulting in a positive customer experience.
In May, Drone Express and the leading grocery retail provider in the United States announced a pilot to offer a drone delivery service as part of the grocery retailer’s continuing efforts to transform e-commerce. The first grocery retail store is expected to offer the drone delivery service in early summer.
“The time has come for drone deliveries to become the new reality. Retailers are facing new pressures due to the delivery boom and consumer demand and are showing interest in innovative delivery solutions like autonomous drones. Customers are used to Amazon-Prime-like experiences where they can schedule and track their deliveries in real-time. We are excited to take this market-first offering to retailers in partnership with Telegrid and transform modern-day retail deliveries,” said Gaurav Srivastava, Co-founder at FarEye.
With the combined capabilities of Telegrid and FarEye, retailers can achieve:
- Contactless deliveries with the help of drones
- Delightful customer experience keeping customers informed at every step of the delivery journey
- More flexibility to the customer to pick date and time of deliveries
- Improved on-time delivery performance by avoiding traffic delays
- Faster ways to fulfill same-day and same-hour deliveries
- Improved sustainability utilizing an alternative delivery method reducing overall carbon emissions
- Reduced operating costs by savings in driver and fuel costs
“Our landmark drone technology means consumers can now order a Gatorade to the soccer field, sunscreen to the beach, aspirin to the office or chicken soup for a sick friend,” said Beth Flippo, Chief Technology Officer, TELEGRID Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to partner with FarEye. The company plays a critical role in shaping the delivery experience to customers with optimized routing and real-time tracking. Together, we are moving commercial drone delivery beyond hype and making it a reality.”
