Walmart Invests in DroneUp, the Nationwide On-Demand Drone Delivery Provider
June 17 2021 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
CEO and President of Walmart’s U.S. business, John Furner,
released the following memo early Thursday morning:
In our ongoing effort to get customers the items they want, and
fast, we know it will take a well-coordinated network of delivery
solutions that span the streets, sidewalks and skies. Some of these
solutions are still emerging but they’re already showing
encouraging results.
Last year, we partnered with DroneUp, a nationwide drone
services provider, to launch trial deliveries of at-home COVID-19
self-collection kits. The trial demonstrated we could offer
customers delivery in minutes versus hours. Now, after safely
completing hundreds of drone deliveries from Walmart stores, we’re
making an investment in DroneUp to continue our work towards
developing a scalable last mile delivery solution.
DroneUp operates an on-demand drone delivery network that
matches their database of more than 10,000 Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) certified pilots to missions nationwide. Since
partnering with DroneUp last year, we’ve valued their technological
expertise, world-class operations and experienced management team –
and their commitment to helping the FAA ensure the highest levels
of safety with every delivery. As a well-respected industry
innovator, DroneUp was the first operator to use the FAA 107.39
waiver, an operation that allows for delivery flights to be
conducted over people and moving vehicles. DroneUp operates
commercially throughout the U.S. and is an authorized government
drone services provider for 11 U.S. states serving public sector
organizations.
Walmart already has a significant part of the infrastructure in
place – 4,700 stores stocked with more than 100,000 of the most
purchased items, located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S.
population. This makes us uniquely positioned to execute drone
deliveries, which is why our investment in DroneUp won’t just apply
to the skies but also the ground. In the coming months we’ll be
beginning our first operation at a store in Bentonville,
Arkansas.
In April, we announced a similar investment in Cruise, an
all-electric autonomous vehicle company. Through these commitments,
we’re learning how these technologies can get customers the items
they need.
Conducting drone deliveries at scale is within reach. DroneUp’s
expertise combined with our retail footprint and proven history of
logistics innovation puts us right where we want to be for that
day. Because when it comes to the future of drone delivery, we know
the sky’s the limit.
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Media Contact: Camille Dunn - 800-331-0085
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