What were challenges that zipline had to overcome

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Reference no: EM133654637

Homework: Operations Management- Supply Chain Management

Zipline: Life-Saving Drone Service Redefining the Supply Chain Case Study IN 1921 by Insead, distributed through Harvard Business School
Introduction

Zipline is a delivery company for medical products operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). With its expansion to Ghana in 2019, zip line became world's largest medical drone delivery service, reaching around 25 million people. Founded in 2014 by Keller Rinaudo (CEO) and Keenan Wyrobek (CTO) at Half Moon Bay CA it is different from its Silicon Valley peers. Zipline has ambitions to reach 700 million people in need of medical supplies by 2024 with its drone services. The case study sheds light on the company, its drone technology, its innovative approach to the delivery of medical supplies, as well as the difficulties that lie ahead as it expands.

Zipline is a young company operating first-of-a-kind unmanned aerial vehicles to deliver supplies. The case study discusses the technology, initial use cases and its evolution from a small start-up in Silicon Valley to a Unicorn. It covers a series of issues that commonly confront young organizations, implementing new technologies in the social impact sector, particularly those related to the novelty of the technology/solution, the regulatory environment, and financing.

Task

Based on the case study presented, compose a report covering following aspects and questions:

I. Give an overview of Zipline as a company. Explain the motivation for founding this company, what is their unique position in the industry, and what was the need they saw in the field (the gap the company wants to fill). What were challenges that Zipline had to overcome since their inception? What does the competitive environment look like?

II. If customers can receive any product they desire instantly after ordering how does that influence the type of products they buy, the volume of products procured, and the extent to which they are kept in stock?

III. With the ability to reduce waiting times to under an hour, ziplines delivery service will affect the assortment of health products offered at the health facilities it serves in terms of greater diversity and reliability, availability without overstocking or stock outs. Using a graph, explain the phenomenon of stockouts and overstocking as they could occur in a business with traditional inventory management, and show how this scenario can be avoided with Zipline. What effect can a secure supply chain have on the hospitals and their customers, the patients?

IV. For Zipline to operate successfully, following conditions must be met:

1. Regular demand (50-100 flights/day cover the fixed costs of the distribution centre)
2. Narrow time window (product required within hours of order)
3. The product is difficult or expensive to stock
4. Packages must be small
5. Centralized distribution centres
6. Poor infrastructure
7. One-way delivery, hub and spoke model

Compare Zipline with traditional delivery methods, such as truck or motorcycle, and with alternative drone delivery systems. Refer to the points above, as well as speed and reliability of Zipline's delivery method, to draw your conclusions. What other markets could be attractive for Zipline?

V. Zipline will need to balance its social and commercial goals to be sustainable. What are the potential downsides of not finding a balance? Zipline is a medical supplies delivery company. It started out in developing countries where its service had a high social impact. Its mission to reach 700 million by 2024, and to transform the accessibility of medical supplies, made it immensely popular in the eyes of the public. It also allowed Zipline to hire top talent and raise funding from social investors. Recently, Zipline signed a deal with Walmart and is exploring delivery services with lower social impact. Is it possible to balance the two? How should Zipline go about doing this?

VI. What are the main new aspects that Zipline brought to traditional supply chain management? Even though Zipline's approach is tailored to a niche market, what impact can their model have on some areas of supply chain management?

Reference no: EM133654637

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