Reference no: EM133617726
Case: The Last Mile is a distribution concept that describes the final portion of a delivery including the actual handoff to the buyer or customer. This can be the most expensive part of distribution because it tends to be heavily reliant on manual interaction (employee costs) and individualized delivery. In essence we take the smaller package from a larger truck and hand deliver it. Offsetting these costs (truck, employee, signature verification systems...and on and on) has been a priority for numerous companies in retail and delivery services, a trend that has spilled into food delivery services. These services have grown radically in the past few years due to Covid and the US population has not lost its desire for delivery. In 2013, Amazon made a splash by announcing drone delivery complete with promotional videos, press tours and major interviews. Others soon followed suit with their own ideas including UPS, DSL, Dominoes, Walmart and even small brewer, Lakemaid Beer. Some have enjoyed marginal success, however limited it was however most have either shelved the idea entirely or greatly reduced expectations as well as investment.
Lakemaid Beer actually delivered beer to ice fishermen (and women!!) for about a week until the FAA shut them down. So, what happened to this great idea to save the customer time, save the company money and deliver products quickly and affordably? Quite a bit actually! As the Lakemaid and others discovered, FAA regulations prevent drone flights in some areas, while the military controls others. Further, drones need safe and clear landing areas in which to work. Tightly knit urban areas are remarkably challenging (think downtown Detroit, Chicago, New York, etc.) urban and remote areas also provide a difficult environment for drone deliveries. Theft isn't just a big city problem and identifying the actual person who paid is near impossible. Considering this, and the attached videos for reference, answer the following using a minimum of 500 words Be sure to structure this as a paper you are submitting electronically. Follow the guidelines in the syllabus and welcome announcement regarding structure and citation.
Question 1. How are companies continuing to employ technology to positively impact the last mile?
Question 2. What other alternatives are being used in today's ever changing, competitive environment?
Question 3. Will we ever replace manual delivery in the last mile?