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From SCDigest's On-Target E-Magazine
- Dec. 8, 2015 -
Supply Chain News: Plethora of News from Amazon in Past Week, from New Drones to Air Cargo Rumors
New Drone Hybrid Drone Design Flies Like Harrier Jet; Tests at Old DHL Airpark, New Fleet of Branded Trailers, and Traffic Misery Near NJ FC
SCDigest Editorial Staff
It's been a busy week of news around Amazon.com even by aggressive standards we've become use to, with video of a new drone design to big time rumors about testing of a new air cargo service and more.
Let's start with the drones, as last week Amazon released narrated video of its latest design, much different than previous iterations.
SCDigest Says:
Amazon recently received a US patent application for running mini-distribution centers out of trucks parked in urban areas to help speed up deliveries.
As can be seen in the short video clip below, Amazon has now moved to a hybrid design, and one that looks much bigger than previous renderings.
The new Prime Air drone isn't just a quadcopter anymore. It still takes off and lands vertically, but then it switches to a regular horizontal flight mode, which is far more efficient. That means it is basically part helicopter, part airplane, very similar to the UK's Harrier jet concept.
Amazon says that with this new design, a drone can cover over 15 miles and fly over 55 mph. The company also says it is working on a family of drones for different environments and purposes.
The new drones feature at least some degree of sense-and-avoid technology and once it arrives at its intended location, it'll scan the area and look for a landing spot. The video, for example, shows users marking a spot in their yard with an Amazon logo. The drone then lands, drops off the package and takes off again.
"One day, seeing Prime Air vehicles will be as normal as seeing mail trucks on the road," an Amazon spokesperson said last week.
Perhaps, but one analyst thinks Amazon should pull back on its drone activities for now.
"I think technological feasibility is now," Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities told CNBC this week. "But I think legal possibility is at least 10 years out. So no contribution from this until we get a government that can meet and agree on things."
Pachter thinks right now Amazon would be better off to focus on driverless delivery vehicles - though that technology of course faces its own legal hurdles.
New Amazon Delivery Drone Design
In separate news, reports last week that Amazon is eying the former DHL - and before that Airborne Express - air cargo hub in Wilmington, OH, That wonderful facility has basically sat unused since DHL closed down its US parcel business in 2008.
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A publication called Motherboard published a report last week describing an air freight transportation operation flying four flights per day out of Wilmington Air Park. Many suspect that the private air freight company is testing air shipments for Amazon, which may again be looking for ways to cut out UPS and FedEx out of the delivery equation, though Amazon's involvement has not been confirmed.
It's hard to think what other company could be engaged in such tests besides Amazon. We'll certainly keep you posted on this one.
Meanwhile, in a somewhat unusual move, Amazon is also investing in thousands of new branded truck trailers - even though it will continue to use third party carriers to move them, for now at least.
In addition to the on-the-road advertising benefits, it isn't clear how the move will help Amazon's logistics. The company says that new trailers will be used to shuttle goods between Amazon's warehouses, as well as move items to delivery stations and sorting facilities along the way to arriving at their final destinations.
Can it be that given Amazon’s volumes it simply can’t get enough dropped trailers from carriers to pre-load before pick-up? That would seem to be one of the logical conclusions.
But even more interesting may be more radical new ideas Amazon is working on. Amazon recently received a US patent application for running mini-distribution centers out of trucks parked in urban areas to help speed up deliveries.
Finally, controversy is a couple of towns in New Jersey over gridlock on local roads from all the worker traffic around an Amazon fulfillment center in the area.
It turns out that the Amazon facility in Robbinsville, NJ was approved for about 1000 car trips per day to and from the facility when it was originally built. With a surge in peak season hiring, the Amazon FC is now creating some 5000 trips per day, causing real traffic headaches in the area. In fact, Amazon has hired five off-duty police officers to help improve traffic flow around the warehouse park during each shift change - partly because in the past six weeks alone there have been more than 25 accidents near the entrances to the facility.
The main problems occur at the end of each shift, when hundreds or even thousands of Amazon workers all leave en masse. Local officials say traffic is literally backed up for miles in the area at those times.
"We don't mind that added staff, but what they can't do is let them all out at one time," Robbinsville Mayor Dave Fried said last week. "They're going to need to stagger their shifts so they don't release more employees at one time than their approval allows."
Attorneys for the township and planning board are working to schedule a court hearing to hold Amazon to the number of trips it was approved for and if a judge finds the retailer is not in compliance, Robbinsville will attempt to block the warehouse from operating until it is in compliance, Fried said.
Any reaction to all this Amazon news? Should Amazon scale back drone activity for now? Why would it buy thousands of new trailers? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback button below (email) or in the Feedback section. Anonymity will be provided upon request.
It turns out that the Amazon facility in Robbinsville, NJ was approved for about 1000 car trips per day to and from the facility when it was originally built. With a surge in peak season hiring, the Amazon FC is now creating some 5000 trips per day, causing real traffic headaches in the area. In fact, Amazon has hired five off-duty police officers to help improve traffic flow around the warehouse park during each shift change - partly because in the past six weeks alone there have been more than 25 accidents near the entrances to the facility.
