#TGIM: Flying donuts and hot coffee – Say hello to drone delivery

(Marketingmagazine.com.my) – By Malati Siniah

Is having your pizza delivery flying into your household a new reality?

Retail store 7-Eleven made history when it made the first commercial delivery to a private residence in the United States last week.

Partnering with drone delivery start up Flirtey, the company completed two drone deliveries from a 7-Eleven in Reno, Nevada to a nearby home. The order of a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee, Slurpees and candy was safely delivered to the home of the family who placed the order.

According to news portal The Verge, the drone flew autonomously from the store into the household, using the vehicle’s GPS system to navigate. Following this project 7-Eleven shared that it would be working together again with the drone delivery company, however, did not mention when.

Earlier this year, the US government approved the use of commercial drone operations in US airspace.

Over in Malaysia however, The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was reportedly considering to regulate the use of drones and model airplanes due a few accidents caused by the devices.

The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) however saw the technology in a positive light, earlier in April Bukit Aman’s Management Department director Comm Datuk Seri Zulkifli Abdullah told the Malay Mail Online that they would soon be using drone technology to help the department increase its surveillance coverage.

The use of technology for commercial purposes, however,  has already been reported in Malaysia. In April this year the Malay Mail Online said that e-commerce platform Lazada could be testing out drone delivery services.

The video taken by the news portal showed a flying drone carrying a parcel which had Lazada’s logo displayed on it. Though the company made no announcement on a future drone delivery service, the Malay Mail noted in its report that Lazada recently announced plans of expanding its delivery services beyond major cities and would soon be introducing same-day delivery services.

Could this be the new reality of the transportation & logistics industry? Join the conversation here