In December 2016, Amazon conducted the first ‘live’ package delivery by drone, ushering in the future of door-to-door distribution.

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Unlike traditional delivery methods, Amazon’s drones do not require anyone to be present, operate extremely quickly, and are not hampered by issues like traffic.

Although the technology is very much in its infancy, with drones only being used for about 20 years, and most of that being in much larger sizes with military applications, rather than smaller business applications, Amazon has proven that drones can be the future of consumer home delivery.

Here are four more things Amazon hopes their drones have going for them.

The focus of the drones is on speedy delivery

One of the biggest selling points Amazon has already is the focus on speedy delivery, with Prime services offering next day, and in some cases, even same day delivery, but drones have the capability to push that much further. Even a same-day delivery, at the moment, will be hours away. This is probably alright for most of what Amazon sells, but for business-critical deliveries, this is still long enough to cost a lot of money.

Amazon’s first drone delivery took just 13 minutes and drone deliveries could revolutionise courier deliveries too – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/dec/14/amazon-claims-first-successful-prime-air-drone-delivery.

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Drone deliveries allow incredible precision

Everyone has experienced the overwhelming frustration of being stuck at home waiting for a repairman or delivery that is expected ‘between 10am and 6pm’ or similar. Amazon’s drone deliveries intend to change that. Instead of a wide delivery window, because of the speed of the delivery, customers will be given much more control over when they receive a delivery. Also, customers will receive notification minutes before their delivery is due so they can collect it from their garden landing pad.

Amazon may need to have more distribution centers

Drone deliveries still have substantial limitations, leaving a large niche for couriers in Bracknell, like https://www.uk-tdl.com. The largest limitation is the range limit. The first generation of drones has a 7.5 mile delivery radius, meaning Amazon will need many more distribution centers to provide coverage.

Drone deliveries are in their infancy

While there are currently limitations, like the delivery range and the parcel weight, the technology is still very new. Over the next few years, the technology will improve, and the limits will vanish.