Drone Delivery Expansion

Consumers are willing and able to pay for same and next day shipping, the challenge to doing so far retailers, providing it at a more profitable level – Drones can accomplish this and revolutionize the entire supply chain. A major competitor to Amazon in the drone delivery race, Flytrex, is expanding their food delivery service to Granbury, Texas, delivering It’s Just Wings to customers backyards who live in the immediate area, within just 5 minutes.

FedEx is looking to take a “bigger” role in autonomous drone delivery. Testing of their middle mile VTOL drones has begun, capable of moving products from regional sortation locations to its fulfillment network. The drone, named Chaparral aircraft, can pick up three hundred – five hundred pounds and fly up to three hundred miles. (View source 1, source 2)

Robots in Pharmacy

Companies across all industries have been implementing robots, exacerbated by millions leaving their jobs in the past year, many retailers are looking for new ways to introduce automotive procedures. Walgreens is looking to join the fray by introducing automated facilities that fill up to 100,000 prescriptions a day, freeing up pharmacists to work on more time sensitive prescriptions and provide patient care. Each robot within these facilities is able to fulfill three hundred prescriptions in an hour, the same time a staffed Walgreens pharmacy would fill in a day. A handful of workers provide the robots pill bottles with necessary information, along with pharmacists that check the bottles at various safety checkpoints. Over the next three years, Walgreens hopes to open twenty-two facilities that will serve nearly all of their 9,000 stores. (View source)

Blockchain Technology for Supply Chains

Blockchain technology has existed for years and while everyone hears about how it is being used in cryptocurrency, the supply chain industry can and has benefited from it. The greatest aspect is the transparency it shows of a product journey, offering traceability unparallel to any other current technology. Walmart, a user of IBM’s blockchain platform, claims it can trace one of its mangoes within two and a half seconds. According to a new MHI and Deloitte survey of supply chain professionals, 12% of companies have blockchain in use today, and 41% expect it to be in use at their company within the next five years. (View source)

Consumer Metaverse Expectations

As Metaverse hype starts to wind down after Facebook’s big announcement last year, a new survey from Suzy highlights US consumer familiarity with the idea. Surprisingly, only 5% of consumers said they are part of the Metaverse but that may be due to explanation confusion as many video games would be considered part of the Metaverse, and millions of people use those on a daily basis. The greatest thing people are interested in when it comes to virtual exploration is connecting with others virtually (41%). As for consumers who have not heard of the Metaverse, 25% expressed interested in partaking in it. (View source)

Tequila in The Metaverse

The world’s #1 tequila brand, Jose Cuervo, is entering a well known Metaverse platform, Decentraland. In collaboration with numerous CX and virtual architect companies, the tequila company is bringing the first ever “metadistillery” into existence. The 21+ area will feature curated virtual experiences that bring fans together to celebrate the history of the company and tequila. Senior VP of Marketing at Proximo Spirits (Owner of Jose Cuervo), Lander Otegui, said “Cuervo first came to the U.S over 70 years ago and helped establish America’s favorite cocktail, the margarita. It’s time for Cuervo to take on a new frontier and bring tequila to new audiences by opening the first-ever distillery in the metaverse.” (View source)

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