Walmart Invests in DroneUp

On 17. June Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner published the details of the investment on the company’s website.

Last-mile delivery

Furner said the DroneUp investment was part of Walmart’s work toward “developing a scalable last-mile delivery solution.” Furner added that “conducting drone deliveries at scale is within reach.”

„In our ongoing effort to get customers the items they want, and fast, we know it will take a well-coordinated network of delivery solutions that span the streets, sidewalks and skies. Some of these solutions are still emerging, but they’re already showing encouraging results.” writes the Walmart CEO.

The DroneUp network

Last year, Walmart partnered with DroneUp, a nationwide drone services provider, to launch trial deliveries of at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits. The trial demonstrated they could offer customers delivery in minutes versus hours. Now, after safely completing hundreds of drone deliveries from Walmart stores, they’re making an investment in DroneUp to continue the work toward developing a scalable last-mile delivery solution.

DroneUp operates an on-demand drone delivery network that matches their database of more than 10,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified pilots to missions nationwide. Since partnering with DroneUp last year, we’ve valued their technological expertise, world-class operations and experienced management team – and their commitment to helping the FAA ensure the highest levels of safety with every delivery. As a well-respected industry innovator, DroneUp was the first operator to use the FAA 107.39 waiver, an operation that allows for delivery flights to be conducted over people and moving vehicles. DroneUp operates commercially throughout the U.S. and is an authorized government drone services provider for 11 U.S. states serving public sector organizations.

The Walmart chain

Walmart already has a significant part of the infrastructure in place – 4,700 stores stocked with more than 100,000 of the most-purchased items, located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population. This makes Walmart  uniquely positioned to execute drone deliveries, which is why the investment in DroneUp won’t just apply to the skies but also the ground. In the coming months they’ll be beginning the first operation at a store in Bentonville, Arkansas.

„Conducting drone deliveries at scale is within reach. DroneUp’s expertise, combined with our retail footprint and proven history of logistics innovation, puts us right where we want to be for that day. Because when it comes to the future of drone delivery, we know the sky’s the limit.” says John Furner, CEO and President, Walmart U.S.