Zipline Wants to Green Last-Mile Delivery with Drones
Zipline plans to launch an instant-ordering service for groceries and other daily goods that it says can reduce delivery emissions by nearly 98% over combustion cars.
Zipline is going after one of the least efficient corners of last-mile logistics: the so-called instant delivery of groceries, meals and other daily goods
Courtesy of ZiplineDrone delivery startup Zipline Inc. is planning a new service that will enable restaurants, grocers, pharmacies and other retailers to deliver directly to customers’ yards. The system, which the company announced publicly on Wednesday and plans to launch by early next year, is designed to replicate the experience of ordering from Doordash or UberEats, except without cars — and the emissions that come with them.
“Using a 3,000-pound gas vehicle to deliver something that weighs five pounds is ultra bad from an emissions perspective,” says Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Zipline’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “We think it's really important that this service be offered in a way that is actually good for the environment.”