The Feasibility of the Drone Delivery System for Woolworths

Abstract

The report aims to assess the feasibility of Woolworths’ drone delivery system and propose a well-documented solution to this, enabling Woolworths to make decisions about improving its traditional delivery system. This paper analyzes the examples of UAV delivery in the actual situation, points out the existing problems, and then evaluates the feasibility of UAV delivery in the future. This report firstly analyzes the current situation of the use of UAVs and points out the shortcomings of Woolworths’ current delivery system. To be specific, from Woolworths’ point of view, the current distribution system is unsuitable for remote distribution, and the human cost is too high. It also did not produce the expected customer satisfaction, was heavily influenced by the environment and congestion, and did not meet the goal of “no contact” under coronavirus care. This report then evaluates Woolworths’ proposal for a “Drone Delivery System” in the framework of future state analysis. It describes the overall objective and breaks it down into several measurable goals, including enhancing customer loyalty, increasing sales revenue, improving delivery efficiency, and ensuring safety through contactless delivery. In addition, a risk assessment was conducted to identify potential risks associated with this new delivery system. Identify and assess the possibility, impact and treatment of potential risks through the risk register. Subsequently, this report identifies four gaps between Woolworths’ current and future state delivery systems, including emergency delivery failures high freight costs, unmet on-time delivery rates and high risk of COVID-19 infection, and recommends actions to close the gap. Finally, delivering solutions for Woolworths through use cases from a system, process, and people perspective helps the organization determine how to seize opportunities and implement solutions. The results show that there are still many problems in using UAVs for delivery at the present stage, and many aspects should be improved.