It looks like Amazon isn’t the only company that is using drones for order fulfillment. DHL recently announced that it will be delivering medicine by drone to a German island in the North Sea. Although Amazon may have pulled a successful publicity stunt with it’s “delivery by drone”, DHL has gone beyond the idea and will be making the first routine delivery by drone.

The experimental delivery plan is a part of a year long feasibility project that will begin by “airlifting” medicine from the town of Norddeich, which lies on the coast of a harbor to the German island of Juist. The drones will not be controlled as they fly by a human. Instead, DHL will act autonomously and fly a pre-programmed route. Delivery by drone has been seen in the media as a subject that has come out of both Google and Amazon, however both feel that drone deliveries as a common process are years away. However, DHL is seeking to demonstrate otherwise through possible real-world uses.

Google tested its drone delivery system in the Australian Outback whereas DHL is experimenting on islands. There are two potential reasons for this. The first is that the makers of drones and analytical experts have identified the usefulness of using drones in remote areas because there is often a lacking road network or not feasible to deliver a package due to the terrain. Additionally, governments have shown that they are much more willing to authorize drone testing flights in these areas.

For this particular project, DHL has partnered with a German company, Microdrones GmBH, to create a custom quadcopter that is capable of withstanding the North Sea weather conditions that for the average drone would spell disaster. Of course the quadcopter is clad in yellow and red livery.

The drone will use a dedicated field for landing on the island. Upon landing DHL couriers will retrieve the shipment and deliver the medicine to each recipient’s door. On the ground in Norddeich, drone pilots will maintain contact with air traffic controllers in the case of an emergency intervention is needed.

The technology of logistics is evolving quickly and it appears that those who are too slow to adopt early to improve efficiency and breadth of services might be left out in the cold. As a freight forwarder, do you expect to be working with drones soon and arranging shipments that might involve a portion of UAV or drone along its journey?