Walmart In The Drone Game
Over the past few months, I wrote how Walmart is now every bit of a technology company. The pundits on the financial media shows call it a "retail company" yet they are now a lot more than that.
The announcement a couple weeks ago that they were seeking to partner with Microsoft to buy TikTok's U.S. assets caught many by surprise. While I did not know the move was in play, the fact that they were getting involved did not turn my head.
In fact, it only makes sense for Walmart to look at these options.
Here we have a company that is buying AI programs and robots. This is akin to how companies like Apple work. Why would anyone think it outrageous for this organization, with all the money they generate, to buy entire AI or robotics companies?
The truth is that it is not outlandish.
https://1734811051.rsc.cdn77.org/data/images/full/371546/walmart-steps-closer-on-delivering-goods-from-skies-amazon-laughs-at-the-idea.png?w=600?w=650
We now have a report that Walmart is carrying out trials on drone delivery. Here again, this was the forte of Amazon. That is the company that was known to be messing around with drones after filing a number of applications.
So, yes, Boo Boo, Walmart is a technology company.
According to an article on techtimes.com, they are testing a this technology out in Fayettville, North Carolina. This is, in part, due to the response with COVID-19.
The idea is that shoppers will agree to an arranged time. At that time, the drone will show up and send the items down from about 80 feet. Thus, the customer will not come in contact with the unit, only the groceries purchased.
Here is how that article described it:
Customers were able to receive their packages in the allotted time through the flying drones. Users only need to wait outside their homes, look for the flying object, and the drone will open its box (wherein the goods are stored), and straightly lowers the package to the ground from 80 feet in the air.
To read the full article:
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/252424/20200910/walmart-steps-closer-on-delivering-goods-from-skies-amazon-laughs-at-the-idea.htm
How rapidly this is rolled out remains to be seen. While we could be looking at years before there is anything substantial, it does show the direction that this company is looking in. No longer can we simply put a company in a particular sector and expect that is all it is.
Instead, traditional companies that want to stay in business are going to have to expand their scope. As they become more technically oriented, the possibilities really open up. This means that crossing into other sectors is highly possible.
A traditional company, when asked what industry are you in, will be able to clearly tell you. If a technology company is asked the same question, the answer is "all of them".
Obviously, we can see that Walmart is now in the drone business. Anyone want to bet that, if this pilot project is successful, that they buy a drone company at some point? It only stands to reason they would.
Of course, why stop there? If they are transporting physical items around, who is to say they could not do the same thing with people? After all, shuffling atoms around is the same process, whether it is people or cargo. Planes have no problem transporting both at the same time, perhaps Walmart gets into that game also.
As we can see, the number of possibilities open up a great deal more. Here is a company that most would say is a retailer yet they are proving to be so much more. Just like Amazon is no longer just an online bookstore (or online retailer for that matter), Wally World is moving in the same direction.
Image from article linked
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