Aramex’s flights tested the drones’ ability to safely deliver parcels through different terrains, distances, and weather conditions.
The Middle East’s biggest courier company, Aramex completed on Wednesday its first drone package delivery in Oman, as part of its strategy to reduce last-mile delivery times and transition to a more sustainable delivery fleet.
The flights operated in collaboration with US-based UVL Robotics tested the drones’ ability to safely deliver parcels through different terrains, distances, and weather conditions.
Game-changing
“Rolling out the Future Delivery Program demonstrates Aramex’s market leadership in last-mile solutions in the region. We believe the next generation of last-mile solutions, including drones and autonomous vehicles, will be a game-changer as it ensures efficient delivery while being eco-friendly,” the company’s Chief Operating Officer – Express, Alaa Saoudi said, highlighting their cost and time savings and environmental benefits compared to road transport.
Saoudi further underlined that the test flights have proven that automated modes of delivery will allow the firm to further enhance the speed, accessibility, and reliability of package deliveries, especially to remote areas with hard-to-reach terrain.
Advanced solutions
The pandemic-driven growth in e-commerce and the parallel shift in consumer behaviour called for faster, more reliable and efficient last-mile delivery solutions, pushing the key players in the market to invest heavily in the growing drone delivery sector.
On his part, Aramex’s global director of innovation, Angad Singh said that the success of the pilot drone delivery is a “remarkable milestone” of the company’s Future Delivery Program, a key pillar of its innovation and sustainability roadmap.
“The autonomous drone technology provided by UVL Robotics could potentially cut transit times by half in complex routes, which means we can now add more value for our customers and consignees as we can accelerate the delivery of packages across different sectors including e-commerce, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals amongst others,” he noted, adding that the company plans to scale up the solution and deploy it across all the markets it operates in.
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