Technology Acceptance in Digital Era: Use of Drones for Product Delivery by Amazon

Introduction

In the era of technology and automation, drones are efficient in delivering the product faster and safer. This technology is more reliable and convenient in supply chain management. Nowadays, e-commerce is growing day by day, and various e-commerce companies are adopting technology for business development.

Drones can serve customers and provide them with products on time, thus saving the time of supply chain management. The business implementation model of Amazon has been dramatically changed due to the wide recognition of drone technology. The world’s largest online retailer will deliver the package to customers in less time with drone technology now (Osakwe et al., 2021).

Analysis of the Current State of Drone Delivery

Campbell (2022) has looked at how drone delivery could save energy and reduce pollution. The data was taken from 187 drone trips with different altitudes, speeds, and payloads.

Zhang et al. (2021) acknowledge the research conducted so far but highlight the limitations of using small off-the-shelf drones for insights into larger-scale delivery operations. Zhang et al. (2021) emphasize the importance of considering different types and sizes of drones, as well as the source of electricity for charging batteries, to accurately evaluate the energy use and environmental impact of drone delivery. They also suggest modelling the demand for drone delivery and exploring hybrid truck-drone combinations while considering economic viability.

Rodrigues et al. (2022) study discusses the emphasis of governments and policymakers and the role they play in advancing the growth of drone delivery services in developing nations. Even though hybrid truck-drone delivery systems have gotten some attention, useful models and insights can be taken from drone applications that don't involve delivery. It's important to note that drone delivery has become a reality in some situations, especially when it comes to world health, and that it has a bright future (Rodrigues et al., 2022).

Chi, Phong and Hanh (2023) investigate how customers' desire to employ drone delivery services in a new economy is affected by their levels of innovation, expectations for outcomes, anticipated pleasant emotions, and perceptions of risk.

However, Let's get back to Amazon drone delivery. Amazon Prime Air just took drone delivery to the next level! In November, they rolled out their most advanced drone yet—the MK30—in West Valley, Phoenix, and College Station, Texas.

This cutting-edge drone went through a rigorous aerospace design and testing process, making it twice as fast as its predecessors and much quieter. If you live near Amazon's fulfillment center in Tolleson, Arizona, and order an eligible item weighing five pounds or less, you could have your package dropped off at a designated spot near your home in under an hour. High-tech convenience at its finest!

Potential Future Impacts of Drones

Merkert and Bushell (2020) analyzed research on drones and their potential future applications.

• According to the study, operational issues, including interaction with other airspace users, will replace more traditional concerns like privacy and security.

• Unrestrained drones might demonstrate to disrupt other users' experiences.

• Low Altitude Airspace Management (LAAM) systems are viewed as a possible option to regulate the rapid development of drone usage and encourage innovation.

• Drones' potential to improve service delivery in terms of both safety and capacity was highlighted by the COVID-19 disaster and might improve shortly.

• Mining, engineering, transportation, network management, and agricultural scanning can be some of the business uses for drones that are currently on the rise.

• In addition, consumers will have access to previously unavailable aerial photography because of the widespread use of drones.

• According to the study, there will be five major applications for drones: surveillance, inspection, data collection, photography, and logistics and recreation.

• Agriculture, mining, construction, emergency services, and tourism will be the many fields that could benefit from the use cases of drones.

Drones have tremendous potential in logistics and distribution, but further study is needed to evaluate their viability in crowded metropolitan environments. Managing drone impacts and the increasing volume of drone traffic was also highlighted as an area in need of legislation in the evaluation. Entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic progress are all encouraged by safe and accountable regulatory systems (Merkert and Bushell, 2020).

Drone field studies that use real-world delivery drones are needed to learn about the prices, energy use, and pollution caused by drone delivery.

The Positive Impact and Expectations of Drone Deliveries in E-commerce

Jasim et al. (2022) suggest the factors that affect the customer intention to use drone delivery in the Amazon e-commerce industry. In supply chain management, drones work effectively and save time for delivery.

• The use of drone delivery is getting attention in the e-commerce industry due to special features like speed, flexibility and security.

• The research shows that people are willing to adopt the technology due to the extreme advantages such as delivery speed, ease of use, innovativeness, and environment friendliness.

• The use of drone delivery comes with the advantage of physical and social distancing.

• The drone technology fulfils customer needs, and this improves the relationship between customers and retailers.

• Raj & Sah (2019) discusses the expectation from drone delivery in Amazon. The customer expects the fastest delivery of the packages, and they can get the advantage of real-time tracking of their packages.

• It will lessen the carbon footprint due to air delivery, and this will benefit the customer by reducing the factors of environmental pollution.

• The customer expects their desired product to be delivered on time, and drones are the efficient mode of logistics in the supply chain that deliver the packages from source to endpoint without minimal human interference.

• The research includes that the operational cost of drone delivery could be low in comparison to traditional delivery mode. Drones must be responsive and efficient in the delivery of goods (Raj & Sah, 2019).

• The potential impacts must be seen on the use of artificial intelligence techniques, highly skilled people, and investment in drone delivery (Raj & Sah, 2019).

Negative Implications of Drone Deliveries in E-commerce

Franzmann (2023) discusses customer engagement in drone technology. In the era of modern technology, factors such as trust, supposed risk, and evaluating customer engagement accelerate drone delivery. But it has some threats, detailed below.

• Excessive use of drone deliveries might encounter issues such as privacy and performance risks (Waris et al., 2022).

• The research adds the negative impact or discouraging factor of drone delivery, that is, perceived risks like financial surges and psychological risks.

• It includes delivery failure due to technology malfunctioning and bad weather conditions.

• The use of drones comes with the risk factor of the damage or loss of a package.

• The lack of knowledge creates several challenges in front of drone delivery systems in the e-commerce industry. Some researchers define an SLR methodology to analyze the challenges in drone delivery systems.

• The lack of electricity storage, low scalability, and limited capacity of weight make drones inefficient in parcel delivery.

• The research defines the disruptions due to cyber-attacks and limitations due to bad weather conditions.

Public intentions and attitudes towards drone technology

Yoo et al. (2018) discuss the public intentions and attitudes to adopt drone technologies. Customers can expect faster delivery of packages, and it is environment friendly also, but on the other hand, customers are aware of the malfunction and privacy attacks of drone delivery. The research shows the customer acceptance and resistance of drone delivery in the e-commerce industry together (Yoo et al., 2018).

Future Need for Drones

Chen et al. (2021), discuss the future requirement of drone delivery in commercial services.

• The research includes the adoption of drone delivery systems in supply chain operations by e-commerce companies.

• It shows the company's future development, which involves an air program of drones that deliver the package in a 30-minute time window within a 15-mile radius from prospective areas where drone operations are possible. 

• Some businesses might use drones to fulfil the requirements in supply chain management. The future development in the adoption of drone technology is boosted by analyzing the acceptance rates and drone fleet size.

• In the future, drone delivery is expected to be a part of supply chain management in the e-commerce industry, so the current interventions and implementation can add value to adopting the technology by the customers.

• A drone can easily be used in commercial activities to supply packages. Customer can track their packages through mobile applications.

Conclusion

Consumer behaviour or attitude towards the drone delivery system depends upon the advantages and disadvantages of drone delivery. The customer expects to get the fastest delivery with the desired product. Several factors such as privacy risks, security, environmental factors, speed and cost and their effects on public attitude towards drone delivery have been given importance.

References

• Campbell, J.F. (2022) ‘Will drones revolutionize home delivery? Let’s get real…’, Patterns, 3(8), p. 100564. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2022.100564.

• Chen, H., Hu, Z., & Solak, S. (2021). Improved delivery policies for future drone-based delivery systems. European Journal of Operational Research, 294(3), 1181–1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2021.02.039 

• Chi, N.T.K., Phong, L.T. and Hanh, N.T. (2023) ‘The drone delivery services: An innovative application in an emerging economy’, The Asian Journal of Shipping and Logistics. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajsl.2023.01.002.

• Franzmann, D. (2023). Why Would Customers Engage in Drone Deliveries? https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/301371848.pdf

• Jasim, N. I., Kasim, H., & Mahmoud, M. A. (2022). Towards the Development of Smart and Sustainable Transportation System for Foodservice Industry: Modelling Factors Influencing Customer’s Intention to Adopt Drone Food Delivery (DFD) Services. Sustainability, 14(5), 2852. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052852 

• Merkert, R. and Bushell, J. (2020) ‘Managing the drone revolution: A systematic literature review into the current use of airborne drones and future strategic directions for their effective control’, Journal of Air Transport Management, 89, p. 101929. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101929.

• Osakwe, C. N., Hudik, M., Říha, D., Stros, M., & Ramayah, T. (2021). Critical factors characterizing consumers’ intentions to use drones for last-mile delivery: Does delivery risk matter? Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 102865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2021.102865 

• Raj, A., & Sah, B. (2019). Analyzing critical success factors for the implementation of drones in the logistics sector using grey-DEMATEL based approach. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 138, 106118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106118 

• Rodrigues, T.A. et al. (2022) ‘Drone flight data reveal energy and greenhouse gas emissions savings for very small package delivery’, Patterns, 3(8), p. 100569. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.patter.2022.100569.

• Waris, I., Ali, R., Nayyar, A., Baz, M., Liu, R., & Hameed, I. (2022). An Empirical Evaluation of Customers’ Adoption of Drone Food Delivery Services: An Extended Technology Acceptance Model. Sustainability, 14(5), 2922. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052922 

• Yoo, W., Yu, E., & Jung, J. (2018). Drone delivery: Factors affecting the public’s attitude and intention to adopt. Telematics and Informatics, 35(6), 1687–1700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.04.014 

• Zhang, J. et al. (2021) ‘Energy consumption models for delivery drones: A comparison and assessment’, Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 90, p. 102668. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102668.