Zipline delivers for Walmart: Instant Delivery Service Launches

by DRONELIFE Staff Writer Ian M. Crosby

Today, Walmart and Zipline announced the launch of their new instant delivery service in Pea Ridge, Arkansas, where the service will make on-demand deliveries of select health and wellness and consumable items from the Walmart Neighborhood Market.

“Zipline’s autonomous aircraft present an incredible opportunity to offer customers an on-demand delivery option for the items they need now, such as a thermometer, non-prescription medication or an emergency pack of diapers,” said Tom Ward, senior vice president, Last Mile Delivery, Walmart U.S. “Even more, Zipline’s aircraft can help provide immediate access to needed items for both hard-to-reach and at-risk populations, such as rural communities and elderly customers. By bringing this game-changing technology to the rural community of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, we’re continuing to look for ways to make shopping with Walmart convenient and easy – for everyone.”

Zipline Delivers for Walmart

Following the service’s initial announcement last fall, Walmart and Zipline have been collaborating on the construction of a first-of-its kind 25-foot platform which serves as the infrastructure for take-off and landing. Located directly behind the Neighborhood Market, the platform houses several of Zipline’s autonomous aircraft as well as its flight operations crew. Zipline’s aircraft are capable of servicing a 50-mile radius at full capacity.

Starting today, eligible customers can begin placing orders by ordering through the Zipline app.

A Walmart associate will then hand the packaged product off to Zipline staff, who prepare the aircraft for launch. The aircraft then departs to the customer’s home, where it drops off the package and returns to the platform. The delivery status can be tracked through the Zipline app.

“We’ve seen firsthand the impact that instant logistics can have in making important, even life saving products, available on a moment’s notice,” said Zipline co-founder and CEO Keller Rinaudo. “At the same time, the past two years have proven the need to bring health products closer to home, where they are more accessible. Working with Walmart, we’re able to bring this type of service to Northwest Arkansas, showcasing what the future of health access looks like.”

 

“Only two weeks after Walmart launched its autonomous truck delivery system in Northwest Arkansas, the company is launching its autonomous aircraft service,” said Governor Asa Hutchinson. “Walmart and its partners such as Zipline are harnessing customer-friendly technology with such lightning speed that the future is becoming a reality far sooner than many Arkansans thought possible.”

Zipline first started operating in 2016. Since then, the company has carried out more than 200,000 commercial deliveries of over 4.5 million units of medical supplies, serving more than 20 million people across multiple countries.

Read more about Zipline medical drone delivery, funding, COVID-19 response, and partnership with Walmart.

Ian attended Dominican University of California, where he received a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong passion for writing and storytelling and a keen interest in technology, he is now contributing to DroneLife as a staff writer.