Preparation of drones distribution: Internet faction To C, technical school to B

Since the birth of drones, many enterprises and related practitioners have tirelessly looking for the fields it can apply, and a certain height and motivation have given this thing to fully imagine space. As a result, after experiencing the amazing things brought by new things, although the drone carries and limited battery life, the demand for distribution, large amount of total, strong timeliness, and drone are in the field of distribution. The potential is still discovered and excavated.

Players entering the drone distribution can be divided into two categories. On the one hand, Internet players represented by JD.com, Meituan and SF. They are inherently interested in any tools that can solve the problem of end distribution. The drone manufacturer represented by Xun Ant is actively looking for the application field for the commercial landing of drones -the two sides almost coincide into the field of drone distribution, and the smoke of war fire is quietly permeating.

Interestingly, drone distribution has begun to change the life of the people. After the war, a "drone era" is coming for several years and long decades later.

The picture comes from Canva.

Graving Drone Delivery Highlands

At present, drone delivery has entered a stage of parallel technology iteration and commercial value verification. However, there are relatively few drone distribution activities operating in domestic normal business operations, there are not many enterprises, and most of them are still in the stage of technical verification, or the program demonstration verification stage, and there is no substantial normalized drone distribution operation.

Behind the drone delivery is actually the end of the entire logistics chain, and the end scene is the highest cost in the logistics chain (accounting for about 30%of the overall cost) and the lowest efficiency. For this relatively active, a large number of enterprises have entered the field of drone distribution.

For example, in the field of TOC, JD.com conducts normalized operations of drone distribution in Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Hainan and other places; SF in May this year, piloting the same city in Shenzhen to pilot the same city; It has been operating in Shenzhen for nearly a year. In the field of TOB, Yishhang cooperated with Nianyonghui Super Species and began to try "smart retail+drone distribution"; Xun Ant received the world's first "Urban Logistics Drone Test Running" license in 2019, and from the following year Since February, we have taken root in the medical field.

The reason why these companies can enter the industry with high costs, limited radiation range, and efficiency in the industry in the industry. There are many practical reasons.

First, infrastructure initially meets the requirements of large -scale delivery of drones. The outbreak of new infrastructure such as 5G, AI and Big Data provides the possibility of implementation and boosting for drone distribution: for example, 5G can reduce the delay of the drone to less than 1ms, and the data transmission of the data during its operation process is transmitted. , Terminal control provided great help; AI and big data improved the performance and reliability of the drone "unmanned" flight.

Second, the demand for the logistics distribution market is growing rapidly, and the problem of insufficient capacity is becoming more and more prominent. In recent years, the development of the global logistics industry has tended to automate management and cost reduction and efficiency. Obviously, drone delivery can effectively alleviate the shortage of capacity and meet user needs. And compared with manpower, although the cost of R & D and initial operating costs of drone distribution is high, as the technology continues to improve, the cost of single distribution will be greatly reduced, which is also an important reason for attracting enterprises to enter the game.

The third is to help relevant companies seize the opportunity in the future competition. The continuous epidemic provides new application scenarios and opportunities for drone distribution: for example, consumers have improved the certainty requirements of distribution, non -contactless transportation brought by drone distribution has become a safer choice, from the profound demand from demand The change is forcing the progress of technology. Under such circumstances, for enterprises, missing the possible air outlet is equivalent to actively abandoning competition.

At present, these companies stand clearly into two teams: Meituan, JD.com, SF, etc., are mainly targeted at C -end consumers; Everlasting and Xun Antes and other technical companies, mainly serving big customers in B -end. In other words, there may be two ways to achieve the large -scale, industrialization and commercialization path of drone delivery: First, the B2C represented by JD.com's SF; B2B.

Jingdong, Meituan, SF: Services to reshape the industry

For a long time, the civilian drone market has been shrouded in the shadow of DJI, but takeaway, e -commerce and logistics giants represented by Meituan, JD.com, and SF, may be able to successfully break through from the side -because for JD.com and the United States For Tuanhe SF, drones are just means, which is very different from the original intention of entering the bureau such as drone manufacturers such as Yiyang and Xunxu.

As we all know, JD.com is one of the three e -commerce giants and also enters the logistics; Meituan started from takeaway and later expanded to e -commerce; SF is an old logistics player -these three have a common nature, that is, most of their service targets are It is a general C -end consumers who have extremely considerable distribution needs. How can drones alone meet such complicated needs? They are bound to require a complete logistics system, so in the eyes of these players, drones can only be regarded as supplement and service carrier of capacity.

The positioning of "replenishment of capacity" determines that in the eyes of giants such as Jingdong, Meituan, and SF, the focus of drone distribution is on "distribution". It is the top priority to solve the needs of your own endogenous distribution, but as for what to use to solve it, it is not particular about it. The drone is feasible, and the drone is also feasible. In other words, for the distribution link, the small multi -rotor drone of "DJI" may be indispensable; but for the entire logistics system, this drone will definitely only be one of them. In fact, for JD.com, Meituan, and SF, in order to complete the "distribution", it is not enough to rely on "drones" alone. What they urgently need and is working hard is actually a new system. In other words, it is an ecological environment suitable for drones. To this end, they need not only unmanned airports that can start and stop and charge at any time, but also common urban infrastructure, just like good roads and parking lots to cars.

Today, the UAV ecosystem is still very immature. The drone distribution applied in the city is actually equivalent to F1 racing on the potholes on the potholes -from the drone, from people to drones, from urban infrastructure to related to related. For laws and regulations, everything has not been prepared for the large -scale commercial application of drones.

The giants represented by JD.com, Meituan and SF, and are using the efficiency of drones to force the progress of the drone ecology. Building a unmanned airport in a city may not change, but a thousand or 10,000 unmanned airports are enough to produce qualitative changes -this is actually what these giants really want, just like the original stations and takeaway brothers. It has changed people's lifestyle. Now drones will bring new lifestyle and consumption habits, and on this basis, a new business ecology will be extended.

Everlasting, Xun Ant: hardware empowerment service

If JD.com, Meituan, and SF, and other Internet giants, adding drone logistics is the so -called "big pattern", then drone manufacturers such as Yiyang and Xun Ant enter drones to distribute, even if they are "small applications" or It is "refined".

The difference in this path selection is inseparable from the general situation of drone manufacturers: First, because under the "deterrent" of DJI, no drone manufacturer can compete with it alone; Second, because drone manufacturers usually have a small volume and are often inadequate and insufficient; the third is that although these drone manufacturers are on the surface, they are actually doing drones. Their core competitiveness is also It is the carefully specialized drone (today's drone manufacturers have a trend of transformation to service).

This positioning determines that in the eyes of drone manufacturers, the so -called "drone distribution" is the most important thing is the "drone" -the hardware empowerment service, which is the true face of these drone manufacturers.

At the same time, the TOB demand is relatively clear and stable, and the characteristics of more cost budgets are in accordance with the requirements of drone manufacturers. This allows drone manufacturers to not only avoid the edge of the giants in the delivery link, but also take a different approach; it can also combine the drone and application more closely, so that engineers and service flyers can truly enter the specific application of specific applications Scenes, overcome the existing difficulty in the way of accumulating resources.

The choice of Xun Ant is more representative: Before 2019, Xun Ant developed on the path of B2B2C and B2C. It cooperated with China Post to open the first drone mail route in the suburbs. Takeaway and the same city distribution; after 2019, Xun Ant focuses on distributing the business on the medical supplies of TOB. In March of the same year, Xun Ant released the "UAV Medical Delivery Network". Provide normalized sample air transport services for medical community customers.

Eyhang was one of the drone manufacturers who chose to transform after competing with DJI in the early years. UAV distribution is an important part of it. In May 2018, after Yilli Aerospace obtained the first batch of UAV logistics routes and airspace approval in the country, it reached a cooperation with Yonghui Group. Starting commercial operations, compared with ground distribution, time can shorten 40%-60%, opening up the business path of B2B2C.

UAV manufacturers usually lack endogenous needs to provide support, so they can only rely on specific applications to land for commercialization, and explore the feasible profit model based on this. This requires drone manufacturers to either have a good business ability or a wide range of business. However, in addition to the product power of the drone, it depends on what the drone and the supporting platform can do.

At present, Xun Ant is limited to capabilities, and basically focuses on the distribution of medical resources. The solution is also based on this. Rather than saying that drone distribution is an important part of this platform, it is better to say that the drone distribution itself is the ability to extend this platform. From this perspective, Yishhang's drone applications and business models are faster than Xun Ant.

Is the drone matching the air battle?

There is no doubt that Internet giants and drone manufacturers have a great coincidence in distribution. Many applications that drone manufacturers have been doing, such as takeaway catering, emergency documents, medical first aid, courier parcels ... Which JD.com can't do it? Which Meituan can't participate? Which one of the SF is powerless? In the case of the infrastructure of drone distribution (end -to -end drones+drones+central control systems), no company can say that they are absolutely unique -but at present, it is seen that UAV distribution The air combat will not start now. From the macro level of the development of drones, both sides are limited by underdeveloped conditions: First, the underdeveloped urban infrastructure, many buildings are not suitable for the take -off and landing of drones, and have an impact on the impact The possibility of flying drones; the second is the immature laws and regulations, which has a relatively advanced development in remote areas and a few cities; the third is the "drone consciousness" that has not yet been formed. Far still from Volkswagen, so I am not familiar with related matters.

It can be imagined that these "outside drones" are limited to the development speed of drone distribution. At the same time, we also need to realize that good development conditions are unable to force it. It can be said that the practice of forcibly transcending its development stage will eventually recruit back. The development stage of drone distribution is always adapted to its own development conditions. After transcending a critical point, not only the drone distribution, but almost all drone applications will usher in a breakthrough development stage -but in the stage Now, macro conditions are still urgent issues.

Judging from why entering the field of drone distribution, the two sides have almost the opposite motivation: the Internet giant is part of the unmanned logistics system born to reduce costs and efficiency and solve endogenous needs. Delivery demand is not the drone itself; the drone manufacturer is the application potential of the drone. Just like the early days of the application and business model of automobiles and aircraft, it was also a carriage and a car with the car -in this way, it seems that the latter is more vibrant than the former.

In a word, the Internet giant must find more efficient tools and systems for the end of delivery. Drone is one of the most potential choices; drone manufacturers must find the potential and of the potential and the potential of products to the maximum extent for drones. In the application field of commercial potential, distribution is one of the most feasible choices -therefore, the result is that the two types of players who seem to be unpredictable meet in the same field.

However, before the drone has not yet completed the mission given by the enterprise, especially now the drone distribution is a blue ocean. The overall development conditions are not yet mature, and the competition between the two parties will not come to you to die.

In general, Internet giants such as Jingdong, Meituan and SF, and drone manufacturers such as Yiyang and Xunxu, in the form of drone distribution, have reached an agreement. Immediately afterwards, the differences in different conditions, development purposes, and path selection of paths were soon differentiated. But in the end, this differentiation will return to the same way, and the two sides are carrying the fate of Greek mythology. Even if they are unwilling and ignorant, there is always a moment of warfire. Now it is the time to prepare for drones.

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