Solving The Last Mile

Godspeed Godspeed

1 month ago

3 MIN READ

Howdy folks!

I want us to zoom out and ask ourselves,

What was the biggest innovation in transportation over the last 25 years?

For me – it’s Prime Shipping.

The mass adoption of Amazon Prime and its 2-Day shipping changed behavior patterns for both the merchant and consumer.

The consumer received a first class experience, but logistics companies struggled with a new, unique hurdle.

THE LAST MILE

The Last Mile refers to the final leg of the supply chain – where goods are transported from a distribution hub to the end customer.

This final journey is the least efficient leg of the entire delivery process accounting for ~53% of the total shipping costs.

Logistics providers are not ignorant to this inefficiency – instead they’re actively searching for solutions…

WHO WILL SOLVE THE LAST MILE?

Amazon understands that as delivery times accelerate, consumers will likely be influenced to buy more. To capture this behavioral trend and maintain its retail dominance, the company is testing same-day drone delivery in select cities around the country.

Here’s The New York Times reviewing the revolutionary experience.

@nytimes

Amazon is on an ambitious quest to convince people that drones whirring over their houses are not only harmless but represent the exciting… See more

However, Amazon isn’t alone… Drone delivery innovators, Zipline and Serve Robotics, are thriving.

In April 2024, Zipline became the first company in the world to complete 1M commercial drone deliveries to restaurant and healthcare customers.

And in June 2024, Zipline closed its Series G, raising $350M at a $5.22B valuation.

Serve Robotics is an $875M publicly traded company that holds active partnerships with Uber Eats and 7-Eleven.

Last week, Serve announced it Secured $86 Million in New Financing, Solidifying Liquidity Position to Transform Last-Mile Delivery.

Here’s a video showcasing the robotic delivery experience.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t include the $SERV daily chart. Investors are catching wind of this trend…