Pilot programme and testing were launched a few months ago in Ghana.
The collaboration will integrate Zipline’s automated, on-demand delivery system with Jumia’s existing distribution network to enable customers to receive instant, on-demand delivery of exactly the products they want, exactly when they want them and from the comfort of their homes. Executive vice president and group chief operating officer, Jumia, Apoorva Kumar, said “Using the latest instant logistics technology will allow Jumia to offer our consumers on-demand delivery of the products they need – instantly. Whether they’re ordering electronics, fashion, health, and beauty, or other categories, Zipline’s instant logistics system will provide fast and convenient access.
An initial pilot was carried out across multiple use cases with varying product assortment logging up to 2,500km in testing. Deliveries to outlying Jumia hubs as far as 85km from the take-off location at the Zipline operational hub in Omenako were completed in less than one hour with real-time visibility of the drone for all stakeholders in the delivery cycle. Eventual plans call for expansion to Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, and ultimately to other countries in the future.