Unmanned aircraft systems in supply chain management

Abstract

Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) – or colloquial “drones” – in the shape of small cargo carrying quadrocopters can be found in advertisements and R&D reports of many logistics or supply chain management companies. However, the mass deployment of these “cargo drones” is far from becoming reality, while UAS are actually offering many more opportunities to improve Supply Chain Management. This paper provides an introduction to various use cases of UAS in general and examines whether some of these use cases may be able to solve major challenges in future supply chains. Finally, economically viable opportunities for UAS in supply chain management will be presented.