Medic

The challenge

Every year an increasing number of medicines are taken. In the Netherlands, roughly two-thirds of the population take prescribed drugs on a regular basis. Almost 20% use antibiotics, and from time to time, everyone needs a remedy or a supplement. People using medications need to visit a pharmacy regularly, and often it is an effortful and time consuming process. For some of us, for example the elderly, disabled or very busy people, it can be a significant issue. Pharmacies, which are obliged to deliver medication, also have to bear high distribution costs. Last-mile delivery accounts for 30-50% of total supply chain cost. Traditional van-based delivery options cause costs of between EUR 2 and EUR 6 depending on customer density. Globally, transportation is responsible for 27% of the total CO2 emission, which causes global warming and climate change.

The solution

MEDIC is a medicine delivery service provided by drones to people living in suburban areas. Our service will eliminate the whole constraint of obtaining curing products. With medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicles, we can deliver medicine around the city on a regular basis or as a one time service. It will give commuters the possibility to get the necessary medication without any effort at any given time. Drone as a supplemental delivery tool is beneficial for businesses as it yields an approximate 30% savings when compared to truck-only delivery. Within 5km of radius we will be able to deliver products in 15 minutes or less. This way we want to revolutionize the last-mile medicine delivery market by making our deliveries up to 1 EUR per drone delivery. This process would be also more sustainable than road delivery in terms of air pollution. Replacing conventional delivery models with battery-operated drones offers a zero emission option, providing additional value for consumers as responsible consumerism increases. Identified potential community benefits of drone delivery are: up to 580 urban vehicle accidents can be avoided and projected carbon emission reduction of up to 113,900 tons of CO2, which is equivalent to 46,000 acres of new forest in each metropolitan area of operation.