The atmosphere surrounding the commercial use of drones is steeped in anticipation. It is like the seconds before a race starts: runners take their stance, the audience holds a collective breath, and the earth stands still. For years, though, there has been no burst of gunfire, no bolt towards the finish line–just anticipation. Technology advances but regulation hinders its application. The drone industry took off to a faint whistle around 2010 and has been meandering forward ever since. Here is what we have so far and what we can expect before 2020. The Hurdles We Have Overcome Before summer 2016, only one law guided policy makers about landowners’ rights to airspace. It was written in 1946 as the result of United States v. Causby. At that time, a farmer sued the government of ruining his quality of life: day and night for months, fighter planes took off less than 80 feet above his house. The court ruled in Causby’s favor. Landowners received the rights to airspace within the “immediate reaches above the land” that they owned. Aircraft operators could not interfere with “an intrusion so immediate and direct as to subtract from the owner’s full enjoyment of the property.” With that ruling, the airspace up to 80 feet above private property gained protection from planes and other flying nuisances. Existing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations forbids aircraft from operating less than 500 feet above any person, vehicle, or structure. Fast forward to today. The FAA is scrambling to figure out what happens between 80-500 feet. This airspace is the hotly debated drone territory. The Hurdles that Stand Ahead The FAA has been slow to pull the trigger on definitive regulation for commercial drones. The few provisions made in the summer of 2016 prohibit large-scale drone usage. Most small-scale applications are still questionable. Local governments and businesses have taken drone regulation into their own hands. To date, nearly 20 states have passed laws on the use of drones. For example, in Northampton, Mass. landowners gained rights to the airspace up to 500 feet above their properties. St. Bonifaciuos, Minn. rejected drones altogether. Some organizations have invented their own rules. The conglomerate owners of South by Southwest forbid the use of drones during its festival in 2016. PGA, Masters, and U.S. Open sporting events have passed similar provisions against drone usage (with few exceptions for vendors). While the FAA doesn’t recognize such local rules, commercial drone operators can still face legal penalties for a lack of compliance. Regardless of FAA and local regulations on drones, existing noise and nuisance laws may interfere with commercial drone operations over private property. It is clear that commercial drone operators face a myriad of unclear yet legally binding regulations. The murky path makes it impossible to responsibly use drones on a commercial level. Endless Possibilities The demand for drone services and drone technology continues to advance. Drone deliveries are only the tip of the iceberg. Harvard Business Review projects that the worldwide drone market will generate $7 billion by 2020. It cites big-data analytics as one of the biggest potential moneymakers. The brokering of drone services is another potential cash cow. Commercial owners collaborate with brokers to determine how to effectively integrate drone services. Drone brokers may also connect corporations with fleets and their operators. The possibilities expand beyond deliveries including but not limited to: Mapping and surveying Residential, commercial, and infrastructure inspection APP and software development for professional and recreational use Private investigation Aerial advertisements Commercial operators must overcome notable hurdles before realizing their potential with drones. Without clear guidance from the FAA, commercial users are hamstrung by the diverse rulings of local governments and organizations. Increased social and political pressure on the FAA may be the only thing that can prompt regulation and open the doors to commercial drone...
Package Prep
Drones, Lockers and More
From smart lockers to drone landing pads, multifamily prepares for the quickly evolving future o f e-commerce and deliveries. Alan Gershenhorn, chief commercial officer at UPS, reviewed the latest online sales data during a panel discussion with the National Multihousing Council: Brick-and-mortar retail has grown at approximately 2 percent each year. In comparison, e-commerce has grown in the teens. In 2015, online sales grew by 14.6 percent according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Nearly half of UPS deliveries go to residences, continues Gershenhorn. As delivery quantities increase, multifamily leadership faces a series of challenges. Currently, delivered packages sit at the threshold of the residence where it is exposed to damage from the elements and at risk of theft. A missing package reflects poorly on the community and resident satisfaction scores. Within some multifamily communities, the package is delivered to the leasing office staff or concierge. This method poses an additional burden to staff members that are now accountable for the package. Staff must have adequate space to store the parcels, which can be anything from a tiny jewelry box to furniture and appliances. The staff must also find favorable conditions in which to store the packages. Food delivery and other perishable items require climate control. Multifamily leaders eagerly explore cost-effective solutions to their delivery and storage challenges. The ideal solution would offer security, flexible space, and perhaps even a degree of insulation. In terms of costs, having residents handle their own packages is a clear choice. The courier industry offers several self-serve options that limit the accountability of multifamily staff: UPS My Choice and FedEx Delivery Manager allow users to determine their delivery preferences, such as time and date. Users receive notifications of the package’s progress. UPS Access Point program relies on third-party...
Easy Package Pickups
New 7-Eleven Service
Some people hate shopping. Like myself. The idea of spending numerous hours walking in and out of countless stores, not finding the items I want, but buying some which I had no idea I needed, exhausts me mentally and physically. The day e-commerce became available, I felt relief. I no longer had to waste my time on never ending shopping trips, but could get what I needed without leaving the comfort of my couch. In the meantime, the industry has evolved. So have its shortcomings. One shortcoming is related to the wait: you place the order and then you wait. Or you stress out not knowing if you’ll be at home when the delivery guy shows up. Because you don’t like having your packages left on your doorstep. Perhaps you should have used your office address? What if your boss announces you that you have to travel on the exact day your package is due to arrive? To help solve this problem, Amazon and 7-Eleven have come up with the delivery locker system in 2011. The program proved to be highly successful, as recently 7-Eleven announced it made space for more lockers at a number of its North American stores where customers can pick up packages from FedEx, and United Parcel Service. In fact, any retailer that ships via UPS or FedEx has the locker as a delivery option. Moreover, the company said they will install Wal-Mart lockers in six locations in Toronto. The locker system is quite simple: anyone who shops online from a retailer who uses UPS or FedEx has the option of having their package sent directly to the nearest 7-Eleven for pick-up. When the package is delivered, the customer receives an email notification along with a bar code to his...
e-Commerce Delivery
From Drivers to Drones
The NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Development Association recently held its second annual E.Con in Atlanta, a conference dedicated to e-commerce innovation. During the two-day event, last mile delivery stayed at the forefront of conversation. As the nation faces a shortage of 240, 000 truck drivers, e-commerce companies are actively seeking alternatives to traditional delivery methods. Panelists and attendees discussed four current trends: Unmanned vehicles The lack of CDL drivers and the high costs of employing them are leading e-commerce retailers to seek other ways of getting products from distribution centers to the homes of consumers. Removing drivers altogether could be the solution. That’s one approach that has been tried in Europe and Asia. Those programs started 10 years ago. Unmanned vehicles still haven’t caught on because studies (and many companies) suggest that automated trucks are most suitable for interstate conditions. The last mile in urban and suburban areas has risks associated with pedestrians, frequent construction and redirects, varying laws, and erratic behavior from human drivers nearby. More research and innovation will be needed to make companies and consumers comfortable with unmanned delivery vehicles in heavily populated areas. Uber-style delivery systems Independent delivery services are also popping up across the nation. Drivers for hire (those with a standard non-commercial license) can carry out deliveries from urban and suburban distribution centers to doorsteps. They do not require the pay or hours of career truck drivers. Start-ups and smaller e-commerce companies are exploring these options. They may become more prevalent in the future. There is one major problem. Currently, there is no software that coordinates product size, weight, and shipping distance with these drivers for hire. Everett Steele, CEO of Kanga says, “There is this idea, ‘I want to be the Uber for delivery,’ but one of...
Special Delivery
Managing Packages
More than 37 million U.S. apartment residents receive enormous numbers of holiday packages every year. A load that large requires more than mere tracking numbers. For that reason, one in four apartment communities use specialized software to manage residents’ packages on site. These are among the findings from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and Kingsley Associates’ 2014 Package Delivery Survey. The survey was fielded in October of this year, with 2,758 community managers from 28 leading firms responding. The survey also found that during the holiday season, a typical apartment community can receive double the typical 100 packages received weekly. After all, consumers spent $2.3 billion on Cyber Monday in 2013 alone. In more than three-quarters (77 percent) of apartment buildings surveyed, package carriers try to deliver to the door, as opposed to going to the manager’s office, but the number drops to one in five (20 percent) in high rises. If residents aren’t in, carriers take packages to the management office 70 percent of the time. This results in an enormous number of packages for the community manager to handle. “Managing deliveries is a real issue facing the industry,” says David Smith, chief operating officer and vice president, San Francisco-based Kingsley Associates. “There is inherent risk and valuable time associated with sorting, storing and notifying residents of package deliveries at the community level. Senior executives are clearly taking note of the escalating staff hours spent managing the process, particularly during the holidays.” Many apartment companies are increasingly adopting software solutions to help them get a handle on packages. Almost one-quarter, or 24 percent, of properties utilize software to track packages and notify residents. Among high-rise apartment communities, 60 percent are relying on specialized software. Apartment managers are as likely to notify residents...
