{"id":22578,"date":"2017-11-14T17:26:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T22:26:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/zipline-drones-that-can-save-lives-and-revolutionize-supply-chains\/"},"modified":"2017-11-14T19:33:54","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T00:33:54","slug":"zipline-drones-that-can-save-lives-and-revolutionize-supply-chains","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/zipline-drones-that-can-save-lives-and-revolutionize-supply-chains\/","title":{"rendered":"Zipline: drones that can save lives and revolutionize supply chains"},"content":{"rendered":"

In October 2016, for-profit, California-based startup Zipline International, Inc. introduced the world\u2019s first commercial drone delivery service in partnership with the Government of Rwanda.[1]<\/a> Starting with routine and emergency deliveries of blood, Zipline revolutionized delivery of medical supplies to the last mile while adding value to multiple layers of Rwanda\u2019s health supply chain.<\/p>\n

The speediness of drones versus the status quo of road transport improved patient care, with ancillary benefits of better product availability, labor utilization, and product mix. Before Zipline, hospitals carried a small stock of common blood. If out of stock, doctors could refer patients to larger hospitals or laboratory technicians would drive ~4-8 hours roundtrip to request blood from one of Rwanda\u2019s five Regional Centers for Blood Transfusion (RCBTs), which can also suffer from stock-outs.[2]<\/a>,[3]<\/a> Only 25% of Rwandan roads are paved and they tend to have poor drainage during rain.[4]<\/a>,[5]<\/a> Now Zipline delivers blood via drones in ~15-40 minutes, even during inclement weather.[6]<\/a> Laboratory technicians no longer travel to get blood and doctors and nurses can treat patients faster, increasing labor utilization. Zipline\u2019s drones fly fast enough to carry a broader range of blood products with time- and temperature-sensitive transport and storage requirements to the last mile, thus supporting treatment decentralization.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

Because Zipline stores inventory centrally at its site, customers can order on-demand, which reduces inventory holding and transport costs for individual hospitals and the government overall. Nearly one third of the world, largely concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa, lacks access to essential medicine due to a combination of stock-outs, wastage, and transport difficulties.[8]<\/a> These symptoms stem from the difficulty of demand forecasting, which is exacerbated in resource-limited settings due to lack of reliable data, poor connectivity, and, where they exist, nascent IT systems.[9]<\/a> The more products Zipline carries, the more responsive it associated supply chains can be to individual, real-time patient needs.<\/p>\n

Zipline\u2019s new digitized supply chain system also has positive externalities for Rwanda\u2019s public health system. Prior to Zipline, hospitals placed orders, tracked usage, and recorded blood transfusion outcomes using paper forms. When considering orders, staff had to instinctively rationalize distribution of blood based on recollection of factors like current supply and historical hospital usage\/wastage patterns.[10]<\/a> Though expected to enter summaries of these numbers online every month, staff were often limited by unreliable access to computers and internet.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

With Zipline, laboratory technicians can place orders using a Google form, WhatsApp, SMS, or toll-free phone call. Instead of making individual order approval decisions, Zipline worked with Rwanda\u2019s Ministry of Health to define pre-approved order size bounds for each hospital, thus largely standardizing order quantity.[12]<\/a> Additionally, Zipline developed its own electronic database accessible to the government to track SKU-level blood demand, supply, and usage real-time, therefore circumventing dependence on hospitals\u2019 existing connectivity levels.[13]<\/a> Zipline\u2019s on-demand service model and real-time supply chain tracking software enables an unprecedented level of visibility and need-based blood distribution previously impossible in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

Looking forward, Zipline\u2019s management must focus on sustainable scaling. Zipline should mandate that it directly house and share supply chain data with customers. Without this, customers may request custom integration with their legacy IT systems, which tend to be unique by product type and country and are prone to interoperability, connectivity, and security issues. Furthermore, Zipline should require that this database be the sole digital source of truth for billing audits to avoid lengthy data reconciliation processes and delayed payments. Zipline should also push towards offering 24\/7 service to eliminate the need for costly parallel distribution systems. To preempt regulatory barriers, Zipline could build political will with aviation and health authorities in target countries before contract finalization. Finally, Zipline should create clear rubrics outlining order prioritization criteria once it begins delivering more products for both public and private sector clients given required use of a shared and limited airspace.<\/p>\n

All things considered, developing countries operate with limited budgets. Is embracing Zipline\u2019s high-tech service worth the tradeoff of not investing in traditional road infrastructure, which can boost additional industries like agriculture and trade?<\/p>\n

(Word count: 799)<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Overly, S. \u201cIn Rwanda, lifesaving blood now drops from drones,\u201d The Washington Post<\/em> (October 13, 2016).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Hu, N. Personal Interview (November 14, 2017).<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Rwanda Biomedical Center, \u201cNational Center for Blood Transfusion,\u201d http:\/\/www.rbc.gov.rw\/index.php?id=356.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Foth, J. \u201cWe haven\u2019t considered the true cost drone delivery medical services in Africa\u201d Quartz<\/em> (September 29, 2017).<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Hu, N. Personal Interview (November 14, 2017).<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Rosen, J., \u201cZipline\u2019s Ambitious Medical Drone Delivery in Africa,\u201d MIT Technology Review<\/em> (June 8, 2017).<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Nditunze, L, Makuza, S. et al, \u201cAssessment of Essential Medicines Stock-Outs at Health Centers in Burera District in Northern Rwanda\u201d Rwanda Journal Series F: Medicine and Health Sciences<\/em>. Vol 2 No. 1 (2015)<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Soyiri, I. and Reidpath, P. \u201cAn Overview of Health Forecasting,\u201d Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine<\/em> 2013 Jan; 18(1): 1-9.<\/em><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Hu, N. Personal Interview (November 14, 2017).<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zipline designs, manufactures, and uses its drones to transform medicine delivery to the last mile. Its digitized supply chain is saving time and money while improving healthcare in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

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