A Simulation-Based Evaluation of Drone Integrated Delivery Strategies for Improving Pharmaceutical Service

Alexander Jackson () and Sharan Srinivas ()
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Alexander Jackson: University of Missouri
Sharan Srinivas: University of Missouri

A chapter in Supply Chain Management in Manufacturing and Service Systems, 2021, pp 185-204 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones have great potential to better serve society. The implementation of drone delivery services can reduce costs and wait-times for goods. The healthcare industry can take advantage of these benefits as prescription drugs are potentially life-saving. Pharmacies fill hundreds of prescriptions a day, and a drone delivery service can better serve their customers. Drones are not restricted by infrastructure and can bypass city congestion; therefore, providing a quick and cost-effective delivery method for pharmacies. Three different methodologies, Truck-Only, Truck-Tandem, and Drone-Only, are researched to determine the effects of employing a drone integrated delivery service in a pharmacy. Drones are either restricted to the “last-mile” of a delivery or take full responsibility for prescription delivery. Data is gathered from the United Kingdom prescription database and implemented into a discrete-event simulation model. The prescriptions are divided into four equally distributed batches throughout the workday and are delivered at once by the associated vehicles. The primary objective is to minimize the costs of the delivery system while remaining feasible. The results suggest that full adoption of drone technology into a delivery system is the most cost-effective and quickest. However, there are significant hurdles that can hinder such implementation, and ultimately, it is up to a pharmacy manager to decide the best course of action. The employed modeling approach can be utilized by any pharmacy looking to develop a delivery service for their customers.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-69265-0_7

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