Current Innovation and Thinking Regarding the Future Use of Drones for Australian Businesses

The different innovative practices that are undertaken by the organizations are based on the criteria of improving the performance of the same through the smooth functioning of the processes, which will help the businesses in achieving a competitive advantage. The key changes that are undertaken by the organization are based on the assessment of the trends that are shaping the demand of the customers in the specific markets. The identification of the trends helps businesses in improving the processes as per the expectations of the customers. The discussion will be undertaking the evaluation of the current practices that are undertaken by Woolworths and the manner in which the supply chain operations of the business might be improved through the introduction of drones in the processes. On the other hand, the different aspects of innovations is being discussed as a part of the report in order to identify the feasibility of implementing the innovation in the current practices of the business as per the assessment of the trends in the industry.

The Australian customers expect a premium experience for the value that is invested by the same for certain products and services. In order to cope up with the expectations of the Australian customers, the businesses have undertaken different innovative practices in order to enhance the competitive edge of the same while operating in diverse regions in the economy. The growth of affordability of the customers through enhanced employability of the same has resulted to enhanced expectations of the same. Paul Graham, the supply chain manager of Woolworths, held the view that the major trend that is shaping the organizational operations in Australian markets is the presence of omni-channel, which has helped in enhancing the shopping experience of the customers (Boons et al. 2013). The retail organizations in the nation has thereby taken steps to bring forth changes in the distribution channels and networks through the utilization of drones over the primitive home delivery options in different regions of the nation (Paraschiv et al. 2012). The induction of the strategic innovation will be helping Woolworths in enhancing the operations of the same while operating in diverse markets. Most of the customers expect on time deliveries which were affected through the utilization of different road based transportation and shipping. It affected the shopping experience of the buyers resulting to a degradation in the brand name of Woolworths in Australia. Therefore, Woolworths is planning to utilize drones instead of other means in order to adhere to the ‘on time delivery’ expectations of the customers. The growth of the e-commerce businesses in the different regions of Australia has induced high competition in the markets. Lee,   Hwang  and Choi (2012) stated in a research that around 67% of the customers expect the organizations to provide on time delivery of the commodities. Moreover, the customers are also of the notion that personalization of the commodities and the manner in which they are delivered helps in enhancing their shopping experience. Therefore, the major change trends that are faced by Woolworths are based on the expectations of the customers.  

Feasibility of Implementing Drones in Woolworths’ Supply Chain Operations

The different techniques that might be considered by Woolworths are Brainstorming and Creative Problem Solving (CPS). The different issues that are faced by the organization are related to the untimed deliveries that have affected the reputation of the organization while operating in the Australian markets. In a survey it has been found that more than 78% of the customers holds the notion that untimed deliveries has affected their interests and their shopping experience from Woolworths (Chen,   Chiang  and Storey  2012). Therefore, the organization might brainstorm an idea through the identification of the problem and choosing from among a series of ideas. The problem that was faced by the concerned organization was related to the inefficiency of the supply chain to deliver the products to the customers on the right time. Therefore, the organization has chosen to utilize drones in order to support their issues and avoid situations of delivery delays.

On the other hand, the organization might also undertake the Creative Problem Solving model in order to identify the issue and thereby apply different recommended steps in order to eradicate the issue that is faced by the same. The innovation that will be undertaken by the concerned organization is to deliver the products to the concerned destinations through the utilization of drones. It will be helping the organization in minimizing the costs of distribution and operational costs that are incurred by the same (McKinnon  and Onorato  2016). The organization encouraged the involvement of the stakeholders in the innovation process that is being planned by the same in order to enhance the chances of success. The involvement of the stakeholders in the innovative process that is planned by the concerned business will be helping the same in enhancing the operations of the business as per the expectations of the customers. However, the organization might face an issue while undertaking the creative thinking methods relating to the controversies ion the feasibility of the idea. The issue will be affecting the organizational capability of undertaking a decision for implementing the change in the logistics processes.

The organization is required to facilitate a sustainable approach in order to maintain the efficacy of the operations as per the expectations of the customers. Rao,   Gopi  and Maione (2016) stated that the sustainable approach of organizations helps the same in designing the processes in a manner, which will suit the interests of the customers. The implementation of drones in the supply chains of the organization will be helping the same in enhancing the operations while operating in diverse international markets. The sustainable approach of the organization will be helping the enterprise in maintaining the efficacy of the operations while adhering to the needs of the consumers. Vergouw et al. (2016) stated that the sustainable approach of the organization will be helping the same in enhancing the operations of the same through assessment of the market trends. On the other hand, the sustainable approach of the concerned business will help the same in enhancing the chances of achieving a competitive advantage over the competitors. The different stakeholders that will be involved during the change will be the management itself, the distributors and logistics manager, the investors and the customers. Park,   Zhang  and Chakraborty (2016) stated that the active involvement of the stakeholders off the business in the change processes will be helping the same in enhancing the operations of the same. Therefore, the change that is being planned by the organization is based on bringing forth modification in the supply chain operations through the introduction of drones.

Techniques to Improve Delivery Times

The organization must take steps to make the stakeholders aware of the operations of the same while the business rephrases the logistic processes through the introduction of drones. Harrington (2015) stated that knowledge transfer in organization helps organizations in maintaining the efficacy of the processes through induction of thorough knowledge of the business processes. The organization will be taking steps to initiate different training and induction sessions with the employees in order to make them aware of the functioning of the drones. The training that will be provided by the organization will be helping the same in empowering the activities of the employees as per the sustainable objectives of the enterprise. Hugos (2018) stated that the development of the organizations depends solely on the development of the workforce to work on the objectives of the business. The key changes in the operations of the business will be  focusing on the  development of an interface and modification in the supply chain operations of the business. Therefore, training the employees will be helping the organization in introducing the same to the changes in the supply chain networks and logistics to facilitate the smooth functioning of the workforce.

The organization might face different challenges while introducing the drones in the supply chain networks and logistics of the same. The section will be focusing on the identification of the different issues that might be faced by the business.

Resistance from the workforce due to job cuts– The organization might face resistance from the side of the employees relating to the job cuts that will be undertaken by the same through the implementation of drones in the supply chain  networks of the business. The introduction of drones in the supply chain networks of the business will make various posts invalid. Therefore, the workforce might fear that their jobs and interests are at stake for the interests and profitability of the business. The stiff resistance from the workforce might hamper the smooth functioning of the different departments, particularly the ongoing supply chain networks. On the other hand, the different distributors with whom the organization collaborated for undertaking the distribution of the products might also resist to the change in the supply chain, which will affect the ongoing functions of the business (Wright,   Sturdy  and Wylie  2012).  

Resistance to the training that will be provided by the organization- The training that will be provided by the organization might seem to be useless  and waste of time and resource to the employees resulting to their resistance to the induction process. It might affect the smooth functioning of the business as per the objectives of the same.

Challenges in Implementing Drones in Supply Chain Networks

Costs incurred by the organization while shifting their supply chain to drones- The organization might encounter a hike in the innovation costs or the research and development (R&D) expenses. The initiating costs that might be faced by the organization might be affected through the lack of financial capabilities of the business.

Resistance from the investors- The investors invests with the proper understanding of the profitability of the idea as per the business model. However, the lack of proper understanding of the profitability of the business might result to resistances from the side of the investors. It will be  affecting the smooth functioning of the business processes as per the objectives of the same in bringing forth innovation in supply chain networks.

Implementation failure- The organization is planning to introduce drones for bringing forth changes in the supply chain networks. However, technological failures due to battery backup or the incapability of the drone to lift the load will be resulting to an implementation failure, which is one of the major uncertainties that are faced by the business (Goodchild  and Toy  2018).

The section will be focusing on the different strategies that might be implemented by the organization in order to mitigate the potential issues that might be faced by the same while introducing the drones in the supply chain networks.

Assessment of the capabilities of the organization- The organization might frame strategies in order to assess the financial capabilities of the same while planning to introduce the drones in the  supply chain networks of the same. The developments in the organization will be based on the assessment of the financial capabilities, as it will be helping the enterprise in facilitating the smooth functioning of the project.

Negotiation with the stakeholders- The organization might take negotiation with the employees and the investors in order to make them aware of the needs of the organization to bring forth the modification in the processes (Nicholas  and Carswell  2014). On the other hand, negotiation with the employees will be helping the organization in undertaking the smooth functioning of the processes.

Designing suitable training and framing alternative posts for the employees facing job cuts- The organization might take steps to design suitable training and induction materials in order to transmit knowledge of the new process of logistics that will be undertaken  by the organization. It will again support the sustainable approach of the business through the uninterrupted functioning of the workforce (Jones et al. 2015).  On the other hand, the organization might create new job positions for the employees who will be facing the job cut situation in order to retain the experienced workforce in the business and avoid situation of workforce resistance to change.

Conclusion

Testing the technology before implementing- The organization might consider the testing phase before implementing the drones on the supply chain networks. It will be helping the organization in avoiding the situations of project failures and heavy financial loss.

The organization will be undertaking open meetings with the selected stakeholders in order to make them aware of the different changes that are planned by the business. The meetings will be helping the organization in encouraging the active participation of the stakeholders in the business processes (Tavana et al. 2017). On the other hand, the enterprise might also issue newsletters and send emails to the different relevant stakeholders in order to make the same aware of the different modification that are planned by the business.

The innovation that will be undertaken by the organization will require a handsome amount of resources for initiating the process and implementing the drones in the supply chains and logistics units (Sundqvist  2015). The resources that might be required by the organization are segregated into two definite divisions- Human resource and financial resource to boost the physical buying activity of the drones. The human resource of the organization will be helping the same in undertaking the smooth functioning of the processes as per the sustainable objectives of the business (Bamburry  2015). On the other hand, the financial resources of the organization will be helping the organization in boosting the capabilities of the same to afford the drones for introducing the same in the business model.

The innovation strategy that was  considered by the organization will be helping the same in introducing the sustainable approach through the smooth functioning of the supply chain networks and logistics units. On the other hand, the strategy of introducing drones in the supply chain networks will be helping the concerned organization in avoiding the product delays, which is one of the major concerns of the target customers of the enterprise.

Conclusion 

Therefore, from the above assessment it can be concluded that Woolworths is planning to introduce drones in the supply chain networks in order to avoid delivery delays and thereby undertake a sustainable approach. The report focuses on the identification of the different resources that might be required by the organization in order to bring forth the change in the logistics department. On the other hand, the report also enumerates the different trends that are faced by the concerned organization, which has resulted to the change that is planned by the organization. The report also focuses on discussing the different issues that might be faced by the same and the mitigation strategies that might be applied by the same in order to facilitate the safe implementation of the project, considering the needs of Woolworths.

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