Amazon's ambitious plan to use flying drones to deliver packages is far-fetched, but not just because of technology limitations or air traffic regulations. Amazon's fulfillment center network, as it stands now, is too limited to serve even a tiny fraction of the U.S. in the method described by CEO Jeff Bezos.
Many of Amazon's fulfillment centers are based in rural towns where land for the sprawling warehouses is inexpensive. As Bezos said during his interview with CBS television news program "60 Minutes" the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would be able to deliver packages within a 10-mile radius of the fulfillment centers. That means if you're one of the 10,000 people who live in Coffeyville, Kansas or Campbellsville, Kentucky then you're in luck. But residents of New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver, San Francisco and other big cities can forget about Prime Air service unless Amazon expands its distribution footprint.
This map shows 60 distribution centers across 15 states. The blue circles around the fulfillment centers represent the 10-mile range of the drones. The default view shows how little of the country would be covered by the proposed service. Technical and regulatory issues aside, this is a serious limitation.
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