Key Takeaways

• F-drones is the first firm in the globe that offers "24-hour commercial beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries."
• The drone can also proceed 4 times the typical drone distance at 5 times the speed. It can also bear 20 times heavier loads. 
• Wilhelmsen uses the technology of Airbus in its shore-to-ship delivery offering. Airbus is well-known for supplying military-grade hardware across the EU region and in other countries.

Introduction

F-Drone

Company Overview and Offering

•  F-Drone designs and operates exclusively-designed aerial delivery drones. Its drones can ultimately carry 100 kg over 100 km. from shores to vessels or offshore platforms.
• Its website can be found at this link.
• The company has an estimated revenue of less than $5 million. The company is private and has no official public financial statements.

Competitive Advantage

• F-drones is the first firm in the globe that offers "24-hour commercial beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone deliveries."
• The company got the critical "Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) license in Singapore."
• The license allows the company to operate drones at a maximum distance of 400 meters from the operator.
• Having this license in the harbors in the country gave the company a competitive advantage. The certification also makes its operations highly enticing for investors.
• The company was also able to obtain night flight permits, enabling it to have 24/7 delivery operations.
• The company claimed that it can save 80% of its client's time, costs, and labor.
• The drone can take off vertically to a maximum of 600 ft.
• It can also shift to a fixed-wing flight operation.
• The drone can also proceed 4 times the typical drone distance at 5 times the speed. It can also bear 20 times heavier loads.
• The company also mentioned that its drones utilize energy three times better than rotorcraft.
• The fully-autonomous drone can also position itself to land in a vertical position at a pre-assigned site with an accuracy of within a centimeter.

Target Market

• The company also mentioned that its global total addressable target market involves over 3,000,000 port calls in a year and 10,000 offshore oil rigs.
• It targets maritime and logistics companies that are involved in shore-to-ship deliveries.

Wilhelmsen

Company Overview and Offering

•  Wilhelmsen offers various maritime logistics solutions such as its shore-to-ship delivery services using the Airbus’ Skyways unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
• Its website can be accessed through this link.
• The company has a revenue of $812 million in 2020. There was no available breakdown on its annual reports or other financial statements on how much of this figure is specific only for shore-to-ship delivery services.

Competitive Advantage

• Wilhelmsen uses the technology of Airbus in its shore-to-ship delivery offering. Airbus is well-known for supplying military-grade hardware across the EU region and in other countries.
• Airbus also mentioned that its autonomous drones can run at speeds that are six times more than traditional shore-to-ship delivery services.
• Furthermore, its drone fleets that are operating in autonomous conditions are capable of reducing delivery costs by around 90%.
• Airbus also mentioned that its drones can help in the reduction of carbon contributions.
• The company also highlighted that it has broad ships agency knowledge and skills, as well as comprehensive safety standards that will be reflected in this offering.
• It also mentioned that the expertise of Airbus in aeronautical vertical lift technology can help in expertly providing this service to dense ports such as the ones in Singapore.

Target Customers

•  Wilhelmsen's shore-to-ship drone delivery services target the maritime and logistics industry, as well as those who need to transport various types of packages from shores to ships.
• The company also targets heavy industries that need to deliver packages to vessels and locations that operate in challenging conditions.

Research Strategy