Drone Delivery Canada (DDC), a drone technology company based out of Vaughan, Ontario, has announced a collaboration with office supplies giant Staples Inc.
Under the new partnership, the two companies plan to explore the feasibility of developing, implementing and commercializing a drone delivery logistics platform for Staples’ commercial requirements nationwide in Canada.
“The work Staples is doing with Drone Delivery Canada will let us rapidly provide innovative solutions to meet our customers’ needs,” comments Mike Bhaskaran, Staples’ executive vice president of supply chain. “We’re always testing new ways we can improve our supply-chain capabilities and are encouraged by the potential of drone technology.”
With this agreement in place, DDC will work under Transport Canada’s framework to advance testing at a specific test site within southern Ontario. The company later plans to conduct testing in Foremost, Alberta, and Alma, Quebec, to carry out operations taking place beyond the visual line of sight.
“This agreement with Staples is potentially transformational for us as a company,” says Tony Di Benedetto, CEO of DDC. “We are the first and only drone delivery company in Canada. Now, with our recently awarded Special Flight Operating Certificate from Transport Canada to test-fly, those customers who we were previously in contract discussions are now accelerating their dialogue with us to develop and implement their own drone delivery solution. We are experiencing great traction and are expecting more contract wins in Q4 and Q1 of 2017.”
