Source BSV: The capital of Bahia was the city chosen by Natura for a new stage of technical tests, which will run until the end of the year, to carry out deliveries of the brand’s products by means of drones.

“After a first moment already held in São Paulo, we chose Salvador to continue with the work. It is the largest capital in the region, the fourth largest city in Brazil and has a favorable geographic location, so that the drone can fly around the city over the sea, which makes it possible to start operations at a time when air regulations still do not allow the drone flies over houses, streets and non-consenting people. In addition, another determining factor is the fact that we have Distribution Centers in Simões Filho, a nearby town. That way we will be able to implement our plan to use this new mode of transport to deliver orders leaving our DCs”, says Leonardo Romano, director of Supply Chain and Logistics Innovation at Natura &Co.

The objective of the current tests is to understand the viability of an operational routine of deliveries with drones in a city like Salvador, considering all the climatic intercurrences that may affect the operation. Also according to Romano, deliveries of real orders are already being carried out, so the service is already active for the public.

It is worth remembering that the drone makes a section of the route and, therefore, people do not see the drone delivering their orders. “The drones will not enter people’s homes, the operation seeks to deliver quickly and safely for orders that go to more remote or difficult to access places: the drone arrives on a pre-defined basis and as close as possible – such as condominiums , shopping malls or at our
Distribution Centers – and the process is completed by land”, explains the executive. As part of the test, orders for Salvador invoiced in the ‘Super Expressa’ delivery mode on Natura’s website are directed to the drone route.

The use of drones to deliver products is already a reality in many parts of the world. In Rwanda and Ghana, they work in the distribution of blood donations. In countries such as Finland, Iceland, Switzerland, China, Japan and the United States, drones are being used for retail, food and medicine deliveries.

In addition to the significant reduction in delivery time, which improves the experience for consultants, another advantage of this modality is that the drone does not generate greenhouse gas emissions, which means a low environmental impact, one of the main priorities in the business model. of the brands of the Natura &Co group, of which Natura is part, which seeks to achieve the goal of achieving zero net carbon emissions by 2030.

“Our Sustainability Vision, Commitment to Life 2030, has the ambition to make NaturaCo a zero net carbon emissions group 20 sooner than the target established by the UN. Therefore, it is essential that we invest in delivery solutions that do not generate emissions in our logistics chain, such as drones, in line with our aspiration to be the best beauty group in the world”, says Leonardo Romano.

“We are constantly looking for cutting-edge solutions that improve the experiences of our consultants, representatives and customers with the products of our brands. Logistics using drones could be part of our future modal, within a spectrum of solutions that
will enable delivery routes in very short times, with low cost and low environmental impact”, he adds.

For the project, Natura partnered with the Brazilian startup Speedbird Aero, the first company to receive the certifications required by Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) to operate with drones. involving unmanned aircraft deliveries. We are among the world leaders in developing the technology platform for sustainable and scalable drone logistics. We hope to contribute to further improving the experience of Natura consumers” says Samuel Salomão, CPO and Co-founder of Speedbird Aero. 

The initiative is being implemented in partnership with Natura Startups, an area dedicated to Natura’s activities in the open innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem for the development of disruptive solutions and services