Baillie Gifford
and colleagues to build a strong conviction in the company ’ s ability to defy the usual step-by-step path to development and take bold , transformative decisions as the opportunity arose . Another company showing the benefit of embracing uncertainty is Zipline , the drone delivery service that ’ s helping to transform the logistics industry . The San Francisco-based company is re-imagining what is possible in ‘ last mile ’ logistics , getting goods and services into the hands of the customer – or patient . Zipline is also making great progress in its social goals , having started in Rwanda delivering blood and medicine to remote locations . So far it has delivered over a million Covid vaccines in Rwanda and Ghana and enabled people in rural parts of Africa to access vaccinations . Now Zipline ’ s automated delivery system is the largest in the world , having made over 300,000 commercial flights , logging more than 20 million miles of autonomous flights with no incidences of injury . Zipline now operates on three continents and is running a commercial trial in the US for Walmart , exciting customers by delivering groceries to their garden . Gibson explains : “ There ’ s an opportunity there for them to expand into the grocery delivery in the US , and potentially in delivering pharmaceutical products as well . It ’ s really interesting that a business that has been highly successful in solving a logistics problem in emerging markets is bringing that learning back to the US .”
Issue 89 - November 2022 / 21 /