Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Computers & Industrial Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/caie

Analyzing critical success factors for implementation of drones in the T

logistics sector using grey-DEMATEL based approach
Alok Raja, , Bhawesh Sahb
⁎

a
Department of Production, Operations and Decision Sciences, XLRI Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur, India
b
Systems Science and Industrial Engineering, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY
13902, United States

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Drone has become an important buzzword in the logistics sector in recent times. Drone deliveries have a two-
Critical success factors pronged advantage as they have the potential to lessen delivery time by avoiding traffic congestions, and the
Grey-DEMATEL analysis inherent structure that reduces its carbon footprint compared to traditional modes of transportation under some
Unmanned aerial vehicle restrictions. To leverage this potential, many companies across the world have developed and tested drones for
Drone
real-world applications. However, many factors may play a significant role in the adoption of drone-delivery in
the logistics sector. This paper attempts to unearth such critical success factors and establish the interrelation-
ships between these factors. Twelve critical success factors were identified by systematically reviewing the lit-
erature and taking inputs from experts. An integrated multi-criteria decision-making technique, decision making
trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)’, combined with the Grey-based approach, was used to envisage
causal relationships between the identified critical success factors. The results reveal that ‘Technological ad-
vancements’ and ‘Government regulations’ are the most influential factors that impact the adoption of drones in
the logistics sector. The research implications of these findings will help practitioners and policymakers effec-
tively implement drones in the logistics sector.

1. Introduction deliver lightweight packages from source to destination without

Logistics is a key topic of discussion since customers expect to get
their desired products pronto, and delivery agencies try to oblige while
scurrying to do so as economically as possible. Delivery-time respon-
siveness is of critical in a supply chain, and it provides a competitive
advantage to a seller over others. In this tussle, scientists developed
many modes of transportation such as wood carts, ships, goods trains,
trucks, and the latest is a drone. A drone is an aircraft that can fly
without a human pilot; it may be remotely controlled or can fly au-
tonomously (Agatz, Bouman, & Schmidt, 2018; Ferrandez, Harbison,
Weber, Sturges, & Rich, 2016). A drone may also be referred to as a
remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and
an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). In this paper, we choose the ter-
minology ‘drone’ for our discussion. Commercialization of drones is
expected to cause significant changes in sectors such as e-commerce,
search and relief operations, healthcare supply chains, and many
others. In particular, drone technology has the potential to change the
logistics sector. Compared to traditional vehicles used in the logistics
sector, a drone has various advantages, one of which is the capability to
minimal human intervention. The operational cost of drone-delivery is
quite low when compared to truck-delivery. These reasons explain why
drones as a transportation medium for parcel-delivery have attracted
significant attention from researchers and practitioners alike. The drone
logistics and transportation market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of
21.01% from USD 11.20 billion in 2022 to USD 29.06 billion in 2027
(Smith, 2018). The soaring demand for drone technology stems from its
significant capacity to improve the responsiveness and efficiency in the
delivery of goods. Many companies across the world plan to use drones
for parcel-delivery. In March 2017, Matternet received full authoriza-
tion for operating a drone logistics network in Switzerland (Ong, 2017),
DHL used a completely autonomous drone system to deliver consumer
goods in the Bavarian community of Reitim Winkl between January and
March of 2016, Amazon Prime Air Service is expected to deliver eligible
packages in 30 min or less (provided customer location is within 15
miles of the fulfilment center and the delivery package is under five
pounds) (Joyce, 2019). Amazon targets that it will deliver 86% of its
deliveries weighing less than 5 lb. using drones soon (Johnson, 2017).
Chinese e-commerce firm, JD.com, has slashed transportation time

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: alokraj@xlri.ac.in (A. Raj), bsah1@binghamton.edu (B. Sah).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106118
Received 21 February 2019; Received in revised form 13 August 2019; Accepted 6 October 2019
Available online 09 October 2019
0360-8352/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

significantly by using drones to deliver items to mountainous regions
(Mcnabb, 2019). Flirtey, a U.S.-based company, has deployed drones to
deliver books quickly to students (Abrams, 2017). Walmart is using
drones to manage the inventory inside its warehouses. Drones fly
around Walmart’s warehouse and scan items to find products that are
close to a stock-out situation or are not stocked in their assigned loca-
tion; this data is then communicated to the management for appropriate
action (Supply Chain, 2016; Wollenhaupt, 2018). Similarly, many
companies across the world are lobbying for the incorporation of
commercial drones in the logistics sector. However, this transition is not
an easy one due to the high cost of technology and infrastructure,
complicated regulatory framework, security and privacy issues, legality
and morality issues, and public nuisance (Byrne, 2018). Drone-delivery
is possible if customers are closer to the fulfillment center; thus, sub-
stantial investment in building such fulfillment centers would be
needed (Welch, 2015). Drone-delivery relies on machine learning and
artificial intelligence techniques, hence, there are costs related to ac-
quiring technology and employing highly skilled people. While Amazon
already has a fulfillment center within five miles of most metropolitan
areas in USA (Welch, 2015), for drone-delivery it would require the
construction of more fulfillment centers closer to customers due to
limited battery characteristics of drones. Another way to deal with the
limited battery problem is to have drone-charging facilities en route to
delivery locations. However, both these options would incur a sig-
nificant initial cost. Since the infrastructure and human resources for
truck-delivery are already available, there would be significant initial
investment before drone-delivery can be used commercially.
Drone-delivery, in its current form, is characterized by im-
plementation problems that need attention (Forbes, 2017). These pro-
blems necessitate the need to study critical success factors (CSFs) that
may play a pivotal role in the adoption of drone-logistics by companies.
There is no past research in the extant literature that has analyzed the
CSFs in the context of drone-logistics. This study proposes the following
research objectives to bridge the research gaps and help policymakers
in the smooth adoption of drones:
a. To identify the CSFs for the adoption of drones in the logistics
sector.
b. To establish the causal relationships between the identified CSFs
and rank them into cause-and-effect factors for smooth adoption of
drones in the logistics sector.
To address the above research objectives, we identified CSFs
through an extensive literature review that was followed by soliciting
inputs from subject matter experts. We analyzed causal relationships
between the CSFs using a multi-criteria decision-making method- the
Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL)
combined with the Grey-based approach. The proposed methodology
has been applied and validated in the context of drone-delivery in the
United States. The paper is organized as follows: Section 2 will in-
troduce a literature review on drones in the context of a supply chain.
The methodology is discussed in Section 3, followed by a real-world
case study in Section 4. The results are discussed in Section 5. The
managerial implications are discussed in Section 6, followed by the
conclusion in Section 7.
2. Contextual literature review
In the last few years, drones have been used for many different tasks
and services. Barmpounakis, Vlahogianni, and Golias (2016) have dis-
cussed the current applications and challenges of drone technology.
Luppicini and So (2016) carried a techno-ethical review of commercial
drone-use in the context of governance, ethics, and privacy, while Otto,
Agatz, Campbell, Golden, and Pesch (2018) conducted a literature
survey on the optimization approaches to civil applications of drones.
Drones were initially designed for military operations because of the
dangers and risks for personnel in a manned aircraft (Kilcullen & Exum,
2009). After 2012–13, apart from the applications in the military,
drones have increasingly been used commercially as well (Luppicini &
So, 2016). Some of its vast applications, besides military operations,
include parcel-delivery (Agatz et al., 2018; Bamburry, 2015; Dorling,
Heinrichs, Messier, & Magierowski, 2016; Murray & Chu, 2015), aerial
inspection and monitoring such as the aerial inspection of power lines,
and oil and gas pipes, search and rescue (SAR) operations (Silvagni,
Tonoli, Zenerino, & Chiaberge, 2017), civil and construction applica-
tions (Ham, Han, Lin, & Golparvar-Fard, 2016; Mohamed, Al-Jaroodi,
Jawhar, Idries, & Mohammed, in press), healthcare (Kim, Lim, Cho, &
Côté, 2017), agriculture (Malveaux, Hall, & Price, 2014), public safety
and security (He, Chan, & Guizani, 2017), mining (Lee & Choi, 2016),
imaging, humanitarian relief operations (Sandvik & Lohne, 2014), and
wireless sensor networks (WSNs) (Ho, Grøtli, Sujit, Johansen, & Sousa,
2015).
Yoo, Yu, and Jung (2018) have used a survey-based approach to
analyze the different factors that affect the public’s attitude and in-
tention to adopt drone-delivery. Boysen, Briskorn, Fedtke, and
Schwerdfeger (2018) have investigated the scheduling of drones on a
given truck-route using mixed-integer programming. Researchers have
used different methodologies, such as dynamic programming (Agatz
et al., 2018), heuristics (Goodchild & Toy, 2018; Shavarani, Nejad,
Rismanchian, & Izbirak, 2018), continuous approximation modeling
(Campbell, Sweeney, & Zhang, 2017), and mixed-integer linear pro-
gramming (Ha, Deville, Pham, & Hà, 2018) to analyze delivery-time
and cost savings achieved by using drone-delivery instead of truck-de-
livery. In another interesting study, the authors analyzed the impact of

Table 1
Summary of the literature review.
Authors Research highlights Methodology

Agatz et al. (2018) There is substantial savings in terms of time and cost in a combined system truck- drone compared to Dynamic programming + Heuristic
the truck only solution
Barmpounakis et al. (2016) The issues and emerging challenges related to UAV has been identified Literature review
Campbell et al. (2017) This study provides models for travel cost and travel time of hybrid truck-drone delivery and truck- Continuous
only delivery of drone delivery systems approximation modeling techniques
Figliozzi (2017) Based on life cycle analysis results reveals that UAVs are more CO2 efficient than conventional Life cycle analysis
transport system such as truck
Goodchild and Toy (2018) Estimates CO2 emissions and vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) levels of two delivery models, one by Heuristic
trucks and the other by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
Ha et al. (2018) A new variant of the Traveling Salesman Problem with Drone has proposed Mixed integer programmning + Heuristic
Otto et al. (2018) Literature survey on optimization approaches to civil applications of UAVs Literature review
Park et al. (2018) The study compares the environmental impacts of drone versus motorcycle delivery Life Cycle Analysis
Shavarani et al. (2018) Evaluates the optimal number and locations of launch and recharge stations with the objective of Heuristic
minimizing the total costs of the System in the context of drone
Song, Park, and Kim (2018) Developed a scheduling model for a UAV system’s for persistent delivery service Mixed integer programmning + Heuristic
Yoo et al. (2018) Explores the factors affecting attitudes to drone delivery service and intention to adopt Survey procedure

2
A. Raj and B. Sah
drones on carbon emission using life-cycle analysis (Figliozzi, 2017;
Park, Kim, & Suh, 2018). Table 1 summarizes the literature review.
2.1. Research gaps
From the literature, we can observe that researchers and practi-
tioners have attempted to adopt drones for commercial purposes in
various sectors. Drones have significant implications in the logistics
sector due to the speed and environmental friendliness of drone-de-
liveries (Goodchild & Toy, 2018; Yoo et al., 2018). However, several
authors have pointed out that issues related to privacy and safety of
people as well as the absence of government policies regarding drone-
logistics could hinder the adoption of drones in civil applications
(Luppicini & So, 2016; Otto et al., 2018). Interestingly, all the previous
studies were conducted at operational or tacticallevels where the as-
pects that drones help in saving delivery time and in reducing CO2
emissions were analyzed in the context of truck-based delivery. No
study has been conducted at a strategic level to analyze the critical
success factors that impact the adoption of drones in the logistics sector.
Critical success factors (CSFs) are those factors that are important for
enhancing the adoption level of new technology by an Organization
(Boynton & Zmud, 1984). In any Organization, the implementation of
new technology is complicated as it is tough to identify the factors that
enable the success of the new technology (Shankar, Gupta, & Pathak,
2018). Since drone-delivery is a new technology and major logistics and
service-delivery companies are trying to incorporate drones into their
fleet, it is important to investigate CSFs in the context of drone-logistics.
Several authors have analyzed CSFs in different contexts, such as sus-
tainability initiatives in supply chains (Luthra, Mangla, Shankar,
Prakash Garg, & Jakhar, 2018), traceability for food logistics system
(Shankar et al., 2018), new product development (Cooper &
Kleinschmidt, 1995), and ERP planning (Mashari, Mudimigh, & Zairi,
2003). However, no researcher has analyzed CSFs for the adoption of
drones in the logistics sector. Our goal is to bridge this gap through
investigating CSFs in the context of drone-logistics with the help of a
detailed literature review and assimilation of expert opinion; further-
more, we establish an interrelationship between the different CSFs.
3. Research methodology
Based on the literature review and support from experts, we iden-
tified the CSFs for the adoption of drones in the context of logistics. The
CSFs were then validated with support from experts. Subsequently, the
finalized CSFs were analyzed using the Grey-based DEMATEL approach
to evaluate the interrelationship among them. Fig. 1 highlights the
proposed research framework. The research framework is explained
stepwise below.
Step 1: Identification of Critical Success Factors for the Adoption of
Drones
First, we surveyed the literature to identify the CSFs. Published
papers were obtained from reputed sources such as Google Scholar,
Web of Science, EBSCO, and ProQuest. The papers were identified
based on their relevance to our study. Initially, we identified 15 CSFs.
Ten experts, all with three or more years of experience in the domain of
drone logistics, then validated the identified CSFs. Out of the ten ex-
perts, identified from purposive sampling, seven experts from industry
and three from academia, were chosen to validate the CSFs. Table 2
carries the details of the experts. Three CSFs were dropped after a de-
tailed discussion with the experts because these were not directly re-
lated to the scope of our study. Finally, 12 of the previously-identified
CSFs were retained for further study. Table 3 highlights a summary of
these CSFs. A detail explanation of each CSF, as mentioned in Table 3, is
given below.
3
Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118
i. Customer perception
According to Ravich (2013), drones bring out societal anxiety about
automation among people; drones do not have a pilot on board, and a
computer does the decision-making, which is vulnerable to cyber-at-
tacks. Recently, there have also been talks about how automation can
lead to machines taking over the world and how drones could play a
significant role in that (Chui, Manyika, & Miremadi, 2016). People also
have a perception that drones are mainly for surveillance and military
purposes. Most people do not want to be in the vicinity of a drone due
to fear of being recorded or attacked (Kwon, Kim, & Park, 2017), even
though package delivery drones may not do that. Thus, the general
public should be made aware of different kinds of drones and their roles
as this would shape their perception positively and enhance their ac-
ceptance of drones.
ii. Technical aspect
Drones have technical barriers, such as flying them in adverse
weather conditions (i.e., rain, fog, storms, or strong winds) is tough.
The accidents caused by adverse weather conditions may cause
psychical injury and property damage (Kwon et al., 2017). This
aspect increases the delivery risk of drones, where delivery risk is
the probability of malfunctioning of the drone and its resultant
inability to deliver the product. Delivery risk is a vital factor that
impacts the adoption of drones by the public; thus, there is need to
dynamically monitor the drones during their flight to check for any
malfunctions (Anbaroğlu, 2017; Yoo et al., 2018). Other technical
issues with drones are obstacle (buildings, structures, other drones,
aircrafts, or birds) avoidance (Ross, 2014) and limited battery life,
which would be a problem if a customer’s location is outside the
drone’s flight range (Agatz et al., 2018). Drones are also known for
their small payload (Hallermann & Morgenthal, 2013); limited
payloads allow only small battery packs, which affects flight dura-
tion.
The safety of drone-delivery is an essential factor that will drive the
success of drone-logistics in the future. We assume that safety is an
inbuilt feature in the drone if it is designed based on state-of-the-art-
technology. Since the technology used for drone-logistics is based on
machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), which is similar to the
technology used for autonomous cars, the drones would be able to
detect any obstacle- human or otherwise- on their path (Russell, Dewey,
& Tegmark, 2015). This would make the delivery-drones safe in air as
well as in proximity to humans. Amazon has already tested its auton-
omous drones based on AI. Hence, the CSF- technical aspect- addresses
safety-related concerns.
iii. Government regulations
Government regulation is one of the chief factors that stimulate the
adoption of any new technology. At the initial level of technology, the
government must provide proper safeguards to Organizations asso-
ciated with the technology. The Economist (2017) reported that the
future of drones not only depends on technology but also regulations.
While many countries have banned the commercial application of
drones, some countries like the United States have brought drones
under the ambit of their civil aviation regulation where part 107 of the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) provides for certification of
commercial drone operators. Delivering a package to a customer would
require the drone to fly through the whole community occupying sec-
ondary space (Chang, Chundury, & Chetty, 2017); therefore, even if the
customer gives consent for the drone to deliver the product there is still
the question of the consent of other people in the community. Only
government intervention could legalize this. There is also a need for
regulations regarding data collection or video recording by delivery-
drones. Since it is hard to tell if a delivery-drone is recording, this could
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

Literature review Expert’s opinion

Identification of critical success factors of

successful adoption of drone in logistic sector
and validation from experts

Data collection from the real case company

from the USA

Evaluation of causal relationship for the successful adoption of drone using

grey-based DEMATEL approach

No

Check results with experts

and practitioners for
conceptual consistency

Yes

Overall DEMATEL prominence–causal graphs and sensitivity analysis

Fig. 1. Research roadmap to identify the critical success factors for the adoption of drone.

of security to the public, and would also make the drone owners ac-
Table 2
countable. Until regulations are laid down for tackling these issues, it
Details of Experts.
would be hard to implement drones for logistics (Nakamura &
Experts Industry/ Related work experience in Domain Kajikawa, 2018).
Academia drone (In Years) Experience

E1 Industry 3.5 Planning iv. Environmental considerations

E2 Industry 10 Technical
E3 Industry 12 Technical Drones have been known to contribute positively to the environ-
E4 Industry 8 Testing and Safety ment. For example, China has been using micro-drones to monitor air
E5 Industry 7 Quality
E6 Industry 11 Design
pollution at a large scale since 2013 (Gallacher, 2016). Sensors, which
E7 Industry 6 Design measure a variety of air pollution and natural components such as
E8 Academia 3.8 Assistant Professor temperature, humidity, air pressure, CO, CO2, O2, among many others,
E9 Academia 4.7 Associate can be placed on drones which help produce real-time geography-based
Professor
air quality information. Also, drones have an advantage over trucks
E10 Academia 10.5 Associate
Professor regarding CO2 emissions, especially when a delivery is either closer to
the truck depot or has a smaller number of recipients. Customer-sen-
sitivity to environmental issues has grown manifold in recent times;
be a threat to the privacy of the public (Chang et al., 2017). There is thus, companies that target this environmentally-conscious group of
also a concern about the identity of drones There has to be a way of customers would have to look for better delivery options, such as drone-
identifying drones; for example, whether a drone belongs to Amazon or delivery.
a private owner. The capability to identify the drone would give a sense

4
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

v. Low initial cost

Choi-Fitzpatrick, Chavarria, Cychosz, Dingens, Duffey, and Koebel (2016)

Khan, Tausif, and Javed Malik (2019), Yoo et al. (2018), Kwon et al. A parcel delivery drone is expected to cost somewhere between USD

Welch (2015), Wang, Poikonen, and Golden (2017), Keeney (2015)

Yoo et al. (2018), Menouar et al., 2017, Sutheerakul, Kronprasert,

1000–2000, which is significantly lower than buying a delivery truck.

Park et al. (2018), Goodchild and Toy (2018), Koiwanit (2018)

Also, with a delivery truck, there are costs associated with hiring a
driver and taking care of extra costs such as insurance. Since the ex-
pected cost of owning a delivery drone is significantly lesser than
Kwon et al. (2017), Ross (2014), Agatz et al., 2018

owning a delivery vehicle (French, 2017), it would be financially easier

for smaller businesses to own delivery drones, which, in turn, would
Shavarani et al. (2018), Chang et al. (2017)

Kaewmoracharoen, and Pichayapan (2017)

make drone-delivery popular.

Sarker and Lee (2003), Johnson (2017)

vi. Consideration of low operational costs

Amazon plans to price the Prime Air Service at $1 per delivery,

Barmpounakis et al. (2016)

where the expected costs per delivery for Amazon are at 88 cents. At
(2017), Boucher (2016)

price of a dollar, an Amazon customer would receive same-day delivery

in contrast to traditional truck-based delivery, which often costs much
French (2017)

Welch (2015)

Cohn (2017) more and takes more than one day in most cases (Keeney, 2015). An-
References

other advantage of drone-delivery is low maintenance costs as there is

no need to maintain a drone-network like a road-network, which needs
regular maintenance. This cost advantage would play an essential part
in promoting drone-logistics.
Limited carrying capacity and flight range are factors that hinder the adoption. Improvements in these two

Every companies trying to reduce the carbon footprint. Drone is environmental friendly then conventional
Emerging simple and cheaper technologies are motivating organizations to adopt for better performance.
Customer perception regarding receiving the items from drone are key to the success for the adoption of

Clear and friendly government regulations drives the implementations of drone in logistic. It propels the

vii. Better responsiveness

Drones can function with minimal infrastructure as no highways need to be built and maintained

Drones can improve the responsiveness in the delivery process as

Low operational costs due to being autonomous, less fuel requirements, and no parking costs

drone-delivery is expected to be much faster than conventional parcel-

Drones are smaller in size and have low initial costs as compared to traditional vehicles

delivery systems (Agatz et al., 2018). Amazon expects to make de-

Top management commitment determines the successful adoption of drone in logistic
The entrepreneurial and innovation spirit will fuel the commercialization of drones

liveries within 30 min of ordering through Amazon Air. Thus, drone-

delivery would give any firm an edge over its competitors.
It reduces the traffic congestion which is major issues in the transportation

viii. Effective traffic management

It is not affected by road conditions thus increase the responsiveness

Drones have the potential for traffic monitoring due to their flex-
ibility, low costs, and wide-range view (Ke et al., 2016). The main
advantage of drone-based traffic monitoring is in the mobility that
drones provide compared to stationary surveillance cameras. Drones
Help decide the drone routes, schedule drones, etc.

can monitor traffic by flying over different road segments and checking
for violations, in which case a message (sound or light) can be sent to
manufacturers and managers for the adoption

the vehicle to stop (Menouar et al., 2017). Drones may also be used as
roadside units enabling traffic communications. For example, a drone
can warn approaching vehicles of the traffic situation or any untoward
factors may improve the adoption

incident like an accident ahead. This would facilitate in improving

customer perception of drones, thus increasing their popularity.

ix. Leadership commitment

Leadership commitment is one of the prime enablers for the adop-

tion of new technology (Bai & Sarkis, 2013). In several other contexts,
Meanings

vehicles

top management has played a vital role in the adoption of new business
drone

practices such as sustainability, business process organization, ERP,

among others; the same can be expected for drones as well. Present
Code

REN
LOC

RTC
RES

INF
LIC

business scenario suggests that CEOs are already playing an essential

SW
GR
CP

LC
TI

EI

role in the adoption of drones. For instance, due to the strong com-
mitment of Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, Amazon has developed a Prime
Conducive research environment
Environmental considerations

Air service using drone technology (Johnson, 2017). At the beginning of

Effective traffic management

2017, Intel’s CEO, Brian Krzanich, spearheaded the company’s suc-

Government Regulations

Leadership commitment
Critical success factors

cessful endeavor of flying 300 synchronized drones.

Better responsiveness
Consideration of low
Customer perception

Skilled workforce
Technical aspect

operationalcosts
Low initial cost
Critical success factors.

x. Skilled workforce
Infrastructure

Drone delivery companies would require highly skilled technical

people who can operate the drones and can work on the machine-
learning and AI technology aspects that will drive drone technology.
Table 3

Sr No

With these new technologies requiring more specialized skills, they may
10
11
12
1

5
6

7
8

replace inefficient processes and personnel in the workplace (Bibbiani,

5
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

Table 4 2015). DEMATEL is the methodology which is best suited for analyzing
Linguistic scale and corresponding grey values. the interrelationship and interdependencies in case of a small-sized
Linguistic terms Grey values sample (Govindan & Chaudhuri, 2016; Hsu, Li, & Chen, 2010). Despite
many advantages, this method may suffer from human biases, in-
No influence (N) [0, 0] complete information, and uncertainty. We have applied the Grey Set
Very low influence (VL) [0, 1] Theory to eliminate the same. This theory can make better decisions in
Low influence (L) [1, 2]
an unpredictable environment (Cui, Chan, Zhou, Dai, & Lim, 2019;
Medium influence (M) [2, 3]
High influence (H)
Rajesh & Ravi, 2015). Therefore, to take advantage of both DEMATEL
[3, 4]
Very high influence (VH) [4, 5] and Grey, we have used Grey-based DEMATEL (GDEMATEL) to carry
out this study. Many researchers have successfully applied this method
in various applications to analyze the relationship between different
2018). The advent of drones has created many skilled jobs for data factors (Cui et al., 2019; Luthra et al., 2018; Rajesh & Ravi, 2015).
collection (drone pilots) and data processing (with data scientists who However, none of the studies has been carried out in the context of
use information collected by drones in various ways). According to a drone logistics. The basic stages of GDEMATEL are mentioned below
2013 report from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems In- (adopted from Bai & Sarkis, 2013; Cui et al., 2019; Govindan &
ternational, FAA approval of commercial drones could lead to the Chaudhuri, 2016; Rajesh & Ravi, 2015):
creation of around 100,000 new jobs in the United States by 2025.
Many of these new jobs, most likely, will be involved in integrating Stage 1: Construction of an initial matrix for the CSFs for the
commercial drones into commercial airspace (Basulto, 2014). Thus, adoption of drone, based on the Grey Set Theory using the six-level
‘skilled workforce’ will play an essential role in embracing and in- Grey Linguistic Scale from “No influence” to “Very high influence”
corporating drone-delivery in the logistics sector. as shown in Table 4.
Stage 2: Computation of the Grey-Relation Matrix
xi. Better infrastructure
The integer scale values need to be modified into the respective
Drone-delivery does not require much infrastructure. A drone is Grey values with higher and lower limit values, as shown below:
capable of landing on any piece of land (concrete or dirt) and can be
x ijk = ( xijk , ¯ x ijk )
recharged using regular power outlets meant for other devices. _ (1)
However, as the popularity of drone-delivery increases, the require-
where 1 ≤ k ≤ K; 1 ≤ i ≤ n; 1 ≤ j ≤ n, and x ijk represents the lower
ments for landing facilities and charging stations may change. There _
will be a need for supporting infrastructure in prime locations- (a) limit of Grey values whereas ¯ represents the upper limit of Grey x ijk
Vertiports to serve as recharged, takeoff and landing pads for drones, values for respondent k in terms of the relationship valuation between
(b) Service centers for inspection and repair, and (c) Distribution and factor i and factor j.
receiving stations (such as lockers, boxes, or platforms) to receive ob-
jects delivered by drones (Cohn, 2017). Stage 3: Computation of the average Grey-Relation Matrix (A)

xii. Conducive Research environment A, the average Grey-Relation Matrix[ x ijk ], can be obtained from K
Grey-Relation matrices, as shown below:
Drone-delivery, an innovative delivery method that is based on the
xijk ¯ x ijk
latest technology, would open gateways for new research. For example, k
_ k
x ijk = ,
when computers were introduced, nobody could have envisaged their K K
applications. Drones are also used for other areas of research such as (2)
film making, traffic control (Menouar et al., 2017), surveillance (Ke
A = [ xijk ] (3)
et al., 2016), search and rescue operations (Restas, 2015), etc. Such
varied usage helps in solving problems, if any, with the technology as
the underlying technology behind all the applications remains the Stage 4: Determination of the crisp-relation matrix (Z)
same. It also increases the popularity of drones among people, which
may lead to easy adoption by other people or companies. Thus, drones The crisp values of the Grey number, x ijk = ( x ijk , ¯ x ijk ) , can be
_
play an increasingly significant part in enhancing research on adoption obtained by using a modified version of the CFCS method (Rajesh &
and application of new technology. Ravi, 2015; Xia, Govindan, & Zhu, 2015), as shown in the next three
steps:
Step 2: Grey-based DEMATEL Technique
(i) Normalization of the Grey number on the lower bound by the fol-
A multi-criteria decision-making methodology (MCDM), a popular lowing equations, where K is the number of experts.
approach to evaluating the interrelationship among different factors,
x¯ijk = ( xijk min x ijk )/ max
has been adopted for this study. There are several MCDMs, such as _ _ j _
min
(4)
Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM), Total Interpretive Structural
Modelling (TISM), DEMATEL, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) ¯ x¯ijk = (¯ xijk min ¯ x ijk )/ max
(5)
min
j
tools; we have used Grey-based DEMATEL. ISM and TISM evaluate a
structural relationship between barriers but fail to quantify the strength where
of the relationship among the factors (Luthra et al., 2018). AHP eval- max
min = max ¯ xijk min x ijk
uates the relationship between the factors by considering that factors j j _ (6)
are independent, which does not truly reflect the real situation
(Govindan & Chaudhuri, 2016). DEMATEL provides the interrelation- (ii) Evaluation of total normalized crisp value using Eqn. (7)
ship between the factors by considering the strength of relationship
while considering dependency among the factors (Zhu, Sarkis, & Lai,

6
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

x¯ijk (1 x¯ijk ) + ( ¯ x¯ijk × ¯ x¯ijk ) The overall prominence (Pi ) and the net effect (Ei ) can be obtained
Yijk =
_ _ from the following equations:
(1 x¯ijk + ¯ x¯ijk )
_ (7) Pi = [Ri + Dj ] i=j (15)

(iii) Determination of final crisp values by Eqn.(8) Ei = [Ri Dj ] i=j (16)

z ijk = (min x ijk + (Yijk × max

min )) The greater the value of Pi, the greater the overall prominence (i.e.,
j (8)
_
the influence, importance, and visibility) of factor/barrier i in terms of
and the overall relationship with other factors or barriers. If Ei > 0, then
factor/barrier i is a net cause or the foundation for other factors or
Z = [z ijk ] (9) barriers. If Ei < 0, then factor/barrier i is the net effect of other factors
or barriers. These values may then be plotted on a two-dimensional axis
Stage 5: Computation of the normalized direct crisp-relation matrix for each factor or barrier.
(X)
Stage 7c: The setting of the threshold value and plotting of the di-
The normalized direct crisp-relation matrix (X) can be determined graph
by Eqn. (10).
1 The total-relation matrix (T) gives information on how one barrier
L= n influences another. To avoid comparably negligible effects, experts,
max Z kij
1 i n
j=1 (10) analysts, or evaluators need to set a threshold value ( ). If Tij ,then
and factor/barrier i influences or causes factor/barrier j, and a directed
arrow is incorporated into the analysis. A digraph showing causal re-
X=L×Z (11)
lations can be plotted from the data set: ((Ri + Dj ), (Ri Dj )) i = j .
where L is a normalization factor and Z is a crisp-relation matrix.
Step 3: Validation of Results
Stage 6: The total-relation matrix (M) can be obtained using Eqn.
(12): The obtained results were discussed for validation with five experts,
M = X ×(I X) 1
(12) including three industrial managers and two academicians (not in-
cluding the expert team involved in the study).
where I represents the identity matrix.
4. Application of proposed framework
Stage 7: Evaluation of the causal influence and digraph diagram
The proposed approach has been applied in the context of the
In DEMATEL, this obtainment requires three sub-steps.
United States, which is ahead of other countries in terms of planning
implementation of drones in the logistics sector. This is the prime
Stage 7a: Computation of the row (Ri ) and column(Dj ) sums
reason for considering the United States as a case study. Based on
purposive sampling, a total of 35 experts related to drone-logistics were
For each row (i) and column (j), the sum can be obtained from the
contacted in the United States via email to participate in this study.
total-relation matrix
Total of 12 experts agreed to participate in this study. The survey was
(T), as shown below:
presented to them using two excel sheets: the first describing the CSFs
n of drone adoption, and the second to get pairwise comparisons from
Ri = Mij i them on the linguistic scale. Ten complete surveys were received in
j=1 (13) total. The group of experts represented industry (seven in number) and
n
academia (three in number). Details of experts are given in Table 2. All
Dj = Mij j the selected experts had more than three years of work experience in
i=1 (14) the field of drone-logistics. Several authors have applied DEMATEL
using four experts (Cui et al., 2019; Xia et al., 2015). Thus, the selection
Stage 7b: Computation of the overall prominence (Pi ) and the net of ten experts in this study is justified.
effect (Ei ) Table 3 presents the scale adopted for comparing the matrix.
Forming the matrix of 12 CSFs composed of linguistic variables, a

Table 5
Average grey relation matrix for CSF’s for implementing drone.
CP TI GR EI LIC LOC RES RTC LC REN SW INF

CP [0,0] [0.6,0.8] [2.8,3.8] [1.8,2.4] [0.4,1] [0,0.2] [0.8,1.4] [0.8,1.4] [2.2,3.2] [2,3] [2,2.8] [2.4,3.4]
TI [2.8,3.8] [0.2,0] [2.2,2.8] [2.6,3.4] [2,2.8] [3.4,4.4] [3,4] [2,2.8] [1.4,2] [2.8,3.8] [2.2,3] [1.8,2.6]
GR [3,4] [0.8,1] [0.2,0] [2.8,3.6] [1.2,2] [1.4,2.2] [2,2.8] [2.8,3.8] [2.2,3.2] [2.6,3.2] [3,4] [3.4,4.4]
EI [3.8,4.8] [2.2,2.8] [2.8,3.8] [0.2,0] [0,0.2] [2,2.6] [0.4,1] [1.8,2.4] [1.4,2] [2,3] [0.8,1.4] [2.2,3]
LIC [3,4] [1.6,2.2] [0,0.4] [0.4,0.6] [0.2,0] [2,2.6] [1,1.6] [1.2,2] [1.2,1.8] [1.6,2.6] [1.6,2.2] [1.6,2.4]
LOC [2.4,3.4] [1.8,2.4] [0.8,1.4] [0.6,0.6] [2.2,2.8] [0.4,0.6] [1.2,1.8] [2,2.4] [1.2,1.8] [1.4,2.2] [2,2.8] [1.8,2.6]
RES [3.6,4.6] [0.8,1.4] [0.4,0.8] [1.2,2] [0.6,0.8] [1.2,1.8] [0.2,0] [2.2,3] [1.6,2.6] [2,2.8] [2.6,3.4] [1.4,2.2]
RTC [3.4,4.4] [1,1.6] [2.2,3.2] [3,4] [0.6,0.8] [2,2.8] [2.8,3.8] [0.2,0] [1.2,1.4] [2,2.8] [1.2,1.6] [1.8,2.6]
LC [1.2,2.2] [1,1.8] [0.8,1.4] [0.4,0.6] [0.2,0.4] [0.8,1.4] [2,2.6] [1,1.6] [0.2,0] [3,4] [3,4] [1.2,1.8]
REN [2,3] [2.4,3.4] [1.6,2.2] [1.4,2] [2.6,3.6] [3.2,4.2] [2.4,3.4] [2.4,3.2] [1.8,2.8] [0.2,0] [2.4,3.4] [1.6,2.4]
SW [2.6,3.6] [2.2,3] [2.2,3.2] [1.2,1.8] [2.6,3.4] [3.6,4.6] [3.2,4.2] [1.8,2.2] [2.6,3.6] [3.2,4.2] [0.2,0] [2.2,3]
INF [3,4] [1,1.6] [2.2,2.8] [2.2,2.8] [2.4,3.4] [1.4,2] [1.8,2.8] [2.6,3.4] [0.4,0.8] [2,2.8] [0.4,0.8] [0.2,0]

7
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

Table 6
Crisp relation matrix for CSF’s for implementing drone.
CP TI GR EI LIC LOC RES RTC LC REN SW INF

CP 0.00 0.64 3.59 2.13 0.54 0.01 0.99 0.99 2.87 2.63 2.49 3.11
TI 3.50 0.20 2.54 3.12 2.43 4.21 3.74 2.43 1.64 3.50 2.66 2.20
GR 3.74 0.84 0.20 3.35 1.51 1.74 2.43 3.50 2.79 2.98 3.74 4.21
EI 4.63 2.51 3.46 0.20 0.01 2.29 0.51 2.07 1.62 2.52 0.96 2.63
LIC 3.80 1.89 0.04 0.43 0.20 2.34 1.21 1.53 1.43 2.12 1.89 2.00
LOC 3.17 2.16 1.01 0.60 2.62 0.43 1.47 2.25 1.47 1.82 2.53 2.30
RES 4.42 0.96 0.46 1.50 0.63 1.41 0.20 2.64 2.06 2.41 3.10 1.73
RTC 4.21 1.19 2.79 3.74 0.63 2.43 3.50 0.20 1.26 2.43 1.33 2.20
LC 1.64 1.30 0.98 0.43 0.22 0.98 2.34 1.21 0.20 3.80 3.80 1.43
REN 2.58 3.05 1.88 1.65 3.29 4.01 3.05 2.91 2.34 0.20 3.05 1.98
SW 3.24 2.64 2.77 1.41 3.10 4.42 3.95 1.98 3.24 3.95 0.20 2.64
INF 3.80 1.21 2.57 2.57 3.08 1.66 2.36 3.17 0.47 2.47 0.47 0.20

Table 7
Normalized direct crisp relation matrix for CSF’s for implementing drone.
CP TI GR EI LIC LOC RES RTC LC REN SW INF

CP 0.000 0.019 0.107 0.063 0.016 0.000 0.030 0.030 0.085 0.078 0.074 0.093
TI 0.104 0.006 0.076 0.093 0.072 0.126 0.111 0.072 0.049 0.104 0.079 0.066
GR 0.111 0.025 0.006 0.100 0.045 0.052 0.072 0.104 0.083 0.089 0.111 0.126
EI 0.138 0.075 0.103 0.006 0.000 0.068 0.015 0.062 0.048 0.075 0.028 0.078
LIC 0.113 0.056 0.001 0.013 0.006 0.070 0.036 0.046 0.043 0.063 0.056 0.060
LOC 0.095 0.064 0.030 0.018 0.078 0.013 0.044 0.067 0.044 0.054 0.075 0.068
RES 0.132 0.029 0.014 0.045 0.019 0.042 0.006 0.079 0.062 0.072 0.092 0.051
RTC 0.126 0.036 0.083 0.111 0.019 0.072 0.104 0.006 0.038 0.072 0.040 0.066
LC 0.049 0.039 0.029 0.013 0.007 0.029 0.070 0.036 0.006 0.113 0.113 0.043
REN 0.077 0.091 0.056 0.049 0.098 0.119 0.091 0.087 0.070 0.006 0.091 0.059
SW 0.097 0.079 0.083 0.042 0.092 0.132 0.118 0.059 0.097 0.118 0.006 0.079
INF 0.113 0.036 0.076 0.076 0.092 0.049 0.070 0.094 0.014 0.074 0.014 0.006

Table 8
Total relation matrix for CSF’s for implementing drone.
CP TI GR EI LIC LOC RES RTC LC REN SW INF

CP 0.23 0.13 0.25 0.19 0.13 0.16 0.19 0.18 0.22 0.26 0.23 0.25
TI 0.45 0.18 0.29 0.29 0.24 0.35 0.34 0.30 0.25 0.38 0.32 0.31
GR 0.44 0.42 0.22 0.29 0.21 0.27 0.30 0.32 0.28 0.36 0.34 0.36
EI 0.39 0.20 0.27 0.16 0.13 0.24 0.20 0.23 0.20 0.28 0.21 0.27
LIC 0.31 0.16 0.13 0.13 0.11 0.20 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.23 0.20 0.20
LOC 0.33 0.18 0.18 0.16 0.20 0.17 0.21 0.22 0.19 0.25 0.24 0.24
RES 0.36 0.15 0.17 0.18 0.14 0.20 0.17 0.23 0.20 0.26 0.25 0.22
RTC 0.40 0.17 0.26 0.27 0.16 0.25 0.29 0.19 0.21 0.30 0.24 0.27
LC 0.26 0.35 0.16 0.14 0.12 0.18 0.35 0.18 0.14 0.28 0.26 0.19
REN 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.23 0.26 0.33 0.31 0.30 0.26 0.27 0.31 0.29
SW 0.45 0.25 0.30 0.24 0.27 0.36 0.35 0.30 0.30 0.40 0.26 0.33
INF 0.37 0.16 0.24 0.22 0.21 0.22 0.24 0.26 0.17 0.28 0.20 0.19

Note: Bold and italics values are ≥ threshold value 0.34.

12 × 12 Grey direct-relation matrix was obtained. Based on Eq. (2),

Table 9 average Grey relation matrix for CSFs for implementing drones was
The prominence and net cause effect for CSF’s for implementing drone. determined, as shown in Table 5. Using Eq. (8), the crisp-relation ma-
trix for CSFs was obtained (Table 6). Normalized direct crisp-relation
R D Prominence (R + D) Net Effect (R-D) Cause/Effect
matrix for CSFs was evaluated using Eqs. (10) and (11) (Table 7).
CP 2.429 4.362 6.790 −1.933 E Further, the total relation matrix M was obtained using Eq. (12), as
TI 3.700 2.184 5.884 1.516 C shown in Table 8. Then, R + D, R − D were calculated using Eqs. (15)
GR 3.585 2.709 6.294 0.876 C and (16), as shown in Table 9. Total five factors were identified as
EI 2.787 2.506 5.293 0.280 C
causal factors (as R − D > 0) and seven factors as their effect (as
LIC 2.199 2.184 4.383 0.015 C
LOC 2.557 2.942 5.499 −0.386 E R − D < 0). The digraph was drawn using the Cartesian Coordinate
RES 2.525 2.985 5.511 −0.460 E System, based on R-D as Y-axis and R + D as X-axis. Total 12 × 12
RTC 2.995 2.892 5.887 0.103 C relationships could be possible. It was challenging to draw all the re-
LC 2.278 2.581 4.859 −0.304 E lationships, so we have set the threshold value (θ) to draw the digraph.
REN 3.455 3.543 6.999 −0.088 E
SW 3.820 3.065 6.885 0.755 C
We have depicted those relationships in Fig. 2, where values exceed the
INF 2.756 3.132 5.889 −0.376 E threshold values. Here we take θ = μ + σ for the threshold value. Μ
and σ are calculated from the total matrix M. We obtained,

8
A. Raj and B. Sah Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118

Fig. 2. Prominence-causal diagram.

Table 10 assigned to different experts. The experts were divided into four groups
Weights assigned to different group for analysts during sensitivity analysis. based on their experience as > 10 years, < =10 and > 8, < =8
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
and > 6, and < 6. Table 10 shows the assigned weights for sensitivity
analysis in each scenario. Fig. 3 shows the ranking of influencing CSFs
Scenario 1 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 in each scenario. From Fig. 3, we can observe that the pattern of all the
Scenario 2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 CSFs is similar for all the scenarios with small deviations. It indicates
Scenario 3 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2
that our results are robust.
Scenario 4 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.4

6. Results and discussion

θ = 0.266 + 0.082 = 0.3487. Finally, the causal relationship diagram
was prepared, as depicted in Fig. 2.
5. Validation of results with experts and sensitivity analysis
The obtained results of the Grey-based DEMATEL were shared with
the experts and further with a validation group. These groups were
constituted in such a way that they did not include a member involved
in a previous study. The group consisted of a senior manager and a
policymaker of a Company that was involved in drone activities for five
years. The validation group agreed with the results and commented that
this study would be helpful for the adoption of drones in the logistics
sector. The initial calculation (Table 8) was carried by assigning equal
weights of all the experts. However, results may suffer from biases due
to the difference in expertise and experience of experts. To check the
robustness of the results, we carried out a sensitivity analysis. We
generated four different scenarios by changing the level of weight
We used the outcomes to identify the prominent success factors for
the implementation of drones in the logistics sector. The three most
important factors were Technical aspects (TI), Government regulations
(GR), and Skilled workforce (SW). It was not surprising to see TI, GR,
and SW emerging as the most crucial factors because the success of any
new technology is often dictated by the robustness of the available
technology, the availability of skilled personnel, and supportive gov-
ernment regulations. SW and GR may be seen as fundamental enablers
without which drone-delivery may not be possible as they can influence
consumer perception and trust- essential boosters for any new tech-
nology. There are technical aspects that shape the perception of cus-
tomers. Concerns such as path planning for drones in urban sectors, and
the safety of the delivery process will play a vital role in shaping cus-
tomers’ perception.
Additionally, two more CSFs, environmental considerations (EI) and
low initial cost (LIC) also influence the consumer’s perception. Today,

Fig. 3. Sensitivity analysis.

9
A. Raj and B. Sah
customers are more eco-conscious than ever before and are even willing
to pay a higher price for environment-friendly alternatives (Laroche,
Bergeron, & Barbaro-Forleo, 2001). Drones have environmental bene-
fits over truck-delivery due to less air and noise pollution; this aspect
would help shape consumer perception in favor of drones. Also, a drone
logistics fleet is expected to be significantly cheaper than a traditional
truck fleet, which would help even small businesses to have a drone-
delivery system. This would, in turn, lead to the proliferation of drones
and thus, shape a positive perception of drones in society.
6.1. Influencing factors
Based on the analysis, the influencing factors can be sorted as fol-
lows: TI > GR > SW > EI > RTC. In these influencing factors, TI
(technological aspects) is on the top of the influencing group, which
indicates that TI is the primary causal factor. The expert academicians
and practitioners confirmed that TI is a significant enabler for drone
logistics. This is especially true for urban logistics as a parcel-carrying
drone would need to have technical capabilities, such as path-planning
and obstacle-avoidance for the safety of the airspace. Duan and Li
(2014) also indicated that TI is one of the essential factors for the
adoption of drones in logistics. From Fig. 2, we can identify five CSFs
that have net-effect-scores of more than 0. The success of drone logistics
will depend on three aspects: (a) Technological aspects (TI) to ensure
that drone-logistics is safe, robust, and not prone to errors, (b) Gov-
ernment regulations (GR) to ensure that drone-delivery does not face
any political or legal problems, and (c) Availability of skilled workforce
(SW) to deal with the various aspects of drone-logistics, such as routing,
path-planning, and obstacle-avoidance. The other two influencing fac-
tors are effective traffic management (RTC) and environmental con-
siderations (EI).
6.2. Resulting factors
Based on the analysis, the resulting factors can be sorted as follows:
CP > LC > RES > INF > LOC > REN > LIC- these seven enablers
are impacted by the influencing factors that are identified as facilitators
of adoption of drone-logistics in the United States. The resulting factors
are the factors that may be the last ones an Organization needs to ad-
dress such that its drone-logistics may be successful. They are not ne-
cessarily less important since many of the initial foundational CSFs can
point to one or the other resulting CSF. From Fig. 2, we can identify
seven essential net-effect CSFs with net-effect-scores below zero. We
can see six CSFs that are not significant causes for other CSFs. These
CSFs are low initial cost (LIC), low operating cost (LOC), better re-
sponsiveness (RES), leadership commitment (LC), infrastructure (INF),
and conductive research environment (REN). It does not mean that
these CSFs are not important, but that these would play a vital role in
the later stages of implementing drone-delivery. Having decent tech-
nical support, favorable government regulations, and a skilled work-
force initially would be crucial for the success of drone-logistics. Cor-
relation between CSFs: From Table 9, the prominence factors for CSFs
can be sorted as follows: REN > CP > SW > GR > TI > INF >
RTC > LC > RES > LOC > EI > LIC. REN demonstrates the
highest correlation with other enablers because the research environ-
ment in a country is the key to innovation, and leads to the popularity
of new ideas and technologies. By way of contrast, LIC is the least
correlated with other enablers.
6.3. Managerial implications
The results presented in this paper have several implications for
logistics companies, researchers, and practitioners working on drone-
logistics. Since drones are a relatively new concept for logistics com-
panies, the results of the paper provide initial guidance regarding the
factors to be kept in mind while incorporating drone-logistics into the
10
Computers & Industrial Engineering 138 (2019) 106118
supply chain. The motive of this paper is to raise awareness about these
CSFs among those who plan to or are working on incorporating drone-
logistics into their supply chain. A higher degree of success could be
achieved through appropriate planning and solutions. A manager
working on implementing drone-logistics into the supply chain must
search for a skilled workforce that can contribute in a meaningful way,
and also check the status of the technology driving drone-logistics.
These two factors are interrelated with one another, and also drive each
other forward- a skilled workforce can improve technology and avail-
ability of technology can help train and improve the skill of employees.
Hiring right talent is a short-term strategy that would prove beneficial
in the long-run as right talent can improve the technology to make
drone-delivery more efficient and robust. We observe that some CSFs
are more fundamental than others. For example, new technology
cannot take off unless it has government support. Even if the new
technology is commercially viable and is in demand, its feasibility de-
pends on governmental support. For example, many companies such as
Tesla, Google, Renault, among many others are testing autonomous
cars, but their commercialization may not be feasible without govern-
ment regulations supporting the cause. A group of companies recently
tested their drone-delivery technology in an airfield in Brussels under
project ‘Safir’. The purpose of the project was to help European au-
thorities devise rules for the commercial applications of drones; such
steps are essential towards developing drone-logistics. Similarly, some
other fundamental CSFs, such as TI, GR, EI, RTC, and SW, were iden-
tified using DEMATEL analysis. From the managerial perspective, fun-
damental CSFs are a requirement for drone-implementation and will
ensure that other CSFs are controlled at later stages. DEMATEL helps us
give a classification of fundamental (causal) and net-effect CSFs. This
paper is exceptionally significant for logistics and e-commerce compa-
nies that are interested in using drones for last-mile delivery. This work
identifies enablers for drone-logistics and classifies them into causal
and net-effect CSFs. Researchers and practitioners working in im-
plementing drone logistics can identify their weak areas using this
study.
7. Conclusion
Drone-delivery has the potential to change the traditional last-mile
delivery process using trucks. Due to the growing interest in drone-de-
livery, we analyzed the CSFs and divided them into causal and net-effect
CSFs. We chose Grey-based DEMATEL to analyze the CSFs as it helps
achieve decent results despite scant information, which is indeed the case
with drone-logistics as the technology is reasonably new with no past data.
The results of the study were validated through feedback from industrial
managers and academicians. This work reveals that ‘Technological
Aspects’ is a high influencing enabler for the implementation of drones in
logistics. This result is consistent with the extant literature. As with any
innovative idea, the availability of technology plays a significant role in
the advancement of the idea. The other influencing enablers identified
were ‘Government Regulations’ and availability of ‘Skilled Workforce’. We
provide a sensitivity analysis to improve the accuracy of the results and
remove biases, if any. For future research, the same analysis may be done
with additional CSFs as with the growth in drone-technology and com-
mercialization, other enablers may be identified. This model is based on
ratings from industrial managers and academicians; however, their judg-
ment is subject to personal opinions. For future studies, this model may be
validated with some statistical analysis.
Acknowledgement
We are extremely grateful to the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor,
two anonymous reviewers for their excellent input and Ms. Arohini
Narain (Centre Manager-Business Case Research & Development
Centre), XLRI - Xavier School of Management for their excellent input
which helped to reshape our manuscript.
A. Raj and B. Sah
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