Investigation on Investment in Drone Technology in Last Mile Delivery in UAE

Technology advancement in last-mile delivery is creating enormous opportunities for the industry's development. Current research is focused on unmanned aerial vehicles(drones) as an alternate delivery method for courier services. The data was acquired from a courier service provider in the United Arab Emirates that used the traditional home delivery option. The research was conducted using a Monte Carlo simulation and a real option technique to evaluate the project based on four scenarios. The study's findings suggest that the labor cost for home delivery has the most influence on project investment. It is recommended to bill the service at the same rate as a typical residential delivery. However, the service is offered at a price that is greater than the typical residential delivery while covering business taxes. The study's contribution is to evaluate the project by taking corporation tax payments and costs into account.