LLamasoft, which provides supply chain optimization technology, has partnered with Zipline, which operates the world’s only UAS delivery system of national scale, and sends urgent medical supplies to patients regardless of their location.

The two companies have been working together to simulate Zipline’s operations, and evaluate the cost and performance benefits that LLamasoft’s technology can bring to existing public health supply chains.

Since last October, Zipline has been operating in Rwanda, and the company is preparing to expand its operations into Tanzania.

During their collaboration, Zipline has relied on LLamasoft to analyze its operations in Rwanda and Tanzania. Zipline plans to operate four distribution centers in Tanzania, with the first being in the country’s capital, Dodoma. LLamasoft is currently helping Zipline design its Dodoma operations.

“As Zipline builds the agile supply chain of the future, LLamasoft’s expertise in supply chain modeling and optimization has been extremely valuable,” says Will Hetzler, co-founder of Zipline.

“LLamasoft is widely respected in the global health community, and they already worked to optimize portions of the public health supply chains in many of the countries where Zipline plans to operate. LLamasoft’s familiarity and credibility with these health systems has helped Zipline communicate the value of our services.”

In recent years, LLamasoft’s global impact team and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health and Medical Stores Department have worked together on other supply chain projects, such as a transportation optimization project and a strategic review of their supply chain.
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LLamasoft will use this experience to help Zipline “maximize the benefit of their integration into the Tanzanian public health supply chain.”

“We at LLamasoft’s Global Impact Team are excited to be working with Zipline to quantify the expected value they can bring to public health supply chains and to help design their operations,” says Sid Rupani, Regional Director for LLamasoft IMEA.

“This collaboration fits squarely into our mission as a prime example of a fascinating supply chain design problem and one that could potentially deliver great positive social impact.”