Jonty Bloom
Business reporter.
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Santa will have his work cut out on Christmas Eve.
Santa Claus will be busy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so it's a good idea to think about it.
Every year he has a problem with how to deliver all the gifts to the children around the world who celebrate Christmas.
A few years ago, a study showed how frantic his night is. There are 715 million Christian boys and girls in the world.
Father Christmas has to deliver to 238 million homes according to the assumed average of three children per household. The other reindeer have to pull Santa's sleigh at half the speed of light. That's 540 billion km/ph.
Christmas is the busiest time of the year for retailers and Father Christmas is continuing his final preparations, but we can't rely solely on presents that are delivered via our chimneys.
With online orders accounting for more than a third of all Christmas season sales, retailers have to focus on their delivery systems.
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The one pictured here is one of 175 fulfilment centers that Amazon has around the world.
coronaviruses caused a huge surge in online orders, which led to the doubling of its total in 2019. Amazon delivered one in five parcels in the US last year.
Many of us now expect things like next-day delivery and being able to track orders because of the convenience of Amazon.
How can other retailers make their delivery systems efficient and user friendly?
One option is to become a third-party seller on Amazon, but it comes with a number of fees. 15% of the price of items is what these typically total.
Retailers can use the services of a number of tech firms who can help them get their products to customers, instead of using Amazon.
Diamond Logistics is a business run by Kate Lester.
The company's own fleet of vans can be used to book, track and manage deliveries, but also via the Royal Mail and delivery firms such as DPD and Hermes. Retailers can store their products at Diamond Logistics' warehouses and then send them out.
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Amazon puts too much focus on who has the lowest price.
Ms Lester says that its revenues have increased by 50% this year as more and more shops increase their online presence.
She says there are 30 local fulfilment centre. We can store it, pick it, pack it and send it.
If you put your stuff into Amazon, it becomes a cost-comparison thing. That is what Amazon is all about, if you retain control of your logistics, and let someone else do it.
Retailers can use their own fleet of delivery vans. US firm HyperTrack offers an app and a tracking system to help firms keep tabs on their delivery drivers.
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HyperTrack's app keeps an eye on delivery drivers.
Francois Martel, the company's vice president of sales, says the system allows both retailers and wholesalers to give customers more accurate delivery times.
Imagine you are a retailer and ordering from a wholesaler. "Wholesalers don't have the same technology as Amazon, but they want it to give a reliable delivery time window that is not 8-4."
The experience is changing because of the use of us to provide tighter windows and hold to that time.
Gelato is a Norwegian firm that wants to help firms take the distance out of deliveries.
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The software allows sellers of physical products to connect with manufacturers around the world.
If a British designer of patterned t-shirts gets an order from Australia, rather than posting the item from the UK, it can get it printed and delivered by an Australian firm.
The founder and chief executive of Gelato says that there are more than just environmental benefits. Local production and on demand production allow you to reduce the distribution distances, but also to match supply and demand.
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Mller-Hansen says that his business will grow with 3D printing.
You don't have to guess anymore. In order to reach economies of scale, you had to sit there as a big global manufacturing company and try to assess demand. You can produce when you receive the order.
Mr Mller-Hansen expects his business to grow with developments in 3D printing, which will allow more products to be easily manufactured remotely.
The most exciting development in delivery technology is cargo-carrying drones. Tens of millions of them would help him out on Christmas Eve.
While the technology exists, it is still waiting for regulatory approval to be used in national commercial use.
There are a number of pilot schemes around the world. A number of smaller firms have also developed their own drones, but Amazon has its own project.
Flytrex is an Israeli company that is enabling restaurants in the North Carolina town of Holy Springs to deliver their food via its drones. It is part of a trial.
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Flytex's drones are delivering food.
In the future, drones may be able to deliver all your Christmas gifts on 24 December.
It is best to order your gifts early, according to Kate. It will be fatal to leave it until 21 December to do it this year if you don't get your orders in soon. This December is going to be chaotic.
Father Christmas will handle it all.
Will Smale is the editor of the New Tech Economy series.
