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Royal Mail

More important now than ever, telehealth will long outlast the pandemic that drove its growth.

Telehealth

UK-based Charac is a white-label technology service provider for pharmacies that helps them manage repeat prescriptions, gain access to patient records, create bookings, facilitate medication delivery via mail, and conduct virtual consultations between pharmacists and patients. Charac’s platform operates on a bespoke white-label model, where the platform is customized to the pharmacies branding and service offerings. The company additionally provides advertising services through its platform to help pharmacies attract and retain customers while exclusively promoting a single brand. Charac’s platform also supports the digital transferring of patient records and is an omni-channel solution, offering functions for prescriptions, consultations, deliveries, and marketing all in one. As of February 2024, Charac had signed up 800 pharmacies, covering around 36,000 patient lives across the UK. The usage of Charac’s app was expected to reach 100,000 patients by early 2024 and the company aimed to acquire around 30% of the UK's 12,000 pharmacies by 2026. Key customers and partnershipsCharac partnered with the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) in October 2022 to help accelerate the digital transformation of pharmacies in the UK. Through the partnership, the NPA and Charac created an ecosystem where pharmacies could get access to necessary funding and technology to provide healthcare services. Funding and financialsThe company last raised funds in February 2024, when it raised an undisclosed sum in a private equity funding round led by Traditum. This brings the total funds raised by the company to around GBP 4 million (USD 5.1 million). The new investment was intended to further augment Charac's online platform for independent pharmacies and boost its expansion within the UK market and internationally.

Charac is an NHS-integrated, one-stop platform that streamlines customer access to local pharmacies by allowing them to skip the line, save time, and access and re-order all of their prescriptions online. Charac also offers digital consultations with community pharmacists while addressing threats posed by digital competitors, which could result in the closure of high-street pharmacies.

Royal Mail is a delivery and email messaging company that specializes in parcel track & manage delivery, packaging & manage mail services.

Royal Mail to issue new stamp featuring one of Britain's greatest wartime heroes

Automation and robotics are finally creating solutions for the complexities of doorstep deliveries.

Last-mile Delivery Automation

Refers to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that deliver packages. Drones are already in commercial use in many other industries (such as photography, construction, and agriculture). The use of drones for goods delivery has emerged with the gradual advancement of battery and connectivity technologies.

Refers to autonomous vehicles that use pedestrian walkways and travel a little faster than average walking speed (generally 3-6 miles an hour). These vehicles can usually carry up to around 20 lb. and use a camera, radar, and sensors to move autonomously. 

This is a sub-branch of self-driving cars and represents autonomous vehicles that can move along public roads. The technology used is similar to self-driving cars. ADVs have a higher load capacity and travel at a faster speed than vehicles like droids.

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Royal Mail has extended its partnership with Skyports, a drone-based delivery services provider, to continue the UK's first commercial drone mail service in Orkney, Scotland, until at least February 2026. The project, which started <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17670"> in August 2023, </a> has completed over 500 flights covering 1,360 km. It improves delivery times by up to 24 hours in the rural region.
This extension, funded by the UK Space Agency's CROFT project, will be spent on hardware and software upgrades, remote pilot operations, new take-off points, and professional development for Royal Mail staff on drone-related tasks. Furthermore, it aims to investigate the role of 5G technologies in facilitating rural drone operations.
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 Skyports and Royal Mail first partnered <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/56"> in December 2020 </a> to trial drones on the Isle of Mull, Scotland, and again <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/145"> in May 2021 </a> , when they trialed drone-based deliveries on the Isle of Scilly, UK. In addition to Orkney, the duo also partnered to provide drone-based delivery services in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/31612"> in July 2024 </a> .

Royal Mail

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