Ikea's fleet of 250 autonomous drones takes stock of warehouse inventory without any human intervention

Courtesy of Ikea

• More than 250 self-flying drones are operating at Ikea's 73 distribution centers.
• Thanks to its partnership with Verity, Ikea has made progress with drones while its competitors lag.
• This article is part of "The Future of Supply-Chain Management," a series on companies' manufacturing and distribution strategies.

Three years ago, a drone took flight at an Ikea warehouse in Switzerland for the first time.