Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, -0.62% intends to test drones for package delivery and pickup and for checking warehouse inventories.

The retailer submitted an application Monday to U.S. regulators for permission to test drones outdoors, following in Amazon’s footsteps. Drones would be used for “deliveries to customers at Wal-Mart facilities, as well as to consumer homes,” according to the application.

“Throughout the years, Wal-Mart has been a leader in distribution and transportation methods to effectively move merchandise from vendors to distribution centers and from distribution centers to its stores,” the application states. It says Wal-Mart hopes to make its present distribution system “more efficient.”

MarketWatch obtained a copy of the request, which you can read here.

“We’ll have different methods that we’ll be testing out across our supply chain,” said Wal-Mart spokesperson Brian Nick. “We would be testing this kind of technology to mange our network of distribution centers, online fulfillment centers, as well as stores.”

Most long-distance drone deliveries are limited by flight times, since most drones are only able to fly about 25 minutes at a time. But Wal-Mart thinks it can capitalize on their expanse of stores to turn drone delivery into a real possibility.

There’s a Wal-Mart store located within five miles of 70% of the U.S. population, Nick said.

“That certainly creates some interesting possibilities for us,” he said.

The company intends to use drones made by DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer. DJI, which is anticipated to exceed $1 billion in sales this year, makes the iconic Phantom drones, which Wal-Mart sells for as little as $699.

Wal-Mart has been testing drone technology indoors for several months, but under current U.S. law, commercial operation of drones outdoors is illegal. To operate drones outdoors, individuals or companies must apply for permission, as Wal-Mart did, in what’s called a Section 333 exemption.

Congress asked the FAA to come up with rules governing commercial drone use in 2012. The FAA anticipates announcing rules for legal, commercial operation of drones by June 2016.

Drone delivery is becoming increasingly common in other parts of the world. GeoPost, an express delivery arm of France’s La Poste, announced at the end of 2014 that it had begun testing delivery drones. Silicon Valley-based startup Matternet uses drones for delivering medical supplies and diagnostic tools in places like Haiti and the Dominican Republic.