Launching Delivery and Shipping Apps | A Complete Tutorial

Convenience reigns supreme in today’s society. It’s no wonder that mobile commerce has established itself as the new standard. Why go to the shop when you can acquire everything you need with a few clicks and swipes on your smartphone?

The growth of mobile commerce provokes the rising demand for package delivery apps. As a result, for the Platform-to-Consumer Delivery segment by 2025, a market volume is expected to grow to US$247,025 million. Improved services, simpler operations, and more revenue can all be generated from a relatively minimal investment in package delivery apps. So, millions of small businesses, especially logistics companies are seeing the value of developing on-demand courier service apps.

If you’re one of these smaller businesses, this post will provide you with the necessary information on how to create a delivery app. Just keep reading!

1. Determine your goal.

Identifying the objectives, particularly the needs that will be covered by the application – directly affects the choice of ideas for development. Package delivery apps may be a lot more than simply getting a takeout. As customer expectations have grown, a variety of sectors and enterprises are required to meet this level. On-demand parcel shipping services are presently available for goods or food delivery, people transferring (taxi), and freight forwarding.

Besides picking up one of those, you are standing in front of the choice of creating an app as an external service, or internal. Let’s look at this in more detail.

One way is to create a package delivery app for a specific industry and build it as a service for other companies. A so-called intermediary between vendor and customer.

And there is the second option, which is suitable for the companies that want to integrate delivery services for their internal purposes. Or logistics companies that develop different supply chain software for optimization and enhancement of the workflow. That includes multiple ideas from the Software for the Delivery Management, plug-ins for supply chain processes, and Platforms for Prior Notice Creation, to TMS Software and Applications for Supplier Relationship Management.

The creation of a delivery app is only one part of the equation. For the successful development of the idea, you need to grasp your business model’s characteristics, requirements, and prospects, as well as the technical constraints of your app.

Setting a Goal: To Compete with Uber Freight

When you decided on the idea to implement, there is no need to rush rivaling with market giants like Uber Freight. Select a niche that you can fill with less competition, but with equivalent demand. Although Uber Freight has a proven record of linking freight forwarding firms with drivers and clients, the world of commercial transportation and freight transfer is significantly more intricate, requiring a high degree of personal customer service. Modern freight forwarding is more than simply a back-end mechanism for ensuring that items are delivered on schedule. Therefore give the users diversity and sustainability in services they require.

Read also: Top 10 Uber Freight Alternatives and How To Compete With Them

2. Define how to turn a profit.

Analyze where your money will come from before even designing anything. Investigate who you’re attempting to reach. Discover who your competitors are. Make an exclusive deal that people will want to take advantage of. When everything comes together, a well-thought-out monetization approach with a structured payment gateway will get your company concept off to a good start. And for that, there are a variety of SaaS pricing models you can choose from. But not all of the possible SaaS pricing models will fit package delivery apps since the delivery services impose some limits on the charges that might be relevant. So, it all comes down to delivery charges, in-app purchases, and advertising. But as always it depends on the range of services your app will have. Make a list of all parts of the supply chain processes, how it influences clients and what parts might be especially important for them. Then take a look at SaaS pricing models and adjust them to your idea. Surely, you will come up with something customized and valuable.

At this stage do not forget to integrate a sustainable payment gateway. After deciding on the best method for your company, make sure that the consumers have an easy way to pay for whichever model you choose. Consider security problems while picking a payment gateway for package delivery apps to guarantee their clients’ safety when paying through the system.

Read also: How to Monetize Delivery and Shipping Apps: Methods Screening

3. Create user interfaces.

After you’ve addressed the theoretical parts, you may start thinking about how to put your notion into action. To begin, write out and prioritize your criteria. Then, select the fundamentals for parcel shipping. Some elements are required, while others are only desirable. Concentrate on the most important first, and then add the rest later. Developing a functional specification is an excellent method to define your needs, and convey them to your developers.

Before adopting any feature, consider how it will affect the overall user experience, and how it fits the objective of your software. If you are developing a TMS software (Transportation Management System), you should focus on freight forwarding regulation and parcel tracking. All the additional features should be related to those basic functions of TMS software.

When building key features for food delivery apps it is crucial to create 4 interfaces for different types of users, involving client, courier, restaurant, and admin. Similar features that would be in all interfaces include a dashboard for parcel tracking, a search panel, and a feedback page, to rate restaurants and delivery services.

While the breadth and functionality of your product may vary depending on your company model and specifications, there are certain essential characteristics that every package tracking app should have.

Clients’ interface includes:

• Registration (with the possibility of social media login)
• Profile (with order preferences, personal info, and contact details)
• Real-time parcel tracking
• Order details (with the ability to change shipping options)
• Chat with the courier
• Payment gateway integration
• Push notifications
• Shippers’ ratings

Couriers’ interface includes:

• Registration (with the required detailed personal information)
• Profile (with personal info, rating, etc.)
• Updating the status of parcel shipping
• Orders history
• Chat with the client
• Panel for money withdrawal

Apart from the business model or app type, an admin panel with granular access privileges is required. You should use this interface to intervene and fix any difficulties that may emerge with the delivery services. You may also utilize a third-party analytics service to monitor usage statistics and discover users’ behavior.

4. Build – test – upgrade!

When you are finally done with the creation of the functionality core – it’s time to develop your app. Finding a programming team is one of the most important tasks during each software development. Search for people that will share your values and fully understand your final idea model.

After that, concentrate on details, and the enhancement of each and every component of the service. App development for parcel shipping is like for any other industry, comprises UI/UX design, engineering, and testing. This is a very routine procedure. What may change is the technology stack you select and the tools you employ along the journey.

Along with these key app post-launch actions, you should be prepared for continuous improvement. An app can never be too profitable. So, build – test – upgrade and repeat!

The Future of Delivery Services

As we already brought up, it is important to continue upgrading even after an app is ready and in demand. Since technology is always pushing transformation in every business, including supply chain processes, you should be aware of all the future trends on the market. To stay afloat your parcel shipping app should keep up with innovations.

The major part of the novelty might be related to the improvement of the shipping options, which simplifies the delivery of goods for clients and freight forwarding for logistics companies. As an example, self-driving car technology is steadily advancing and will open up plenty of opportunities for quick delivery. This includes not just self-driving minibusses, but also trucks and other vehicles. **Drones **are the other possible way among multiple shipping options. It will most likely be a long time before drones are employed for mass distribution, but it is a possibility.

Besides shipment, developers are already devising novel techniques to provide users with far more accurate information about the parcel’s path. It will allow users to monitor not only the quality of the package but also the circumstances under which it was delivered.

Thus, the future of delivery and shipping apps is saturated with different technologies and improvements, which makes this market even more desirable for investment.

To sum up

The on-demand delivery app business is exploding. Creating one provides you with a distinct advantage above others. Yet, developing an on-demand application takes a significant amount of development expertise and experience; fortunately, there are methods for you to obtain this industry quickly.

Whether you need a piece of expert advice or searching for like-minded people to carry out the idea – with a personalized approach, our Incora team is happy to guide you in launching your on-demand package delivery service.