The concept of on-demand apps has refined comfort and convenience for consumers. An on-demand delivery application can make your courier delivery service efficient and more popular.
Courier delivery is one of such industries that has also transformed due to the repercussions of on-demand services.
In times where online shopping and ecommerce are booming, it’s the need of the hour to meet the challenges of instant deliveries with a robust courier delivery services. And to do that you would require an advanced courier & parcel delivery application that consists of all the cutting-edge features.
It goes without saying that to emerge as a successful courier delivery service enterprise you must have a robust on-demand courier delivery solution at your disposal. But how to develop one?
In this article we will provide you with a systematic guide on how to develop your own on-demand courier delivery application.
But before that, let’s see the different business models of a courier delivery business.
Types of courier delivery apps based on different business models
There are many different business models to choose from when it comes to building a courier delivery app. Few of these business models are mentioned below:
Postal & courier service application
The companies who have realized the importance of the mobile application and has subsequently leveraged it for their advantage follow this business model. Some prominent names like FedEx and DPD uses mobile applications in their parcel and courier services.
The former also has a separate mobile application for the same-day delivery service. Similarly, the latter has a full-fledged customer admin panel. This panel allows them to create shipments along with printing out labels for the packages.
Package tracking aggregators
In this type of business model, the data from all the carriers is accumulated at one point. In this business model, the company requires only a single application for tracking all the packages regardless of the carrier.
Packages can be added seamlessly by using its ID. Moreover, the push notifications on the app keep the customer updated regarding the delivery status.
Branded delivery and integrated solutions
In this type of business model, the companies use mobile applications that have the order tracking feature. Some online retailers will also provide a total scope of successful delivery.
The biggest advantage of using this application is that the customer gets to know whether the package is ready to be dispatched, has been shipped, or is delivered.
Many retailers use these branded package delivery apps to gain an edge over their rivals by providing transparency and convenience to their end-customers.
Uber-like marketplace for parcel delivery
Apart from revolutionizing the taxi industry, Uber has also set a successful business model that many industries can emulate and gain advantage. Uber for courier delivery service is one such emulation of this business model in the courier delivery sphere.
Uber-like courier delivery business could be a huge success as the previous Uber for X businesses has the reputation of disrupting the conventional or traditional business models across industries.
We understood the different business models now let’s focus on how to build a courier delivery application.
How to build an on-demand courier delivery app
No matter which approach or business model you choose, it’s never going to be easy to build your own on-demand parcel delivery app. For that you have to take several decisions in a proper sequence which is mentioned below.
Draft your idea
Before commencing app development the first step is to draft a flowchart for a better understanding and to conceptualize the flow of the process. Develop questions such as Why a courier app? How to develop? What is the future scope? Every question that occurs must have an answer or solution. Analyze each and every concept to avoid any hurdles in the upcoming app development.
Choose a suitable business model
The first step is to choose the most suitable business model. We have already mentioned the major business models that are used in the on-demand courier delivery business.
You must choose whether you’ll be going for a branded retailer shipping app, postal service app, or on-demand parcel delivery app.
To make the correct choice, you should consider several factors like your business specifics, audience, long-term goals, resources available, and many more.
Specify your business goals and requirements
There’s more to starting an on-demand courier service than just developing a mobile app. You need to understand the specifics, opportunities and requirements of your business model.
You also need to consider various factors such as geography of your delivery service. You need to find answers to questions like:
- Will it be only operational in one city, a whole country, or worldwide?
- What will be the delivery type that you’ll offer?
- What will be the average parcel size, weight, and packaging type that you’ll prefer?
Answers to all these questions will have a direct impact on the scope and functionality.
Identify the correct scope of features
After completing all the theoretical aspects, you can start working on the practical implementation of your concept. You can start by prioritizing your requirements and documents. Here you can create a functional specification to set all your requirements.
The scope and functionality of your product can vary subject to your specifications and business models. However, there are few basic and must have features in a courier & parcel delivery applications. Let’s have a look at them.
Must have features for your courier delivery application
Admin chat
This feature allows the admimobile app development companyn to chat with user as well as the delivery guy to improve quality of service and customer satisfaction. This feature helps in maintaining continuous communication with both delivery boys and customers.
Premium delivery
With the help of this feature, the user can demand for a faster delivery. For this service, the user has to pay some extra price than that of a normal delivery.
Read More: Build robust and customized on-demand delivery application.
Multiple Packaging Option
Customers must be able to select from diverse types of packaging in the market. This feature will secure the safety of users’ packages while shipping. The charges of every packaging type according to its size should be mentioned.
Real-time tracking
Real-time tracking is one of the most important features of the parcel and courier delivery service. This feature is common for admin panel, driver app, and the customer app. In customer app, the user can track the location and status of their package in real-time.
This tracking feature plays a major role in enhancing customer satisfaction as it gives user an assurance that their package is being delivered.
Similarly, this feature also helps the admin to match the nearest driver available for delivering the package. Moreover, it supports multiple routes which allow the user to add multiple addresses in the list.
This feature also helps the shippers as they can choose the delivery address and the pickup point with pin-point accuracy.
Push notifications
Push notifications help the users to receive live updates of their delivery status straight from the app. These push notifications provide users with vital information such as the current stage of delivery, estimated time of delivery, and a change in the route of time of delivery if any.
Not only this, the users also receive contact information of the driver and the shipper through these notifications.
Push notifications are also an important means of engagement among the involved parties. Push notifications are used to inform customers about various offers and promos. This plays an important role in customer retention.
Payment gateway
Payment gateway is another key feature that you must include in your on-demand courier delivery app. Payment gateways like top-up wallet and credit/debit cards, bank transfer should be integrated with the system.
This payment gateway provides the user with multiple payment options such as COD, card, and wallet.
Not only this, with this feature, the users also receive a digital receipt of bill that has all the important information like the time & date of delivery, order ID, item description, shipment charges, etc.
Rating and review
This feature allows the customer to rate the service and write a review on the basis of their experience. Ratings and reviews is an important feature as it helps you to introspect your services.
Rewards and offers
Rewards and offers are a smart way to attract your customers along with advertising your services. Offering personalized rewards makes your customer feel special and hence increases the customer loyalty.
Help and Support
This is one of the most crucial features of the courier delivery app. Whenever a user needs any kind of help or is unable to connect with a manager, whether there is a delay in their courier service, etc for all this they can immediately contact the help desk.
App development
Now, that you have decided on business model and main features, it’s the time to start developing your own courier delivery app.
For development of your on-demand courier delivery app would include the UI/UX design, testing, and engineering. The only thing that would differ is the technological stack and tools that you would choose for your application.
There are two ways to approach app development:
- Hire your own in-house team for mobile app development.
- Find a suitable, reputed, and experienced technology provider that will take care of your entire mobile application development.
Going for the second option is beneficial and convenient if you don’t have the required experience or technical background of handling software developers, designers, etc.
The second option is also useful if you’re finding it difficult to hire the local developers. You can simply rely on the professionals who have adept skills and experience in all aspects like development, design, and testing.
Read More: Full stack vs specialized developers: Which one to go for?
Launch the MVP, learn, and improve
One common mistake that many people commit is going for the full-fledged application in the first go. The more sensible decision would be to prioritize the features and scope of the project to develop the minimum viable product (MVP).
Once the MVP is live on the Google Play or Apple Store, you can get valuable insights in the form of user’s feedback. Not only this, you can also receive insightful data from the reports and analytics that can guide you to make insight-driven business decisions.
Apart from few significant post-launch activities of the app, you should be prepared for the continuous on-going improvements and updates.
Main aspects of on-demand courier delivery app development
The app development procedure starts with the choice of the right business model. You can pick up the most suitable model as per your business requirements.
Before starting with the app development always consider some of the major factors such as target audience, market conditions, long-term objectives, and much more.
- Do I need to operate the business within a city?
- What type of delivery model should I provide to customers?
- Which type of parcel or packaging to prefer?
One needs to do ample research on the scope, opportunities, and customer expectations. Ask questions such as:
Critical factors to consider for courier delivery app development
To succeed as a courier delivery company, developing a courier delivery app is not enough. You also have to consider several other factors to make your business successful.
Market your app
Launching an app won’t be enough. You have to aggressively promote it using various media like social media platforms, print media, television, connection, etc. Your aim should be to generate curiosity among users before it launches.
Establish relationships with your target audience
It’s important that you quickly identify your target audience and make efforts to establish a strong customer relationship with them. In return you get valuable feedback that can help you to boost your business.
Attract customers with offers
You can attract new customers by providing them with lucrative promos and offers. You need to strategize and think about what kind of offers would attract your target audience. For this you can try a variety of offers or a combination of them to see which one works.
Act on feedback
Feedback is of key importance as it helps you to view all your backlogs as far as client service is concerned. To keep improving, you must take immediate action on all your user’s feedback.
Customized messages
Send customized messages to your customers regarding all the offers and promos. These messages help in effective customer engagement. However, make sure that you send limited messages so that it doesn’t bother your users.
Offline features during poor connectivity
This is another crucial factor to consider as internet connectivity is a huge issue while in motion. However, in this case, a good internet connection or wi-fi can be the most useful to stay updated while delivering packages.
Benefits of courier delivery app development
Smooth online booking
With the help of this function users can get an advantage to book their parcel and can also enter their destination and what kind of parcel it is. They can also get information about charges for online courier services from their location to the desired destination.
Warehouse handling
This is one of the most important components. While using this app you can quickly know the location of your package and track the warehouse location with just a few clicks.
Minimizing Paperwork
It is complicated to keep track of all paperwork of the parcels. However with on-demand courier apps significantly minimize the use of paperwork and store all the details of customers and parcels until they are delivered.
Cost of an on-demand courier delivery application
To determine the cost of an on-demand courier delivery application, it’s important to understand that it depends on a variety of factors. Below are a few of the deciding factors that affect the cost estimation of a courier delivery app development.
- The mobile app development company which you are going to hire for app designing and development.
- Which mobile platform are you going for? Is it iOS, Android, or both? You can choose any of the platform or both of them as per your requirement.
- Post-launch client services which you’ll require from your mobile app development company.
- Which set of features are you looking to incorporate in your courier delivery application?
- Do you want to build an MVP or a fully-fledged application?
Considering all the above factors, we have found out that the estimated cost for a courier delivery application will be around $16K to $24K USD.
Conclusion
In today’s era of technological advancements, courier delivery application is a soul of any courier & parcel delivery business. However, merely developing a courier & parcel delivery application is not enough. There are many things that you need to consider which have already discussed in the blog.
I hope this blog provides you with a crystal-clear guide on courier and parcel delivery app development. For more such insightful content keep reading this space.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to create a courier delivery app?
It completely depends on your requirement and what type of features you need for your courier app. If you need a simple app with fewer features charges would be minimal but if you want to add multiple features charges would be according to all features.
How much time will it take to develop a courier delivery app?
Generally, to build a courier delivery app there are multiple factors to figure it out such as app features, designs, final testing, and much more. So for all these elements at least 10-12 weeks can be counted to build a courier delivery app.
How long does it take to build a courier delivery app?
To build a courier delivery app there are several factors to consider, such as app features, complicated design, testing, and much more. At least it can take 10-12 weeks to build a courier delivery app.
How do I hire a developer for the courier delivery app?
This is one of the main components to make an excellent courier delivery app. Firstly search and list out some of the best developers and secondly select the best and brilliant developers that fit your criteria. With our help, you will receive excellent developers for the courier delivery app.
