Digitalization has led to a boom in the e-Commerce and online shopping industries. The global business of online delivery is continually expanding with the advent of on-demand parcel delivery apps. A spark inflamed by Uber, today has spread like wildfire in different industry verticals. Such applications have set new bars in the E-retail industries.800″>
Table Of Contents
- How Does A Mobile App For Parcel Delivery Work?
- Benefits of On-demand Parcel Delivery App Development.
- How To Develop An On-demand Parcel Delivery App For Package Tracking?
- Custom On-demand Delivery App Development With Esferasoft.
Today, with all major and minor businesses going online, a well-functioning on-demand parcel delivery app has become an inherent need of every business.
- What are the essential features of a delivery app?
- What are the prerequisites of a courier service app?
Read ahead to find out.
How Does A Mobile App For On-demand Parcel Delivery Work?
An on-demand parcel delivery app allows you to track and deliver your packages. But not all package delivery apps work the same way- Venture deep into the working model of DPD, FedEx, or Uber to spot the differences. Each model has its implication and benefits. To develop your on-demand parcel delivery app, a deep understanding of the functioning and structure of each model is necessary.
Let us look at the different business models of a courier delivery business.
PACKAGE TRACKING AGGREGATORS
Ever thought about how a package tracking app works? Data from each carrier collects in one place. So, such kind of business models needs only one application for package tracking regardless of the carrier. Such delivery parcel tracking apps do just that: they aggregate the data from all of your packages into one place. All you need to do is to add the parcel by using its ID. And you are all set to receive timely push notifications regarding the updates of your delivery.
POSTAL AND COURIER SERVICE APPS
A parcel delivery application comes with a hoard of benefits. You cannot overlook the importance of a mobile application in a postal or courier service. Prominent brands like FedEx and DPD have already incorporated such apps in their business model. An efficient application with a fully equipped customer admin like DPD not only allows you to make shipments but also facilitates you to print out labels for those shipments. Similarly, FedEx has a mobile app for making same-day deliveries without any hustle.
BRANDED DELIVERY APPS AND INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
Many retailers prefer branded package delivery apps due to the competitive advantage that comes with them.
This type of business model involves the use of mobile applications with order tracking features. Using such integrated apps facilitates various online retailers to provide total scope for successful delivery. The customers you are delivering to get to know real-time information regarding the dispatch, shipment and delivery of their order. This kind of business model for package delivery provides an edge over its counterparts. As an online retailer, you get to establish better customer relations and improvise your brand image by adopting such a model. It is due to the improved transparency and convenience provided to the customers by such applications.
UBER-LIKE MARKETPLACES FOR PARCEL DELIVERY
Uber, with its courier delivery model, disrupted several traditional business models of this industry. Today there are a plethora of businesses using this model to their benefits. Package delivery is one of the most popular verticals in the on-demand services domain.
Several startups like GrubHub, Instacart, Quiqup, and Roadie have leveraged this model for delivery in their respective businesses.
Benefits Of On-demand Parcel Delivery App Development
Every business model for parcel delivery and tracking apps comes loaded with a lot of benefits that you can exploit. Let us have a look at some of the profits that you can reap from the use of a parcel delivery app.
- An on-demand delivery app provides an easy-peasy way to let your clients keep track of their orders. Timely updates from shipment and delivery prove convenient for them. Such apps enable prompt and improved customer service to users and subsequently boost your brand image. A strong brand image yields customer loyalty and higher revenue in turn.
- Improve your staff flexibility and reduce the cost of operations with the use of delivery applications. Convenient apps like this eliminate the need for traditional bulky devices. Carriers can use smartphones for checking parcels in and out or getting a signature from the recipient.
- Â Package delivery services do not require in-house couriers. You can easily hire independent contractors for parcel delivery without needing to keep them in your in-house staff.
It was all about the benefits of a parcel delivery app. If you have already decided to get one for your business, you would want to know the steps involved in its development.
How To Develop An On-demand Parcel Delivery App For Package Tracking?
You can choose any business model. But in either of the approaches, you would need these essentials- time, determination, and technical expertise. Making a well structured and efficient delivery application according to your business requirements would require tedious and cautious efforts. So, keep in mind that regardless of the model you pick, this is not going to be easy. But, it is not entirely impossible if you take the right steps and follow the proper sequence.
Choose The Right Business Model
It is the first thing you need to do to get started on building your crowd shipping app. Perform a regressive analysis of all the existing models and single out the one that suits your business requirements. Out of the several options available, pick a model that works for you.
Decide whether you need a branded retailer shipping app, postal service app, or on-demand parcel delivery app. There are other factors worth taking into consideration-your business domain, required resources, your long-term business goals, and your target audience.
Define Your Business Requirements And Goals
You need to understand the specifics, long-term goals, requirements, opportunities, and technical limitations of your business model.
Another vital factor is the geography of your delivery service that would directly impact the functionality and scope of your model. Where would be your service operational? What areas would it cover? A city, a country, or the entire globe? Other factors to consider are the parcel size, weight, packaging, and delivery type.
Identify The Right Scope Of Features
After pondering over the theoretical aspects, an analysis of the practical implementation of the model with regard to your business is necessary. Jot down your business requirements in priority order. List the specifications you need in your app according to your business requirement. Communicate them to your designers and developers. Identifying the right scope of features is essential.
Each business model offers a different scope and functionality. Though each model has specifications unique to itself, there are some features shared by all courier & package delivery applications. Let’s have a sneak-peek into some of the attributes that every package delivery and tracking app should possess.
- Admin chat
Admin chat facility allows the admin to maintain continuous communication with the customer as well as the delivery person. It would improvise the service quality and procure greater customer loyalty.
- Premium delivery
Premium delivery feature allows the user to ask for a faster delivery service in return for an extra payment.
- Real-time tracking
The real-time tracking feature is common in driver apps, the admin panel, and the customer app. It allows the users to track the real-time location of their order.
- Push notifications
Push notifications notify the user about the latest updates regarding their order. These push notifications inform users about the estimated time of delivery, the contact information of the driver, various promos and offers, and the current location of the order.
- Payment gateway
Another feature that is worth inclusion in your delivery app is a payment gateway. E-wallets, debit or credit cards, bank transfers are payment gateways that you can integrate into your app. It will also let the users receive a digital receipt of the order.
- Rating and review
This feature facilitates the customer to rate and review your service. Customer reviews would help you improvise your services.
- Rewards and offers
Rewards and offers attract your customers and increase customer loyalty.
- Admin panel
ai-based-parcel-delivery-system/An admin panel with extended access rights would allow you to jump in and resolve any arising issues. Third-party analytics tools integrated inside the app helps to get insights on customer behaviour.
DEVELOP
After figuring out your requirements for the app, you should move to the next stage, development. The standard procedure for app development involves the creation of UI/UX design, engineering, and testing.
/ai-based-parcel-delivery-system/There are two ways you can use to go about app development. You can do it yourself with the help of an in-house team. You can hire experienced and reliable tech- providers to do the same.Hiring an expert technical provider is a more viable option for people from a non-technical background. You can relax by leaving the app development task in experienced hands. Finding and hiring local developers can be a gruesome task. So, it would be better to rely on professional technical providers to set the ball rolling fast.
Launch, Learn And Improve
Often, people try to build a full-fledged application in one sitting. Create a priority list of the app features. Implementing only the most significant ones in a minimum viable product (MVP) is the smartest thing to do. It reduces the risks and increases your app efficiency. After launching your MVP on the Google Play store or the App Store, you can use the user feedback and the analytics data to add more features and improve your app performance.
Custom Delivery App Development With Esferasoft
An efficient on-demand delivery application can put your business on wheels. Hence it is always advisable to leave it in professional and more reliable hands. Get in touch with a professional tech-provider like Esferasoft and tell them your business requirements. And you are all done. Put off that load your head and leave it in the hands of technical experts.
Esferasoft is an AI-based software development company that can help you boost your business by building you a custom crowd shipping application.
Why Should You Choose Esferasoft For Crowd Shipping Application Development?
Why should you choose Esferasoft? There are a lot of testimonials on the website that speaks for its authenticity and reliability.
 Still, confused? Read ahead to find for yourself.
- Technology
Esferasoft uses the scalable and most reliable Django Framework to ensure smooth deployment of your project.
- Dedicated TeamÂ
It has a dedicated team of UX designers, AI/ML developers, testing engineers, project managers and business analysts that work in collaboration to deliver your custom on-demand delivery application on time.
- Secure and Safe
The database management team at Esferasoft is committed to providing their users, utmost database security by making use of all the latest technology stacks according to the security guidelines.
Esferasoft Solutions is a NASSCOM certified company and has completed over 5000 projects. Just inform them of your app requirements, preference, and business goals. Get a free quote on the price of the project. And get started!