Everything you need to know about a Courier or Logistics App Development

The logistics sector is one of the few domains that operate 24*7 with stringent timelines and dependencies. The boom in the eCommerce industry is one of the leading factors contributing to its growth. The global logistics market is expected to reach $12.25 trillion by the year 2025!

A delivery management app for a logistics company will help streamline operations for both the company and the app users. Logistics is an intricate department and involves minute details that strengthen the seamless flow between order placement and the delivery process. If any of the moving pieces in this sector malfunction, the entire process can go for a toss. An app is a perfect medium to overlook fleet management, warehouse management, employee management, and customer management- anywhere and anytime!

If you are a logistics company, you can relate to scenarios when your driver calls midway to tell you that the vehicle has broken down or a customer repeatedly calls to ask about the courier's whereabouts. A logistics app will be a great helping hand to keep these situations in check.

This article will give you an overview of the features that make up a logistics application and the overall costs of developing a quality-centric app.

Features of a Good Courier/Logistics Application

The primary purpose of a good logistics/ courier company is to streamline the multiple processes that are taking place at the same time. There are three major dimensions of a logistics application- user end, driver/ employee end, and admin end. Let's take a quick look at all three:

#1 User panel

1. Registration/Login: New users need to register to use the application. Log-in is needed to track courier status.

2. Profile creation: The user needs to create a personal profile wherein they can fill in their details be it their name, address, phone no. etc.

3. Booking: The customers can schedule their bookings at their convenience and also choose the mode of transportation.

4. In-App Payments: Users should be able to make in-app payments securely with a 2-step authentication mechanism in case of international goods delivery, in-app purchases, etc.

5. Real-time tracking with ETA: Tracking the courier with estimates of when the parcel will reach the destination. Intermediate stops can also be highlighted to give the customer high-level details of the delivery process.

6. Delivery proof: App should support a digital signature mechanism when the parcel is delivered to the user.

7. Ratings and reviews: For an accelerated experience for all the parties, the option of ratings and reviews is a must.

8. Push Notifications: Push notifications to keep the users informed not just about the status of the package transit but also about coupons, discounts, delays, time of arrival, and much more.

9. History: This can be introduced as an additional feature. Allows the users to track previously delivered parcels.

#2 Driver Side Features

1. Login: The driver can log in to the application to see parcels assigned for scheduled deliveries.

2. Driver authentication: After login, authentication is an essential step to ensure the validity of, a driver’s license, ID proof, bank details, etc.

3. Request management: This feature allows the driver to check their bookings and choose to accept or reject the delivery of goods as per their time and convenience.

4. Delivery Details: This section can have information on vehicle fuel consumption details, the weight of goods, toll charges in the selected routes, and the distance to be covered.

5. Route Management: This feature will update the drivers on the best route to be taken for transit.

6. GPS tracking: With the GPS tracking feature, the drivers are provided with instant ease in finding accurate locations and ensuring the deliveries are on time

7. History: This will indicate the history of deliveries made to date.

#3 Admin Side Features

The admin should have a clean UI to manage the following processes:

1. Login: The admin can log in with a unique id or an email id and password.

2. Dashboard: This includes everything from the details of the customers to the list of employees available, information on drivers currently in parcel delivery, vehicle in use, and related information.

3. Driver management: This allows to keep track of the drivers and also takes care of activating and deactivating the driver's accounts, adding new drivers, and much more

4. Fleet Information: Condition of the vehicles, information on vehicles requiring servicing, etc.

5. Warehouse Information: Parcels and their delivery destination along with transit status.

6. Invoice & billing: This involves the billing and payment sections and also allows the admin to manage the inflow and outflow of cash.

Advantages of a logistics app

Additional features of a Logistics app

To ensure that your app stays ahead in terms of sustainability and scalability, your logistics apps must comprise the following features :

• In-app chat

• Get a quote

• Link & upload docs

• Multilanguage support

• Driver safety

• Cloud storage

How much does the development of a Logistics Mobile App Cost?

Considering the fact that your app will include individual panels for admin, end-users and drivers here is a breakdown of the factors that add up to the total development cost:

#1 Backend and frontend development stack

The development tech stack that you consider should be inclusive of the front end, database, payment gateway, real-time analytics, push notifications, and server technology to be used. Additionally, if you opt for advanced features like an automated chatbot for personalization purposes, there will be a cost incurred for AI as well.

Here is a quick overview of languages that can be used-

• Front end- HTML, CSS, React, Kotlin, Bootstrap, Swift

• Back End- Python, Angular, JavaScript

• Cloud- Google, Azure, AWS

• Payment Gateways- PayPal, Stripe

• Analytics- IBM, CISCO, Hadoop

• Push Notifications- Firebase, Twilio

#2 Platform

Decide on whether the app will be developed for Android, iOS, or cross-platform. Cross-platform enables the same application to work on both Android as well as iOS platforms, thus allowing for much easier implementation and faster deployment.

#3 Development Team Size

It’s an infamous saying in the development realm, "Effort equals cost". You can either choose a team of freelance developers or a well-established mobile app development company to create your application. Keep in mind that the number of team members will influence the cost of the project.

#4 Post-Launch Support

Make sure to understand whether the cost of development covers post-launch support. You will need developers to fix security patches or provide support after the app goes live.

#5 Minimum Viable Product or Direct Output

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) comprises all the basic functionalities of the application. It enables the stakeholders to decide which features to retain, drop or add, thereby saving on the app's total investment.

To summarize, app development with all the features mentioned above, a ballpark estimate would be around $30k USD-$70k USD. This number will solely depend on the features that are to be included in the app. If you want to integrate advanced features into your logistics app, the charges can go higher.

Make your logistics mobile apps revenue-generating:

An excellent advantage of logistics mobile apps is that not only do they boost the growth of your business but also allow you to generate a good amount of revenue through other factors. These are :

• Paid apps

• Advertisements

• Commission

• Paymium models

• Freemium models.

In Conclusion

There is simply no denying the fact that a well-formulated application can revolutionize your transportation and logistics business by maximizing delivery volumes in minimum time while tracking all the moving pieces in a standardized and organized manner. Biz4Group is a globally renowned eCommerce development agency with a seasoned team of expert developers, designers, and project managers. We deliver a fully-functional custom eCommerce business store within 4-6 weeks with top-notch quality deliverables.

Reach out to our experts to get a free consultation now!!