Create an On-Demand Courier App With This Simple & Comprehensive Guide

In recent years, customer expectation has seen a steady increase, and brands are in a constant pursuit to walk the extra mile and enable a more convenient shopping experience. E-commerce is the result of such efforts.

With the growing popularity of e-commerce, many other businesses have spread their wings by building on-demand courier delivery apps. These apps provide a stage-by-stage update on deliveries from the moment it is registered for dispatch until it reaches its destination.

Types of On-Demand Courier Delivery Apps

High dependency on the internet, coupled with the dwindling attention span of customers, has led businesses to consider a courier delivery app. With an average smartphone user having 40 different apps on their phone, courier companies with a dedicated app stand at an advantage.

Here are the different types of parcel apps you should know about.

Parcel Tracking Aggregators

In a package aggregator app, the user enters the tracking ID to get real-time updates on the parcel’s status and location. This order tracking feature requires the IDs of multiple carriers and offers users the convenience of real-time tracking on a single app.

Integrated Solutions for Branded Delivery App

Some e-commerce businesses prefer to join hands with a third-party courier delivery application for efficient real-time tracking. As such, there is better transparency, and customers know the precise location of the packages that they ordered.

Postal and Courier Service Apps

These courier delivery business apps come with separate login interfaces for customers and admins. While the user can track their long-distance and same-day deliveries, admins have the privilege of creating shipments, managing package labels, and doing a lot more.

Marketplace Apps for Parcel Delivery.

Businesses aim to ease the lives of their customers by delivering their packages right at the doorstep. Thus, several mobile apps like Uber Connect have mushroomed recently. These apps deliver everything from food and groceries to apparel, cosmetics, and even medical marijuana.

The Importance of Parcel Delivery Apps for Your Courier Business

Companies must provide superior quality courier services to their customers to stand apart in

the courier industry. The answer is a delivery application for the convenience of your customers. With convenience comes trust, which enables you to build a relationship of brand loyalty with your customers.

Further, an on-demand delivery app eliminates the need for bulky and expensive courier delivery tracking devices and decreases operational costs. By updating real-time notes on the app, you do away with the need for document verification, paper prints, signatures, and hand-overs. Thus, a courier business can enable better staff flexibility and achieve higher efficiency in its delivery operations.

A Step-by-Step Approach to Building an On-Demand Courier Delivery App

We know that the courier app development process isn’t easy, so we have created a step-by-step guide to help you out. Let’s get straight into it.

Identify the Business Models

For starters, you must identify the business model that works best for your business. While some courier companies may benefit from postal-style delivery apps, others may not be able to fit it in their operational budget. For example, small businesses often collaborate with a branded retailer shipping app to offset the huge costs without compromising quality.

Here’s a handy tip for creating an app tailored for your particular business requirements: First, list out the business needs, budget, and customer expectations. Then, find a way to optimize the three.

Define the App Requirements

After settling on the business model, the next step is evaluating the features needed in the app. For example, while a business may make all its deliveries by car or bike, others may use a combination of air and road transport.

The geographic area of operation, types of courier services offered by the app, and business scaling plans will play a role in defining its features. Be sure to consider the technical limitations of the courier delivery app and weigh its impact on your business.

Implement the Features

With the required app features in mind, you are now ready to chalk out the functional specifications of your delivery application. Ideally, your courier tracking app should have two interfaces. The first interface is for the customers; the other is for yourself and your employees.

1. Customer Interface

The success of any business relies on customer satisfaction – making this interface the most important aspect of your delivery service app. Consider incorporating the following features for a flawless customer experience.

1. The courier delivery app should enable a GPS tracking system so that customers know the real-time location of their deliveries.
2. A chat option allows users to interact with your company’s courier support and simplifies communication.
3. Adding push notifications to the customer app ensures that they are in the loop about the latest developments.
4. Integrating payment gateways makes things convenient for the customer.
5. A feature that allows customers to rate and review the package tracking app is an added advantage.

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2. Employee Interface

Some key features in your courier delivery application can act as a catalyst in boosting employee performance and motivation. Here are a few you can add:

1. Every employee of your shipping courier operation needs login credentials to access the app.
2. The courier app should allow your team to filter orders based on package size, location, etc. This will speed up the delivery process.
3. The admin panel should allow your logistics team to chat with each other on the delivery service app. This will enable better collaboration and time management.
4. The option to check user ratings, feedback, and completed task history will further motivate employees to put their best foot forward and improve the courier service.

Develop the App

Now comes the most important step: creating the on-demand courier delivery app. App development requires seamless collaboration between the engineering, design, and testing teams. While you can always hire an in-house team to get the job done, you stand to get better results from outsourcing the work to experienced app developers.

Launch and Improve the Courier App

Many courier businesses nurture the dream of a full-fledged advanced mobile app. While such dreams fuel your business growth, do not make the mistake of building an advanced courier app in one go. Start with a minimum viable product (MVP) with basic versions of the features you envisioned.

After the app goes live, you can collect analytics data and user feedback and add features to incorporate your advanced plans. The key to a successful courier delivery mobile application is realizing that there is always room for improvement. With more than 8.9 million apps vying for your customers’ attention, perfecting your courier tracking app at every stage is necessary to edge out the competition.

In Closing

Creating an on-demand courier app requires you to understand and evaluate the features that work best for you. Constantly improving the app to enhance your courier delivery services and

customer experience will go a long way in distinguishing you from the crowd.

As you expand the scope of your business and make a mark in the world of e-commerce, building an on-demand parcel app with this comprehensive guide will make a world of difference.