Well, who likes to take the pain of monitoring all the logistics and transportation operations for 24 hours. But, the logistic industry calls for a 24 hours solution that can track all continuous running activities. So you need to think in the right direction.The mobile applications can do all the tasks for your delivery and logistics business and are reliable. So, in case you are planning to develop a logistics mobile application, have a look at all the top development directions that are capable of crafting out the perfect mobile apps. That too both for Android and iPhone. 

But, before jumping on that topic, it is crucial to know what is the Logistics App. So, let’s discuss that.

What Is A Logistics App?  

A complete and unified logistics delivery mobile app helps you to manage the fleet, routes, shipment details, drivers, goods, and much more.Customers rely on their logistics partners to ship their goods and packages from one place to another. A scalable on-demand logistics app solution meets the needs of the growing logistics industry.An on-demand logistics app allows the customers to book transfers in advance from their phones whenever they need it. Moreover, it also offers real-time updates about their shipments.With an on-demand app for logistics, transportation, and trucking manage your delivery business efficiently and create lifelong customers.

How A On-demand Logistics App Can Benefit Your Business?

No matter what the current situation is, the logistic industry is affected by a lot of issues that would variate following the territory it is located on and the scale of an enterprise. Moreover, some general points are universal all over the world. An on-demand logistics app also offers several other benefits, such as-

1. Improved Customer Service

An on-demand logistics app enables you to provide better and improved customer service experience to your valuable customers. It offers efficient tracking of the parcel so that the customer can be well aware of his courier’s delivery time. Also, if the customer is not present at home at the time of delivery, then they can quickly contact your team to deliver their product at their neighborhood by using this app.

2. More Visibility 

While using an on-demand delivery app, you can always keep an eye on the products that are dispatched/ to be shipped. Moreover, customers can also keep track of their deliverables and can track the package efficiently.

Moreover, you can also use this tracking facility in your taxi app to lure more customers by providing visibility of your customer’s ride to their friends and relatives.

3. Confirmation

One of the essential reasons for using the delivery app is the assurance of product delivery. While using an on-demand delivery app, the company, as well as the customer, can confirm whether the product was delivered on time or not. 

4. Professionalism

Besides providing all the benefits mentioned above, an on-demand delivery app also helps your company to look professional. It enables your customers to track their shipment easily and helps you to fulfil your promise of on-time delivery. Besides that, you can also charge more from the customers and can justify it by electronic tracking facility.

Who Are All Playing Big In Logistics apps?

While an On-demand delivery app has its benefit, but there are several other big companies, which also provides a useful logistics app for your business. Let’s have a look at them 

1. XPO Logistics Inc. 

XPOLogistics prioritize the consumer experience by developing robust applications, particularly for the previous mile consumer experience. They also monitor satisfaction at the point of delivery. When people buy a refrigerator, an exercise bike, or any other large product, they can track their order in real-time. Moreover, they can reschedule deliveries electronically and can set personalized alerts as well. The calibre of their technology is the primary reason why retailers, e-commerce organizations, and manufacturers use XPO for the last mile.  

2. UPS Supply Chain Solutions

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UPS ready multicarrier supply chain solution helps customers to manage their shipping processes. It also controls costs and provides customer flexibility online. The app can manage single or multi-location shipping from warehouses, distribution centres, or retail stores more efficiently. 

3. DHL Supply Chain 

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DHL partners with developers of multicarrier systems to provide robust shipping solutions for DHL customers. The DHL app simplifies global logistics management and also enables the customers to track their sea and air freight shipments. Among other features, “DGF Cargo Mobile Tracking” shows users their shipping history and the status of their current shipments. The app provides global access and is available free of charge in the respective app stores for iOS and Android smartphones.

4. J.B. Hunt Transport Services

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Moving power-only loads is an excellent way for carriers to reduce costs and find consistent freight. J.B. Hunt prioritizes the carrier experience– which means making sure that airlines have access to the information and tools they need to run efficiently. In case you own a fleet, you can get your drivers signed up for Carrier 360 and dispatch loads within the app. 

5. C.H. Robinson Worldwide

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Whether you’re a budding business or an established organization, Robinson’s free Navisphere Carrier mobile app helps you oversee the many facets of your business. You can stay in control of current loads, driver assignments, document processing, and much more. With the combination of available tools, you’ll quickly notice fewer check call hassles, more natural load planning, more informative notifications, and the best part is; you can leave the bulky computer at home. 

Advantages Of On-demand Delivery App

For quite some time, the on-demand economy is gaining high popularity in the market. It is luring more and more customers each year, because of its security, reliability, and multi-channel approach across mobile and web. In fact, almost 22 million Americans spend 58 Billion US Dollars in the On-demand industry. So, let’s check out the fantastic benefits of using an On-demand Delivery App in your business

1. It offers GPS enabled tracking.
2. It provides round the clock app facility.
3. It can track the accurate position of your deliverable.
4. It enables users to send alerts to the driver.
5. Your brand value increases.
6. It is a secure method of sending/receiving products.
7. It can generate visual reports for a particular time frame.
8. It saves valuable time of the customer support and HR department of your organization.
9. It also records the total number of deliveries completed by the driver so far.

Thus, such features would help in tracking the daily activities performed by your driver regularly. Also, your customers would be well informed about their shipments before the delivery. To get more insights into an On-demand delivery app, let us discuss its features.

Core Features of A On-demand Logistic App

To make it easier for you, we have broken down the list of features into three categories, viz., Admin, User, and Dispatcher.

Admin Panel 

1. Services– You can manage your services and strategize your local and global objectives as per the market demands.
2. Orders– The admins can manage all the rules by utilizing the inbuilt order management system to ensure on-time order processing.
3. Users– With easy-to-use CMS, you can quickly manage your customer’s information like order history, payment history, and so on.
4. Drivers– A Delivery App provides a comprehensive platform to manage and modify the driver’s database efficiently.
5. Agency– With this feature, you can effectively manage vital information about your strategic partner, and agencies with just a click.
6. Fleet Management– A delivery app also offers a Multifaceted fleet management system to manage the delivery vehicles and track them on GPS.
7. Billing and Payments– You can also manage all your payments and can generate invoices and bills using this app.

User Panel

1. Book shipment– Users can easily track their shipments by entering the recipient’s details on the delivery app.
2. Drop-off Location– Users can enter the drop-off location or simply point it on the GPS maps to provide delivery details to the driver.
3. Track Shipment– With a unique identification number, the users can easily track their shipments in real-time on maps.
4. Schedule Pickup– Users can also get the package pick from their location by entering a suitable time as per their convenience. 
5. Tariff Calculator– Users can also get an estimate of the time and cost for the delivery based on their service type and destination.
6. Payments– The app also offers a safe and secure payment option to the users while facilitating digital payment options. 
7. Ratings and Reviews– Besides all the points mentioned above, the users can also give ratings and reviews of their past delivery experience.

Dispatchers Panel

1. Login– The app provides secure login/Sign-up facility to all its users. They have to register themselves using either their mobile number or email ID.
2.  Receiver Details– The dispatchers also get all the relevant details of the receiver, so that the product can be delivered on-time.
3.  Notifications– The drivers get the necessary information about any product that needs to be picked or delivered.
4. Navigation– This feature provides real-time navigation to the customer’s address to facilitate on-time delivery.
5. Mark Delivery– Using this feature, the dispatcher can send alerts to both the parties regarding the delivery of the product.
6. Customer support– You can get round the clock support to all your queries while using an on-demand delivery app for your business.

Now, so far, we have discussed what a delivery app is and how is it useful. Let us now jump on to the process of building a Logistic App for your business.  

How To Build A Logistics App?

Before we move to the technical specifications of the app, we shall discuss some vital points to be kept in mind while developing a delivery app. 

1. Market Research

We are aware of the fact that the market for the on-demand delivery app isn’t new at all. Besides, there is an app for everything. The very first thing in our guide is research. The reason being we need to be prepared for the market. We should not take this for granted that the whole world is waiting for our app to come out. You will need to fight hard to get recognition in the market. 

But since we are aiming to develop an app like delivery and logistics, we have a lot less to focus on. All you need is to live and breath the logistics. Go over every single feature and try to find how relevant it is for your users. Just talk to your users, conduct interviews, or ask them to fill the questionnaires. Through this, you would be able to gather the data and would know what your users have to say about your app. 

2. Accessible to Use

The logistics app should be easy to use and also should be able to help employees to get their task done timely and efficiently than ever without frustration. That implies that the app should be able to solve all the particular problems of the customer with easy to use interface. Moreover, logistics firms need mobile apps that can support a wide range of technologies like the internet of things and be able to scan and read NFC and RFID chips and be able to insert the images of documents, objects, or barcode. 

3.Integration

Although it’s not possible to collect all the mobile app data and save it on the smartphone, it is not an easy task, and it does not sound practical as well. The mobile app has to be flexible to synchronize the data easily with the database remotely and upload all the information from the mobile device to the server machine. That would not only ensure the app’s reliability, but it would also ensure that administrators who are working at backend get tremendous user experience, and this also keeps them away from any paperwork. 

4. Offline Support 

In this technological era, we are connected 24/7, but despite this thing, there is always a chance of breakdown. The logistic/delivery app should also be able to support offline when there is no network at all. The app should be able to save the information entered while it was offline and upload it to the server when it comes to the system. 

Tech-Stack Associated With On-demand Logistics-Delivery Mobile App Development

To develop a quality On-Demand logistics mobile app, you anyhow require the right technology stack for implementation. 

By brilliantly adopting the newest technical standards, you could increase the chance of your mobile app getting recognition among your competitors. The different technology stack used for mobile app development for logistics business is

1. SMS, Voice and Phone verification – Twilio, Nexmo
2. Push notifications– Twilio, Push.io
3. Database– MongoDB, Cassandra, Mailchimp Integration, Hbase, PostgreSQL
4. Cloud Environment– AWS, Azure, Google
5. Payments– Stripe, Braintree & PayPal, EWallets
6. Real-time Analytics– Big Data, Spark, Cisco, IBM, Apache Flink, Hadoop

It is no more critical to say that mobile app development, keeping the features as mentioned above, will be beneficial for the business and ensure you, quality, and performance. Still, the involvement of the right mobile app development company is needed to get the work done correctly.

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Logistics App?

The cost of developing the logistics app depends on the various factors involved, such as,

1. The developer’s price
2. The features opted
3. UI/UX development
4. Customizations (if any), and so on

The logistics business requires a 24 hours monitoring service that tracks all your shipments. From warehouse management to post-delivery, it needs following now and then. But who is going to do that? It is not humanly possible. That is why the logistics app is a must for the industry. 

Customized On-demand Logistic App Development with Matellio

Needless to admit, the app processed out of the above phases inevitably reaps the benefits on the ground and quality. Businesses need reliable logistics partners for their supply-chain management. We, at Matellio LLC, offers cost-effective and timely on-demand solutions of logistics, trucking, and transportation businesses. With an on-demand app for your logistics business, you can give the digital advantage to your company and be a market leader. An on-demand logistics app will not only optimize your business processes, but it will also create confidence in the minds of the customers. Leap ahead with an on-demand logistics solution, create value not only for your business but your customer’s business as well. Request a quote today for your on-demand logistics app!