Insights and Expenses of Parcel Delivery App Development in 2023
In today’s fast-paced world, time is considered the most precious commodity. As e-commerce and online shopping continue to flourish, it has become imperative for delivery services to stay current in order to meet customer demands and further enhance time-saving convenience. According to Statista, in less than 5 years, the volume of global parcel shipping is projected to reach 256 billion parcels. The market is gonna rise at a CAGR of 8.5%.
Several years ago, a PwC survey revealed that 62% of users consider same-day delivery a key factor when making a purchase, & 88% are willing to pay extra for it. However, fewer than 70% of vendors provide same-day delivery.
Don’t you believe that the opportune moment to act as an intermediary between vendors and customers, enter the market, and generate profits is at hand? By developing an on-demand delivery app, offering robust delivery services to customers, and effectively addressing this challenge, you can seize a significant business opportunity.
Now, let’s delve into the details of parcel delivery app development and explore the various business models within courier delivery.
Let’s get started.
What Does a Parcel Application Mean
Established parcel and courier services have recognized the significance of mobile applications and have successfully integrated them.
A delivery application permits businesses to track mail, parcels, or other deliverables & send shipment notices, while the consumers can follow their parcels in real-time. Both businesses & users can rest assured their delivery will come safely & on time.
When contemplating the development of a parcel delivery app, it’s essential to determine its specific type and select a suitable business model.
Let’s review some most popular types of delivery apps.
Types of Delivery Applications
B2B — Business to Business
These solutions aim to establish connections between businesses, primarily focused on replenishing goods from large-scale suppliers to retail companies.
Retail stores can utilize B2B delivery services to replenish their products whenever necessary.
B2C — Business to Client
This software facilitates the connection between businesses and customers. When a customer places an order, whether offline or online, the B2C courier service transports the selected goods from the business location to the buyer.
C2C Customer to Client
These solutions link customers from various locations who wish to send their packages securely during transit.
C2C courier app lets clients book a package right from it. Then the package is gathered & delivered to the client on the receiver end by the delivery service.
Next, we delve into the most prevalent business models:
Which Business Model to Opt
The most popular business models are as follows:
Postal & courier service mobile application
Such an app connects the consumers at all 3 levels B2B, B2C, & C2C. Businesses that have discovered how effective a mobile application can be in leveraging their business have already developed & launched such a product to benefit from it. FedEx, Blue Dart, & DPD can be mentioned as just a few of the well-known ones.
A user can reserve a package within the application, the sender receives an accompanying ID, and the recipient obtains tracking details for the delivery.
By the way, FedEx has a distinct mobile solution for same-day delivery. This model requires multiple applications to manage the various operations involving the client, the company, and the delivery agent.
Package tracking apps
In this type of application, the data from all the carriers is picked up in one single place. In this case, a company only needs this singular aggregator to track all parcels, regardless of the carrier. A unique ID permits adding packages & push notices, and then keeping the recipient updated as to the delivery status. As a rule, such applications inform both senders and receivers about the position of their packages.
Branded delivery & integrated services
Numerous online retailers offer their customers the option to track orders within the app or on their website. Here, customers can view the standard package status, including whether it has been dispatched or shipped, its real-time status, and the estimated delivery time and date.
Such transparency & convenience add to the competitiveness of the retailers. Besides, developing parcel application tracking for small local stores is an expensive thing, so they often depend on third-party software, the applications that are known as branded delivery & integrated services.
Uber-like marketplace for parcel delivery
Uber has revolutionized the taxi industry but not only, it has introduced a successful business model for many spheres, & courier delivery is among them.
So, customers can request services from a vendor on an Uber-like on-demand app. A client makes an order & a company completes it through a delivery agent.
Now that you are familiar with the primary business models, we are excited to share our experience. Stfalcon is fortunate to collaborate with a prominent player in Ukrainian delivery, Nova Poshta, so let’s discuss it briefly.
Are you interested? Go on reading.
Nova Poshta — Not Just the Best Parcel Delivery App in Ukraine, But Beyond
In 16 years, Nova Poshta has become a market leader in the Ukrainian market of delivery services & a driver of its development. Today, the company provides international delivery and shopping services. It continually enhances its user-friendly online offerings to elevate the customer experience. Cooperation with Stfalcon.com is always intended to substantially improve functionality & bring the consumer experience to the next level.
While our primary focus was on the web version of the app, the fundamental features also made their way into the mobile solution.
The tasks Stfalcon needed to implement were the following:
- A front-end integration with Nova Poshta API
- A new design of a Personal Dashboard
- A custom web app creation
Research
Like any new project, we initiated this one by researching the subject area and analyzing existing issues. We were provided with user stories and test results for a Dashboard, which significantly aided us in interface design.
Material design & angular
To expedite UI development, we utilized the Google Material Design library integrated with the Angular framework. This approach enabled us to concentrate on business logic, meticulously address interaction design, and eliminate the need to create UI and input controls entirely from scratch.
Such a flexible approach is quick enough to construct & support new features for end consumers.
Consumer’s sign-in
A subtle interface animation signals the transition between the sign-in and registration tabs. During the sign-in process, users can also view a list of new features on the Dashboard.
List of invoices
The primary page of the Personal Dashboard includes a list of the consumer’s invoices divided into classifications:
- Outbound packages,
- Blank templates,
- Archived invoices,
- Those created, but not yet accepted in the office or by a courier,
- Inbound packages,
- Recycle bin with the option of invoice recovery.
Shortcut button
The Float Action Button is arguably one of the most distinctive elements of Material Design, and we incorporated it for swift access to critical functions. Positioned consistently on the page, it facilitates essential actions from any screen.
New invoice creation
Considerable focus was dedicated to enhancing the “create invoice” window. We made diligent efforts to streamline data entry, optimize field placement, and pre-fill certain data by default.
Package tracking
All packages, outgoing & incoming, are displayed in the Personal Dashboard with general data & a history of the package transition.
Registries & templates
The most consistent and demanding user of the Personal Dashboard is typically someone who frequently sends packages, such as an e-commerce seller. Our system now enables users to duplicate invoices for recurring orders, making it easier to formalize new invoices using templates featuring popular items and package descriptions. Additionally, we introduced the capability to consolidate multiple invoices into a single registry.
Contacts & addresses
The system stores a consumer’s contacts database with a quick search by name or phone number.
Statistics
The order statistics have evolved into a comprehensive tool for individual entrepreneurs. It goes beyond invoice creation and tracking, offering the ability to access monthly, daily, and regional shipment data for in-depth analysis of past shipments. Read the full case study
The Stfalcon team has successfully executed numerous projects for the leading player in the Ukrainian delivery market, Nova Poshta, which equips us with the expertise to do the same for you. Now, let’s delve into the essential features we believe every parcel app should include. Read the full case study
Parcel Application Development Process & Expenses
We firmly believe that development should be entrusted to professionals. At Stfalcon, we adhere to the standard software development process, which includes stages such as discovery, design, development, testing, release, and support. The maintenance phase is a separate consideration and is billed separately. Some clients choose to handle it with their in-house teams, while others rely on Stfalcon’s expertise in this matter.
Speaking about the cost of development, it is crucial to comprehend that it is always defined by multiple factors: type of application & features needed, tech stack & platform chosen, integrations with other services & APIs, and more. You can start with creating an MVP or go for a fully-fledged product at once, & it will also influence the project budget.
Taking all factors into account, the initial budget estimate for parcel app development can commence at $80,000, with the final cost being influenced by your selection of features.
To conclude
Contemporary technological advancements necessitate careful consideration before embarking on the development of your courier delivery app. Users now demand not only swift and convenient delivery services but also a straightforward, intuitive, & user-friendly application for managing their parcels.
Contact us & let’s discuss all the details of your project.
Originally published at https://stfalcon.com.
