How Much Does It Cost to Develop Mobile Apps for Logistics?

4 Types Of Logistics Mobile Apps

1. Fleet Management App

If you own a transportation or courier delivery business and want an app to manage your fleet – this is the type of app you should develop. 

Using it, you can get all the information of your vehicles on a single dashboard and track their locations, insurance, and many other things to make informed decisions. Such types of apps also help you assign a driver to every one of your vehicles and see how they are performing by tracking their working hours and other KPIs.

2. On-Demand Logistics Apps

If you are thinking of operating your business in Uber-fashion – you should develop an on-demand logistics mobile app. For this type of app, you will have to develop a dedicated app for your users, drivers, and an admin panel to manage your operations.

This type of apps is supported by all the required features to satisfy the demands of users related to delivery and manufacturers by employing independent drivers as per the demand.

3. Apps for Warehouse

If you need to store data of certain products in your warehouse and access that data with only a single tap, you should develop a warehouse management app. It helps you know the accessibility of every item, stock available in the inventory, where you have kept an item in the warehouse, laborers working in it, their time of operations, daily attendance, and even their performance. 

4. The Extended Logistics App

If you own a business that requires the management of everything – from the storage of items to the fleet of vehicles and drivers associated with it, “extended logistic app” is the type of app you should develop. Collaborating with the right logistics app development company will let you face all the challenges associated with storage, delivery, and fleet using a single platform.

While you can calculate the exact Logistics App Development Cost just after jotting down your precise requirements related to what kinda app you are planning to develop – let’s first have a look at the must-have features of a logistics mobile app to get a ballpark estimate of how much you will have to invest if you try building one such app.

Must-Have Features of Mobile Apps For Logistic Industry

The features of your app will vary depending on its business model and what kinda app you are planning to develop. For proper management of logistics, you need to develop not just one but three apps – one for all your stakeholders – customers, drivers, and an admin panel to track and manage all operations seamlessly. 

All these three panels will work together as a product to help you ease your task at hand. However, if you just want an app to manage your fleet, you will require the driver app and an admin panel. 

Let’s now have a look at the features of all these apps individually to find logistics app development cost:

1. Customer App

• App Onboarding

This is the first and foremost feature of every app that developers need to design and develop very carefully. You have to make sure that people can register in your app hassle-free and it should not be a very long and complicated task for them.

You should provide your users with both the options for registering in your app – by adding all the required information manually or through social media accounts. This will help them choose the option that looks easy to them, crafting a good impression of your app in their minds.

• Vehicle Selection

Depending on the size and weight of the package-to-be-delivered, give users the leverage to choose a vehicle (for example, car, van, truck, and so on) for delivery. For on-demand logistics apps, this is a crucial feature in transportation software development services without which the experience of the app will not be up-to-the mark. 

• Scheduling & Managing Booking

Give users an option to customize the delivery of their parcels by adding the proper date and time on which they want the pick-up and delivery of the package at the destination. For a better experience, you can also let them schedule a pick-up or delivery for the coming weeks/months.

• Estimated Cost

Upon selecting the vehicle of choice, give users an estimate on how much it will cost them. The fare calculator will add amazing value to your app as users like to know how much a service will cost them before availing the same. Along with the vehicle, the fare calculator should calculate the cost based on the weight and size of the package.

• In-App Payments

Giving users the leverage to pay for the service they are availing in-app will add more value to your platform. So, let them pay in a single tap by integrating multiple payment gateways to your application. This will provide a seamless “All-in-one Platform” experience to your users and they will use your app more often.

• Tracking System

It is without a doubt a crucial feature for every on-demand app. To end the anxiety of users about where their parcel has arrived, give them an option to track it in real-time so that they know about the whereabouts of their package every time.

• Push-Notifications

This is an important feature to stay connected with the users of your app. You can use it to send deals and discount offers to your users to keep them hooked with your application. 

• Ratings and Reviews

This feature would help users as well as app admins. You should provide users with an option to rate and review the services so that it can help other users make an informed decision. Also, you can improve your services based on what’s hampering your app’s performance.

2. Driver App

• Easy Login

Just as customers, it should be easy for drivers to register in the app. Give them an option to join your app using email ids and social media accounts.

• Profile Management

This is one of the most essential features of on-demand logistic apps. It will let drivers update their information in-app time-to-time so that admins can access it for making decisions.

• Status Update

You should also give drivers an option to mark their availability/unavailability in-app. So that deliveries are not assigned to drivers that are unavailable at the moment, eliminating any chances of delays.

• Accept/Decline Request

This feature will let drivers accept/decline the delivery request based on their current location and other preferences.

• Delivery Details

There should be a section in your driver app where you should list all details related to the freight. For example, fuel consumption details, the weight of goods, toll charges, and distance to be covered. Also, it should list shipping details for drivers like name, proper address, and contact number of the receiver.Route and Navigation This is an important feature of the driver application. It will provide information to drivers about the best route with less traffic to reach the destination in the minimum possible time.

• History

It is a good idea to give this feature to your drivers. Using it, they can get all the information related to deliveries they have made, past transactions, and invoices.

3. Admin Panel

• Dashboard

In the dashboard, an admin should be able to see details of every user associated with the app, details of all the pending and completed shipments with real-time information, and other business-related insights to improve overall operations.

• Vehicle Management

An admin should be allowed to access and add new vehicles to the fleet from the admin panel. Also, give admin the leverage to update details of existing vehicles like images and other details so that users can select the best one.

• Payment Management

With the payment management feature, the admin will be able to make transactions in-app. For example, he can pay drivers in a single tap, initiate refunds for customers, approve the payments sent by drivers, and keep track of similar transactions.

• Drivers Management

This feature helps admins manage drivers, assign them tasks, and even track and monitor all their activities on-road like where they stop and for how long to keep track of their performance.

• In-App Chat

This might look like an additional feature but it will add value to your app for sure. Let the admin communicate with drivers and users in real-time by integrating in-app chat features in your app.

• Analytics

This feature will let the admin decide on what’s working in the app and what’s not. A detailed analysis of the app’s performance should be there in this section to make informed decisions in the future with the end goal to increase profits and revenue. 

All these fascinating features of on-demand logistic mobile apps are making users as well as entrepreneurs feel attracted to mobile apps for logistics. However, the factor that drives the success of these apps is the robust technology stack that is responsible for their amazing performance. Keeping the same into consideration, let’s now have a look at most-widely used tech-stack behind these apps.

Technology Stack Behind Mobile Apps For Logistics

The tech stack you choose for the development of your app impacts a lot on its performance, robustness, and development cost. So, it is advisable to choose it very carefully with the help of logistic app developers you hire. Just share all your requirements – your app’s business model, features you want to integrate into it and get the exact estimate on how much you will have to invest.

Now that we are familiar with the technicalities of how to develop mobile apps for the transportation and logistics industry, let’s take a turn towards the money matters and find how much it will exactly cost to develop an on-demand logistic app.

How Does a Logistic Mobile App Generate Revenue?

Due to the increasing demand for digital solutions, customers significantly opt for online platforms. Therefore, logistics and supply chain businesses are no exception, curating as a multiple revenue source to grow and thrive with manifold profits. 

4 Primary Ways to Earn Revenue Through On-Demand Transportation apps: 

• Paid Apps – In these types of apps, revenue is generated from the fees users pay to use the app for lifetime.  

• Ads – Advertisement is a great choice for users using the free version of your logistic apps. Here, you can display several ads between different time intervals to revoke money. 

• Freemium Model –  In this monetisation model, you offer a basic set of functionalities for free and advanced features at some specific price. For example, offline access to app on a paid version. 

• Subscription Model – This is an ideal choice if your app has some USP (Unique Selling Point). You can charge an amount by putting a price on app download or offer subscription models based on monthly, quarterly and annually. 

Transportation Software Development - Advanced Technologies for Enhanced Efficiency

The amalgamation of emerging technologies in transportation software development services helps in keeping real-time track of products and ensuring delivery within stipulated time frame. This synergy between technology and delivery directly influences customer relationships, highlighting the crucial role of these technologies in optimizing transportation and enhancing the customer experience. 

AI in Transportation 

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are leveraged in untold niches of transportation. Herein, we establish the most relevant AI and ML practices to build solutions with predictive analytics, intelligent forecasting, and many other advanced features. 

IoT in Transportation 

The IoT (Internet of Things) is a crucial element to fleet tracking and delivery management software in the transportation market. Here, IoT-driven solutions provide advanced inventory management, vehicles  real-time tracking and fuel monitoring. 

Big Data in Transportation 

The voluminous goods flow around the planet creates massive data sets, including the origin of the item, its destination, etc. by leveraging Big Data, businesses receive reliable tools to make alterations in their transportation processes.  

Blockchain in Transportation 

Integrating blockchain development services in transportation software development services ensures transparency, security and efficiency while managing freight. Moreover, it also allows secure and tamper-proof record-keeping of transactions, supply chain tracking and smart contracts integration. 

Cloud Computing 

Cloud-based platforms and solutions facilitate businesses with visibility, cost-efficiency, route optimisation, cross-docking and many much more. Plus, they allow businesses to rely on third-party computation resources. 

How Much Does the Development of Mobile Apps For Logistics Costs?

The cost to build a mobile application for logistics depends on multiple factors. It is a huge industry and there exist various types of apps with different business models in it. And all of them have different features and goals.

The factors that will affect the cost of development include the number of features you add to your application, the technology stack you choose, the platforms you plan to target, the size of your app, and the location of logistics app development company hired by you.

Therefore, it is important for you to share your requirements first and then get to know the exact amount that you will have to invest in developing mobile apps for the logistics industry. To give you a ball-park number on the same, if you want to develop an app with all the above-mentioned features and with the given tech-stack – it will cost you around $30-$40k.

However, if you want to integrate some advanced features in your logistics app, the cost can incline towards the expensive side. If you are on a strict budget – you can consider building a cross-platform mobile application to market your business ASAP and leverage first-mover  advantage.