A step-by-step guide to build an on-demand courier delivery application

10 min readFeb 17, 2022

A step-by-step guide to build an on-demand courier delivery application

The advent of on-demand applications has redefined customer convenience. The revolution that started from Uber has now spread to different industry verticals.

Courier delivery is one of such industries that has also transformed due to the repercussions of on-demand services.

In times where online shopping and ecommerce are booming, it’s the need of the hour to meet the challenges of instant deliveries with robust courier delivery services. And to do that you would require an advanced courier & parcel delivery application that consists of all the cutting-edge features.

It goes without saying that to emerge as a successful courier delivery service enterprise you must have a robust on-demand courier delivery solution at your disposal. But how to develop one?

In this article we will provide you with a systematic guide on how to develop your own on-demand courier delivery application.

But before that, let’s see the different business models of a courier delivery business.

Types of courier delivery apps based on different business models

There are many different business models to choose from when it comes to building a courier delivery app. Few of these business models are mentioned below:

Postal & courier service application

The companies who have realized the importance of the mobile application and has subsequently leveraged it for their advantage follow this business model. Some prominent names like FedEx and DPD uses mobile applications in their parcel and courier services.

The former also has a separate mobile application for the same-day delivery service. Similarly, the latter has a full-fledged customer admin panel. This panel allows them to create shipments along with printing out labels for the packages.

Package tracking aggregators

In this type of business model, the data from all the carriers is accumulated at one point. In this business model, the mobile app development company requires only a single application for tracking all the packages regardless of the carrier. Packages can be added seamlessly by using its ID. Moreover, the push notifications on the app keep the customer updated regarding the delivery status.

Branded delivery and integrated solutions

In this type of business model, the companies use mobile applications that have the order tracking feature. Some online retailers will also provide a total scope of successful delivery. The biggest advantage of using this application is that the customer gets to know whether the package is ready to be dispatched, has been shipped, or is delivered.

Many retailers use these branded package delivery apps to gain an edge over their rivals by providing transparency and convenience to their end-customers.

Uber-like marketplace for parcel delivery

Apart from revolutionizing the taxi industry, Uber has also set a successful business model that many industries can emulate and gain advantage. Uber for courier delivery service is one such emulation of this business model in the courier delivery sphere.

Uber-like courier delivery business could be a huge success as the previous Uber for X businesses has the reputation of disrupting the conventional or traditional business models across industries.

We understood the different business models now let’s focus on how to build a courier delivery application.

How to build an on-demand courier delivery app

No matter which approach or business model you choose, it’s never going to be easy to build your own on-demand parcel delivery app. For that you have to take several decisions in a proper sequence which is mentioned below.

Draft your idea

Before commencing app development the first step is to draft a flowchart for a better understanding and to conceptualize the flow of the process. Develop questions such as Why a courier app? How to develop? What is the future scope? Every question that occurs must have an answer or solution. Analyze each and every concept to avoid any hurdles in the upcoming app development.

Choose a suitable business model

The first step is to choose the most suitable business model. We have already mentioned the major business models that are used in the on-demand courier delivery business. You must choose whether you’ll be going for a branded retailer shipping app, postal service app, or on-demand parcel delivery app.

To make the correct choice, you should consider several factors like your business specifics, audience, long-term goals, resources available, and many more.

Specify your business goals and requirements

There’s more to starting an on-demand courier service than just developing a mobile app. You need to understand the specifics, opportunities and requirements of your business model.

You also need to consider various factors such as geography of your delivery service. You need to find answers to questions like:

Will it be only operational in one city, a whole country, or worldwide?
What will be the delivery type that you’ll offer?
What will be the average parcel size, weight, and packaging type that you’ll prefer?

Answers to all these questions will have a direct impact on the scope and functionality.

Identify the correct scope of features

After completing all the theoretical aspects, you can start working on the practical implementation of your concept. You can start by prioritizing your requirements and documents. Here you can create a functional specification to set all your requirements.

The scope and functionality of your product can vary subject to your specifications and business models. However, there are few basic and must have features in a courier & parcel delivery applications. Let’s have a look at them.

Must have features for your courier delivery application

Admin chat

This feature allows the admin to chat with user as well as the delivery guy to improve quality of service and customer satisfaction. This feature helps in maintaining continuous communication with both delivery boys and customers.

Premium delivery

With the help of this feature, the user can demand for a faster delivery. For this service, the user has to pay some extra price than that of a normal delivery.

Multiple Packaging Option

Customers must be able to select from diverse types of packaging in the market. This feature will secure the safety of users’ packages while shipping. The charges of every packaging type according to its size should be mentioned.

Real-time tracking

Real-time tracking is one of the most important features of the parcel and courier delivery service. This feature is common for admin panel, driver app, and the customer app. In customer app, the user can track the location and status of their package in real-time.

This tracking feature plays a major role in enhancing customer satisfaction as it gives user an assurance that their package is being delivered.

Similarly, this feature also helps the admin to match the nearest driver available for delivering the package. Moreover, it supports multiple routes which allow the user to add multiple addresses in the list.

This feature also helps the shippers as they can choose the delivery address and the pickup point with pin-point accuracy.

Push notifications

Push notifications help the users to receive live updates of their delivery status straight from the app. These push notifications provide users with vital information such as the current stage of delivery, estimated time of delivery, and a change in the route of time of delivery if any.

Not only this, the users also receive contact information of the driver and the shipper through these notifications.

Push notifications are also an important means of engagement among the involved parties. Push notifications are used to inform customers about various offers and promos. This plays an important role in customer retention.

Payment gateway

Payment gateway is another key feature that you must include in your on-demand courier delivery app. Payment gateways like top-up wallet and credit/debit cards, bank transfer should be integrated with the system.

This payment gateway provides the user with multiple payment options such as COD, card, and wallet.

Not only this, with this feature, the users also receive a digital receipt of bill that has all the important information like the time & date of delivery, order ID, item description, shipment charges, etc.

Rating and review

This feature allows the customer to rate the service and write a review on the basis of their experience. Ratings and reviews is an important feature as it helps you to introspect your services.

Rewards and offers

Rewards and offers are a smart way to attract your customers along with advertising your services. Offering personalized rewards makes your customer feel special and hence increases the customer loyalty.

Help and Support

This is one of the most crucial features of the courier delivery app. Whenever a user needs any kind of help or is unable to connect with a manager, whether there is a delay in their courier service, etc for all this they can immediately contact the help desk.

App development

Now, that you have decided on business model and main features, it’s the time to start developing your own courier delivery app.

For development of your on-demand courier delivery app would include the UI/UX design, testing, and engineering. The only thing that would differ is the technological stack and tools that you would choose for your application.

There are two ways to approach app development:

Hire your own in-house team for mobile app development.
Find a suitable, reputed, and experienced technology provider that will take care of your entire mobile application development.

Going for the second option is beneficial and convenient if you don’t have the required experience or technical background of handling software developers, designers, etc.

The second option is also useful if you’re finding it difficult to hire the local developers. You can simply rely on the professionals who have adept skills and experience in all aspects like development, design, and testing.

Launch the MVP, learn, and improve

One common mistake that many people commit is going for the full-fledged application in the first go. The more sensible decision would be to prioritize the features and scope of the project to develop the minimum viable product (MVP).

Once the MVP is live on the Google Play or Apple Store, you can get valuable insights in the form of user’s feedback. Not only this, you can also receive insightful data from the reports and analytics that can guide you to make insight-driven business decisions.

Apart from few significant post-launch activities of the app, you should be prepared for the continuous on-going improvements and updates.

Critical factors to consider for courier delivery app development

To succeed as a courier delivery company, developing a courier delivery app is not enough. You also have to consider several other factors to make your business successful.

Market your app

Launching an app won’t be enough. You have to aggressively promote it using various media like social media platforms, print media, television, connection, etc. Your aim should be to generate curiosity among users before it launches.

Establish relationships with your target audience

It’s important that you quickly identify your target audience and make efforts to establish a strong customer relationship with them. In return you get valuable feedback that can help you to boost your business.

Attract customers with offers

You can attract new customers by providing them with lucrative promos and offers. You need to strategize and think about what kind of offers would attract your target audience. For this you can try a variety of offers or a combination of them to see which one works.

Act on feedback

Feedback is of key importance as it helps you to view all your backlogs as far as client service is concerned. To keep improving, you must take immediate action on all your user’s feedback.

Customized messages

Send customized messages to your customers regarding all the offers and promos. These messages help in effective customer engagement. However, make sure that you send limited messages so that it doesn’t bother your users.

Offline features during poor connectivity

This is another crucial factor to consider as internet connectivity is a huge issue while in motion. However, in this case, a good internet connection or wi-fi can be the most useful to stay updated while delivering packages.

Benefits of courier delivery app development

Smooth online booking

With the help of this function users can get an advantage to book their parcel and can also enter their destination and what kind of parcel it is. They can also get information about charges for online courier services from their location to the desired destination.

Warehouse handling

This is one of the most important components. While using this app you can quickly know the location of your package and track the warehouse location with just a few clicks.

Minimizing Paperwork

It is complicated to keep track of all the paperwork of the parcels. However with on-demand courier apps significantly minimize the use of paperwork and store all the details of customers and parcels until they are delivered.

Cost of an on-demand courier delivery application

To determine the cost of an on-demand courier delivery application, it’s important to understand that it depends on a variety of factors. Below are a few of the deciding factors that affect the cost estimation of a courier delivery app development.

The mobile app development company in India which you are going to hire for app designing and development.
Which mobile platform are you going for? Is it iOS, Android, or both? You can choose any of the platforms or both of them as per your requirement.
Post-launch client services which you’ll require from your mobile app development company.
Which set of features are you looking to incorporate in your courier delivery application?
Do you want to build an MVP or a fully-fledged application?

Considering all the above factors, we have found out that the estimated cost for a courier delivery application will be around $16K to $24K USD.

Conclusion

In today’s era of technological advancements, courier delivery applications are the soul of any courier & parcel delivery business. However, merely developing a courier & parcel delivery application is not enough. There are many things that you need to consider which have already been discussed in the blog.

I hope this blog provides you with a crystal-clear guide on courier and parcel delivery app development. For more such insightful content keep reading this space.