How Much Does Logistics App Development Cost?

In-Depth Detail About Transportation App Development Cost {2022}

We already know that innovations occur at the intersection of technology and business process. You land on this piece of content to know how much you need to spend when you mobilize the logistics and transportation business. Right?

Hold your breath for a while. We will certainly jump to the section, but before that, we want you to know what’s going on around the mobile logistics and transportation business.

Let’s dive!

You are already convinced with mobilization, but still, we want you to showcase the bright future with a few stats:

• The global logistics market is expected to grow to $287.1 million by 2024.
• The logistics industry has a 35% market share in the world.
• Airbnb is expanding its reach to warehousing with the development of the Flex app and $43 is raised in funding for the same.
• Uber has spent $200 million on the new freight trucking venture.

What’s more about Transportation App Development?

The plethora of benefits such as online booking, fleet and warehouse management, vehicle tracking, real-time confirmation, no paperwork, and virtual presence concludes that there is no reason the budding entrepreneurs will give a second thought to Flutter app development. It’s quite promising.

Different types of logistics and transportation apps can be created under the hood:

Fleet management system

To keep fleet operations up and running manually, is taxing. Organizing and managing all the vehicles, and storing the related data (Vehicle details, driver detail, vehicle insurance, malfunctioning, or continuous vehicle service) eats up a lot of time. That’s where the mobile app helps in managing all the data centrally, which can be accessed in a couple of seconds. It helps in cost reduction, improved performance, and easy to comply with government regulations.

Warehouse management software

The product stored in the warehouse needs to optimize so that the maximum space of the warehouse can be occupied while keeping the products in the right environment conditions (temperature, pressure, and other parameters). Mobile apps simplify warehouse operations by organizing the huge data stored in silos and connecting the dots to make it highly accessible ad usable.

Tracking application Solution

With GPS technology, the vehicles, and the route that drivers are taking can be tracked in real-time, which helps businesses in tracking the goods delivery instantly to ensure timely and safe delivery.

On-demand logistics

When multiple shipment delivery is required based on the user’s demand, then this application comes into play. The vehicles have the capacity to load more freight when moving in the same direction, they can be instantly connected with the intended user, and the business efficiency and productivity can be increased to a great extent.

Must-have features for logistics and transportation app development:

There are three interfaces- user, dispatcher, and admin that need to design and develop for the logistics app. These interfaces have an essential set of features that are described below:

For Users:

• The users can register by creating an account or login in through social credentials.
• The vehicles’ type and size can be selected based on logistics needs.
• The vehicles can be instantly booked or pre-booked by defining the date, time, and location.
• The multitude of payment methods allows users to pay effortlessly.
• The shipment tracking in real-time is allowed through vehicle tracking.
• Push notifications are sent to update the users about the shipment status.
• An in-built fare calculator allows the users to calculate logistics costs even before making the booking.
• Browse the previous booking and transactions on a single screen.
• The users can provide feedback for logistics services received.

For Dispatcher:

• Sign in with a registered email Id, or social media channels.
• The profile can be managed by updating the information constantly.
• The shipment request can be accepted or rejected based on their availability.
• The availability status can be toggled just like DND services.
• The consignment details can be seen after accepting the booking request.
• The route optimization helps them easily locate the consignment pick-up and delivery location.
• The previous transactions and earnings can be tracked at the flick of the switch.

For Admin:

• A single dashboard from the web app allows the admin to see the users, consignments, and drivers’ details.
• The vehicles and their details can be managed.
• The invoices, transactions, and earnings can be managed.
• The drivers can be tracked to know the assigned activities status, pending request status, and on-road time.
• The user queries can be recorded, solved, and managed by the admin.

Finally, how much does it cost to build the logistics and transportation app development?

There is no ballpark cost for logistic app development. It’s variable that depends on several factors such as…

Choice of the platform

Mainly, the apps are developed for two major platforms- iOS and Android. The development cost for Android apps is a little higher than its counterpart due to the fragmentation issue. When you go cross-platform way, the cost of developing apps for two different platforms is equivalent to building the native app for one platform. It’s a cost-effective option as opposed to native development.

Number of features

When the set of basic features is kept in the app, it costs around $10k- $15k. As the number of functionalities and UI design enhanced, the Transportation App development complexity increases, which uplifts the costs accordingly.

Technology Stack for Logistics And Transportation App

Leveraging advanced technologies, tools, and libraries for Transportationapp development is good, but it equally adds weight to the cost because hiring pros that are well-versed in these technologies prove to be expensive.  

The white-label solution is built using the following technology stack to help the businesses get an on-demand solution inexpensively.

• For web app development– React and Angular
• For mobile app development- React Native, Flutter, PHP, and Node.JS
• Web services- Amazon, Azure, S3, and RDS
• Database- MongoDB, MySQL, Hbase, Jersey and Redis
• Payment technology- Stripe, authorize.net, Braintree, PayPal, citrus, Google wallet, and Paystack
• In-app chat- Twilio and Nexmo
• Email- Mandril, SendGrid, and outlook
• Location tracking- Google map, Apple map, and Waze
• Push notification– Twilio, Firebase, and Push.io
• Analytics- IBM, Cisco, Hadoop, Spark, and Apache Flink

Development partner’s location

The development cost highly varies from nation to nation. The cost of app development in developing nations is one-tenth of what’s charged by development companies in the USA, Canada, or Europe. South-east Asia is a hub of IT companies where talent is available at cheap rates, which, in turn, helps the businesses to get an app developed at a lesser price.

The monetization model- how to make the most out of the investment?

The different app module helps the entrepreneurs to capitalize on the app distinctly. For instance, the on-demand logistics app allows the owners to make dollars directly by associating with various drivers that are looking for mobile logistics services. The commission from the earnings in the exchange of allowing them to use the platform helps both parties.

With the warehouse management app, you can earn indirectly by precisely stocking and managing the goods that enable quick deliveries.

The tracking app helps you make bundles by allowing transportation app development or logistics service providers to use your platform for tracking the vehicles in real-time. A consistent stream of ROI can be made through this app.

Similar is the case with fleet management, which is a dire need of manufacturers or industries where the supply of the goods through multiple vehicles needs to manage. Tying-up with them helps you make bundles regularly as you can allow them to use the platform as subscription services or in a lump-sum amount.

Conclusion

With the advent of mobile app development in the logistics industry, the leading players realizing that operations are optimized, processes are streamlined, and everything has become smooth-sailing. The future predictions and statistics showcase that decisions for developing logistics apps never let you repent. What’s next? Lean on a partner that has rich experience in on-demand logistics app development. They will help you build better apps tailored to your business-specific needs. NectarBits has a wealth of expertise, talent, and experience to craft optimized solutions for logistics businesses. If you would like to take advantage of our services, let us know in the comments below.