The present and future are forever changed – Now is the time to build your delivery app.
Physical shopping is now restricted, and we need to find ways to help local businesses. Brick-and-mortar locations like grocery stores and restaurants, have to move online to survive. Many restaurants are launching their own delivery services on the fly. Others pay fees to use existing delivery services like GrubHub, Instacart, and Postmates.
We also see the need for new forms of employment for furloughed workers. The gig-economy is the new driving force for employment. We are seeing food delivery drivers, warehouse workers, and logistics employees like truck drivers, in a new light.
We need delivery services now more than ever. Especially for essential goods.
Now is the time to reinvent your existing shop with a new delivery app. Or to innovate a completely new, novel delivery marketplace. Local food delivery companies have already kicked into overdrive. Delivery drivers are saying their hours are going up despite economic downturn. Delivery apps can help shuttered companies sell off overstock. They can provide jobs to workers who are now unemployed. The world needs your delivery app now.
How to succeed when you build your delivery app.
Differentiate and pick your niche.
In these trying times, needs of people and businesses have come to the forefront of society. New market opportunities arise that can help change the world for the better, as necessity is the mother of invention. Delivery apps are center stage in our current state, but to stand out, you may have to focus on a niche customer base.
To differentiate, you may want to serve only your local community. You can deliver unique goods or provide state-of-the-art features. Or you can build a loyal community through your world changing mission statement.
Untappd pivoted to help local breweries that are struggling. They provide deliveries of beer from closed brewers to stuck-at-home customers. Facedrive is disrupting ride sharing by letting users choose eco-friendly vehicles. This lets people contribute to saving the environment. every time they ride, providing an emotional response.
Your gig workers are your lifeblood.
Remember to plan for keeping your gig-workers happy. Gig-workers around the world are fighting for their rights. They want to be able to survive and live comfortably through their gig work. Remember that providing them resources they need will keep them content, wanting to work, and spreading the word. You may not want to jump in and cover the whole globe on your delivery app launch day. You may want to start small, and scale as sales and capital come in.
To build a delivery app you need robust software.
You have to have good tech, a well-built marketplace delivery app. As Forbes puts it, you should make tech your differentiator, not marketing. You need delivery software that can handle unlimited drivers and unlimited vendors. It has to be able to grow with your company. And it has to be customizable, so you can keep adding features as technology advances and buying behaviors change.
Build a delivery app that grows with your business.
If your delivery app is simple enough you may be able to use an out-of-the-box delivery app solution. But your unique delivery marketplace will need custom business logic. Your business logic is what makes everything work in the background. Often, this means you should start from scratch using a tested, enterprise delivery platform.
If you are providing delivery for many independent stores or restaurants, you will need robust multi-vendor capabilities. Each vendor needs to be able to easily handle orders and their products and menus. And you, as the administrator, need to be able to manage all the vendors.
You also need to efficiently manage your drivers. You can do traditional dispatching, or let drivers pick orders nearby. And the delivery drivers will also need their own app. This lets them claim deliveries, handle orders and payments, and mark orders as complete on the go.
