Key Takeaways to Create a Trucking App like Uber Freight

Let's take a full-stack view of the Global logistics sector!

Very soon we are going to witness the times when self-driving vehicles will automatically select their routes. Artificial Intelligence is going to dramatically improve and make the logistics intelligent. This involves integrating intelligent technology through the logistics to stimulate human thinking, inference ability to solve logistics problems and makes the logistics process intelligent, hierarchical, integrated, and flexible and socialized.

30th issue of CSCMP Logistics Report 2019 questions about the biggest takeaway every year. This time around they have tried to analyze the reason behind fluctuating costs. Undoubtedly costs have increased at a rate of 11.4% to reach $1.64 trillion or 8% of gross domestic product (GDP). There has been a subsequent rise in supply chain costs due to the growth of e-commerce, increase in rent of warehouses, increase in truck fleet utilization, strict US labor market (difficulty in attracting and retaining labor), and uncertainty in tariffs which causes companies to build up inventory buffers.

Trends in Logistics 2019 and Beyond

• Logistics costs are driven by the strength of the overall economy.
• The gap between Truck-Driver shortages will expand.
• Blockchain technology and big data will revolutionize logistics.
• Payments and cross-border transactions will be easier.
• The logistics industry will be left with just a few major players

What issues does a trucking app resolve?

The buzz that once used to unite techies, college friends and industry heirs have started fading recently. It's been nearly half a decade since the tech solutions in logistics and startups used to connect logistics-providers with customers for inter-city trucking services have returned retired hurt after their big dreams to revolutionize truck aggregation for intra as well as inter-city transport have pulled the plug on their operations.

The challenges are numerous and it majorly boils down to the fragmentation of the Indian as well as global logistics sector, leaving no clue for the technology alone to resolve the brick and mortar business.

Aspiring entrepreneurs have found technology aggregation attractive to add to their business models and catch investors. They even deal with the pain-point of non-requirement of the truck on-demand.

The shipping process involves the following steps:

• Step 1: Request quotes
• Step 2: Selecting the preferred quote
• Step 3: Preparation of necessary documents for the shipping process
• Step 4: Confirmation of the shipment details
• Step 5: Booking the freight
• Step 6: Making the payment
• Step 7: Customs inspection of the shipment at the port of entry
• Step 8: Receive and pay the bill for customs duties and taxes
• Step 9: Receive the shipment

All this requires a lot of communication, time, money and effort at the end of senders and receivers. App Development Firms India create mobile apps to resolve on-demand mobile app solutions for trucking that help businesses in proper engagement with customers, make use of in-app support tools, to keep the businesses within customer's reach, encourage customers to provide feedback, no unnecessary promotion, allows them to stay updated with important information, keeps the app updated and allow customers to breathe.

Must-have Modules and Features in an Ideal App for Logistics

Some of the very basic features for dedicated transportation mobile solution include:

Common Features:

• Registration and login
• List of vehicles
• Vehicle booking
• Alerts and reminders
• Vehicle tracking
• Payment gateway integration
• Ratings and reviews
• Driver's daily log
• Vehicle Mileage and Fuel Expense Tracker
• Driving Route optimization
• Driver and vehicle tracker
• Package tracker
• Automated Manifest Form delivery
• Automated Bill of Lading (including contact information for the recipient, shipper, third party billing, and carrier; also itemized lists for both the customer's order and the carrier's tracking information are there.)
• 24*7 Chat Support
• NFC and QR code reader
• Multi-lingual

Carrier App Features:

• Registration and login
• Shipment details
• Sorting and filters
• Request management
• Route tracking and optimization
• Proof of Delivery

Admin Panel Features:

• Dashboard
• Billing management
• Driver monitoring
• Vehicle monitoring

Summary of Basic Features in Trucking App

Some Add-On Features

Points To Be Careful About

Shipments are always vulnerable to theft whether in a warehouse, on a truck, or at a port, etc. Most of the companies are not aware of potential vulnerabilities to their cargo until the thieves strike.

Mobile apps for Trucking act as ‘undercover operatives’ helping reduce the instances of unexpected theft decreased warehouse productivity and a mysterious increase in work-related accidents. Additionally, GPS systems associated with mobile apps help alarm the control-centers if a truck passes beyond a route. Besides this maintaining a good relationship with business partners is the key rather than the implementation of the cookie-cutter approach.

Business Model for Uber for Trucking App

Following points define the viability of Uber for trucking, an on-demand logistics services marketplace which acts as a platform for truck owners and customers who require trucking services and can capitalize on this growing market.

• They earn from the commission charged to truck owners.
• Fees can be charged from business owners (if they need freight service regularly)
• An additional fee can be charged for large (extraneous) freights.
• External space on trucks can be used to promote the brand.
• Partnering with bigger brands like petrol pumps and lounges on the way of major national highways and busy routes to provide additional discounts, thus increasing revenue and decrease the cost of customer acquisition.

How much does an app like Uber Freight cost?

According to an average estimate, the cost to build marketplace apps like Uber Freight comes out to be around $50,000 and require 4 months to develop.

Examples of Prevalent Trucking Applications

• BooksyBiz– Appointment Booking
• Hawk-Eye Trucking Log Book – Trucking Application
• OmniFocus– Task-Management App
• EazyStock – Inventory Optimization Software
• Veeqo – Warehouse Management System
• Evernote – Online File & Document Storage
• Nimble– Customer Relationship Management
• Desk– Issue Management
• Daily Route Tracker– Driver Time Management
• Scandit – Advanced Barcode Scanning
• CoPilot Truck – Map & Direction Routing
• ServiceMax – Field Service Management
• GasBuddy – Cheap Gas Finder

Let's Find Answers

The global logistics market is adept with deep-pocketed players in trucking like Uber Jump and Uber for freight. The only way out to differentiate them from others is to provide distinguished features; some more that can help elevate the level of the app can be:

• Live Chat: A module for live chat to get in touch with customers and marketplace in real-time.
• Machine Learning Algorithms: Implementing machine learning algorithms to proactively match the demand vs. supply gap – this helps in matching the right inventory with service seekers at the right time. This also includes shared freight/truckload for lightweight transportation requirements.
• Predictive Analysis: Enforcing predictive analysis helps understand the driving behavior in the process which eventually helps in determining the estimated time of arrival. It also helps project future demand based on previous demand trends.

Besides, the cold chain logistics monitoring system, integrating the powerful computer room monitoring software with abundant monitoring and acquisition devices. It is also suitable for the real-time monitoring of the cold chain transportation in the food industry.

Major players in the resource team for developing Uber freight like app (cross-platform) will include:

• 1 Project Manager
• 1 Business Analyst
• 1 Quality Analyst
• 1 Backend developer
• 1-2 iOS App Developers
• 1-2 Android App Developers
• 1 UX Designer

Such an app can be successful by tracking management from logistics source, realizing faster information flow from logistics source, and harnessing all the probable features of the mobile communication technology for distribution of goods, network and automation information.

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