How to Build an On-Demand Delivery App: Mobile & Web Applications

Nowadays, our most valuable resource is time. And to save this precious resource as much as possible, many people use on-demand delivery services.

And it’s not only demanded but also quite beneficial.

There are 3 business models you can use to make an on-demand app.

# 1: B2B (Business-to-Business) 💼

As the name of this business model suggests, B2B is a model that implies economic relations between businesses.

Websites and apps like this can be either vertical (serve one industry sector) or horizontal (serve several industry sectors).

The most obvious case, in which an on-demand B2B service might be needed, is for restocking goods.

In this case, merchants don’t need to wait for their scheduled supply of items that suddenly go out of stock. Instead, they can contact their chosen delivery service and get this item as soon as possible.

Take a look at such a service with a corresponding name — B2B Delivery.

Their range of services includes urgent service (1-4 hours), pharmaceuticals, court filings, next-day delivery, warehousing & distribution, inter-office mailing, and many other options.

# 2: B2C (Business-to-Customer) 🤝

This business model implies trade between single customers and providers.

It’s one of the most popular forms of business on the market which is used by many of the world market leaders like McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc.

For instance, Starbucks offers their app users to order food and beverages via their online delivery system. You can either pay in advance so that there’s no need to wait in line or order something right to your doorstep.

# 3: C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) 😀

Accordingly, C2C (or P2P — peer-to-peer) on-demand delivery services allow clients to exchange goods and services. This model is relatively new so it’s not that widely spread.

Sure thing, consumers don’t play the role of couriers — C2C on-demand delivery apps provide them.

Take a look at the British C2C delivery app Peyk.

There are several ways to provide “free” delivery to a customer:

• Cover delivery costs yourself — you pay.
• Increase prices for delivery orders to cover it — customers pay.
• Increase prices slightly to cover a part of delivery costs — 50/50.
• Set a minimum price or number of items to get free delivery — customers pay, but you get your profit as well.

But make sure to take all costs into account so that you won’t get a negative profit.

# 2: Flat rate

A flat rate is a system where the price for delivery doesn’t depend on anything — it’s always the same. Be it a toaster or three washing machines, the price for delivery remains 10$, for example.

However, we don’t see it as the best way to cover your costs since they most likely won’t be the same — you never know what you’ll be asked to deliver.

Besides, 61% of online shoppers claimed free delivery to be their top reason to prefer one store over another. Additionally, 82% of consumers in the U.S. are willing to purchase more items to reach the “minimum spending” rate to get free delivery.

It shows us that users clearly prefer free delivery, even if in this case they have to either pay a bit more for the product itself or add a couple of items more to have them delivered for free.

Delivery & Workflow Speed ⚡

The second essential aspect of an on-demand delivery app we’d like to point out in terms of doing business is delivery speed.

Normally, delivery services tell their clients the exact amount of minutes their order will arrive. This way, great customer experience is provided if the claimed terms are fulfilled.

But later on, during the order completion, you might need:

• Name.
• Phone number.
• Pick-up address.
• Payment option.

You can also offer users to create an account for some benefits like bonus points that they can exchange for something. Alternatively, you can offer users a client card for account registration that will give them a 5$ discount on their first order.

Additionally, customers could save their addresses if they’re planning on using your services multiple times so they don’t have to type them out again.

# 2: Home Screen 💻

For delivery services, the Home Screen is kind of a gallery where all services are presented.

What’s important to point out is that on some platforms, this screen comes up only after signing in, but for delivery services, Home Screen should be the first page that pops up after clicking on the link.

And from here, users should be able to choose whether they want to create an account or proceed without it.

This screen should contain information about the company and its services.

Users should be able to access:

• Services.
• Contact information.
• Search bar.
• Categories (if you deliver something specific). It can be something like food, medicine, flowers, etc.
• Information about the company (About Us, Blog, Social Media) & others.

It’s also the perfect place to promote your partners if your monetization model includes advertisement.

# 3: Filtering & Sorting 🔍

You might or might not need this feature, depending on what your business model is. Let us explain.

So if you have partners that you work with, you can start by having customers select what exactly they want you to deliver.

Here you might need to filter by category at first (supermarkets, restaurants, pharmacies, office supplies, and so on).

Once the category is chosen, filters will fully depend on what exactly a customer wants to order. A generalized list could look like this:

• Pricing policy.
• “Near me”. To be able to offer customers this feature, you’ll need their geolocation.
• Ratings.

# 4: Order Screen 🛒

In an on-demand delivery app for customers, this screen is normally used in two main ways.

The first one is as a checkout. Basically, this is where customers should be able to see their final order & order details.

That can include:

• The store where the order was made from.
• The items ordered and their quantity.
• Overall price & price for each item + delivery price.
• Delivery time.
• The address bar.
• The chat with the courier & a bar to leave comments.

It’s a great idea to add a real-time order tracker so users can monitor their orders while they “travel” hrough the city.

From here, you should allow users to access the payment gateway. And don’t forget to offer them to pay in cash upon receiving their orders.

Or, if you don’t have particular partners and deliver anything users want you to, this is a screen for them to place an order.

You’ll need to know the following personal & order details:

• Name of the store.
• Pick-up address.
• Date & time (or anytime soon) of the delivery.
• Name.
• Phone number (primary & “backup” number in case users don’t pick up the phone).
• Payment option.

After everything is placed and all information is filled out, users should be able to check the delivery status here.

# 5: Calendar 📅

You might need an in-built calendar for customers to set the date and time of delivery in case they don't need it anytime soon but in a couple of hours or days.

Besides, calendars are a great way for users to remind themselves not to forget about the time their orders should arrive. You can also allow users to synchronize their calendars with your in-built one so they could get reminders on their phones.

# 6: Chat & Feedback 💬

To be able to communicate with couriers, clients will need a chat.

# 1: Sign Up & Profiles 🔑

Just like for customers, the sign up for couriers shouldn’t be time-consuming at first.

You should let them check everything they need on the platform before signing up so you don’t repel them by “hiding” certain information.

However, to actually start working with you, they’ll need to provide quite a sufficient amount of personal information.

Normally, personal details that are requiered to become a part of the delivery team include:

• Full name.
• Phone number & email.
• Home address.
• ID card.
• Driver's license (in case they’ll have to use a car).
• Privacy Policy Agreement signing.
• Medical handbook & others.

Besides, you might use some sort of video identity verification to make sure that your potential couriers use their documents and not someone else’s.

# 2: Order Screen 📱

This is where couriers will see new orders and track current ones.

Moreover, it’s crucial to save the details of their previous orders — you never know when you might need confirmation of payment or delivery time.

This is also a place for them to access chat & comments from users regarding their deliveries.

Additionally, next to each order they should have feedback and ratings that customers leave after the delivery is completed.

Before the order completion, users should see any comments from customers regarding pick-up address details & things like that.

# 3: Maps & Navigators 🗺️

To save couriers’ time, you can implement a map and navigator into your on-demand delivery app. Some of them might not be precise enough or built for certain means of transport specifically.

By developing your own one or choosing a great one to integrate, you make sure that it’ll show the fastest and safest routes — it’s in your best interest that deliveries run as smoothly and quickly as possible.

In addition, this feature can be a kind of a courier management tool for you.

If a certain area in the city has enough couriers at the moment, you can guide your workers through the map by blocking the area. After that, you can direct them to another area and let them start taking orders there.

# 4: Calendar 📆

Normally, such a delivery service doesn’t have a fixed working schedule — it’s rather flexible. But still, some sort of control is definitely needed.

You can organize the workflow in such a way that couriers can book their working time in advance via the calendar.

There are only a few companies on the delivery market that use such a revolutionary delivery option as drones

Functions often consist of:

• Adding/removing partners from the list.
• Managing items (like adding new products or displaying discounts).
• Updating partner details (name, working hours, pictures, delivery price, and so on).

# 2: Order Screen 📦

To create an on-demand delivery app, you’ll need this feature to manage the ordering flow.

That is, to:

• See the list of current orders.
• Have access to new ones.
• View finished orders.
• View order details (comments, price, payment option, feedback, etc.).
• Chat with customers in case you need it.

From here, you can also track which courier was assigned to which order with pins on the map. It can help you control the number of couriers working in a certain area at a certain time.

# 3: Courier Management 🚐

In addition to your partners’ information and the ordering flow management, you’ll need to guide your couriers and track their performance.

So, the first part of the app development might cost you somewhere around $23,800-$28,500

As for the couriers app, the costs might line up to approximately $13,600-$17,700.