“When will you deliver? Your app does not show me the estimated time. There are no real-time views. Why your app does not work? ”- Shouts a customer over the phone to Mr.X (An Order Supplier).
This is a common scenario for the trucking industry. You receive a huge number of complaints from the customers despite giving them access to the truck app like Uber.
Yes, automating the logistics business has taken a toll. Yet a number of companies are feeling a different pain. Though they have built an Uber-like app for their delivery trucks but that lands in vain.
Why so?
What made the trucking company suffer even after investing so much in the truck app like Uber? It is a terrible situation when you are trying to automate your business at par to match the wavelength with other industry experts. Yet you lag behind for improper homework.
If investing in truck dispatch software is a profitable source of earning revenue, then we should definitely give it a try. But we need to step gently and know some of the common aspects so that the truck app does not fail.
And this is where you need to be a little strict and take the following steps. Since you missed them while developing an app the last time -
1. Researching on the top companies who can help you build a truck app like Uber.
2. Go to the popular business listicles and find out who’s making the news with their truck dispatch software.
3. You can do some online researches on the kind of client handled by the list of companies you have sorted.
Once you are done with the following steps, you need to get hold of each company and ask the following five questions to ensure that your truck app does not crush.
Yes, this is a different business literature that tells truck dispatch software development is a bit costly. So before you invest, compare and test a number of options. (Especially in the cases when you want to stand out from the common players like Uber Freight, Amazon, Cargomatic)
In this article, I will give you a quick guideline to choose the best agency and launch the next-best uber for delivery trucks.
5 Questions to Ask Before Building a Truck App Like Uber
What questions to ask a truck dispatch software development company to stop committing the same blunder for the next time. What USPs can make you automate logistics business without hearing any client complaints. Please read on for your help –
Q1. Ask your truck dispatch software development company - “Can I see some of your works?”
Technical expertise is something you missed previously as you were in a hurry to develop a truck app like Uber. But you must remember that there is no substitute for the actual experience and results that come up while building a similar truck app like Uber.
The truck dispatch software development company should be happy to show the apps they developed. They should share their portfolio to know that you are investing in something profitable.
If they disagree to share their works or portfolio, simply do not trust those companies. Check the reviews and ratings of the past apps they have built and then hire them to build your project.
Q2. Ask the logistics app developers whether they follow a lean development process or something different
It is important for you to know that -
1. Is the truck dispatch software development company will sustain their help even in the critical hours?
2. Even you should know how long the agency took in the current project development.
3. What steps the logistics app developers took to solve the risks and challenges and automated the business successfully with an app?
The following question will help you to understand whether the logistics app developers are good to hire. Since your trucking business needs someone who follows a lean development process to build a truck app like Uber.
Q3. Ask how skilled are the logistics app developers?
You need to seek assurance that the truck dispatch software company you hired have developers with proper skill sets. They must be able to build the desirable functions and features that will not make your app crash.
Developers working on uber for delivery trucks must mention the appropriate plugins and frameworks that would help. To know that you hired the best app developers, ask for the details like -
a. Contacts
b. Educational background
c. Professional bio
d. Portfolio of their previous works
e. Past client reference
f. Links to off-site repositories
g. Social profiles
h. Awards or accolades if any
Q4. How relevant is their knowledge of user experience design?
You might have hired the team to help you build a robust uber for delivery trucks. However, were you satisfied with the user experience design in the past apps? It is important to focus on the user experience of the apps since you see more than 5 million apps in Playstore and Appstore. It is the UX that helps to set each apart. So hire a team who can build you a truck app like Uber with high aesthetic values.
Q5. Are they ready to maintain your truck app like Uber post-development?
This is an important query. You must know how long would be the journey of your truck dispatch app development company. Will they provide you with the after delivery support? Since there are many bugs to fix which might come after the app runs full-fledged. Simply developing a truck app like Uber does not end the job. The thing rolls on with releasing of new updates to adding new features and fixing the bugs in every version.
A constant maintenance is in the need of the hour for your trucking app. So ask the logistics app developers to provide support and maintenance programs they have. You can avail them for free or pay a charge as per their plans.
What’s Your Take?
If you are in the need to create a truck app like Uber it is important to have a proper vision. You need to research what made Uber Freight, Amazon Trucks or Cargomatic set an example in the automated trucking industry. As when it comes to truck dispatch software development you need to have keen eyes. Consider the following factors -
A. Skillsets of the logistics app developers
B. Share your budget or cost of the truck app development
C. Accountability and work history to build successful truck app like Uber
You should aim for making a unique truck app and not an Uber Freight clone. It won’t give you much to stay in the competition. You obviously need that secret sauce to be more successful.
Swarnendu De is the Co-founder of Innofied Solution, an Award Winning Apps, and Game Development company. Founded in 2012, Innofied is one of the fastest growing Software Development companies headquartered at Kolkata, with an extended R&D center in Pune and a client proximity center in Sacramento, CA. Innofied also owns two award-winning products AllRide Apps and MCommerce Apps that helps transport and retail industry with competence. Here, Swarnendu manages the Technical and Business Development Operations at Innofied.With over 10 years of industry experience, Swarnendu has also authored Backbone.js Patterns and Best Practices, published by Packt Publishing, UK.