Why Does a Logistic Company Need to Develop a Mobile App?
Why logistic companies need a mobile app
Many people have heard of such application as UBER. Today, in the age of advanced technology and the ubiquitous telecommunications and Internet it's impossible to hide anything. Especially such successful and fast-developing projects. Even many startups begin becoming popular rapidly.
Moreover, many startups and small companies want to create a transportation mobile application. What can an ordinary person think when they hear that the owner want custom mobile apps for transportation? Most likely, something like Uber, right? Not really, definitely!
In fact, the transportation market is much bigger and broader than just people transportation and taxi services. Probably, Moreover, the other market industries are growing much faster and trying to keep up with the time.
Take for example logistics. This kind of transport services is probably making a considerable share of the market of mobile applications, constantly investing a huge amount of funds into development of services and mobile applications. More precisely, in the development of a mobile app for vehicle location tracking.
Read also: How to Find Best Mobile App Development Company?
The attraction of these instruments (e.g., a mobile app for cargo tracking or logistics app development) helps logistics corporations increase productivity, reduce costs and grow client’s satisfaction level. This means a greater chance of acquiring new clients and keeping the “old”. In a highly rival market atmosphere.
Want to develop a logistic app but do not really know it may help you, do not know how all of this magic works? Let's find out, at least some of the basic functions of such applications:
1. Location tracking;
2. Information about traffic;
3. Vehicle fleet management;
4. Asset tracking (or property management);
Location tracking
Today two types of the truck location tracking are dominating: satellite and cellular. One leans on cellular network coverage and meant to be used in urban areas where connect is higher. The device is sending its coordinates (vehicle position) to the server through the mobile network, for tracking the location in real time. When the network is not available, the data is stored in memory and will be handed over in the presence of a network.
For the satellite tracking, you can kit up a vehicle with a GPS tracker or utilize the driver’s smartphone, tablet, or another device. GPS trackers are some kind of receivers that took location information from a satellite and transfer it to a server through mobile network, satellite modem (which sets up a communication channel, if the truck is kitted up with frequency converters and satellite antennas) or radio.
More specifically, the GPS may transmit not only information about the position of your vehicle but a little more. For example, this may be information about the network coverage, the amount of fuel, engine temperature, pressure and more.
Traffic Information
Built-in GPS does a lot more than simple tracking. It can also dissect the data about driver's on-road behavior, which can possibly increase his safety. Traffic data may be available through Google Maps or other services.
Drivers can use real-time data about the traffic and historical information that reveals common traffic for a distinct area based on daily records. Google Traffic shows either road construction and maintenance, accidents, and road inaccessibility .
How does it work? Working capacity of this service depends on two main sources. The first are different kinds of traffic sensors, the second - drivers themselves. If the driver uses Google Maps with GPS enabled, device is sending the data to the Google server anonymously. And there comes that magic that you can see on the screen of your smartphone.
Or you can make your own uber for trucking industry and share GPS data from users to create a live traffic ribbon, or embed this option in your application.
Fleet management
In addition to tracking location and receiving traffic information, the service engaged in cargo transportation can improve the performance of its fleet through the use of mobile fleet management tools. This is what exactly the KeepTruckin application does. This fleet platform allows drivers to keep their time using theirs devices. Fleet managers may analyze logs represented by drivers online, and "spy" the current location of the driver on map.
Electronic journal assists KeepTruckin automatically reveal Hours of Service offenses and warn drivers if they are risking to have one. The application likewise follows car inspection enabling drivers to opt problems with their staff from a catalog, denote it as fixed and get a mechanic sign off. KeepTruckin makes the fleet management process automated, efficiently modifying the manner shipping companies operate their fleets.
Asset tracking (property management)
Asset tracking and property management are significant for transportation companies because they need to control their stock in some way. By stock, we understand freight, load carrying units, and of course the cargo. If you can trace a car, you may also trace a trailer separately of the cab. The conjunction of car position with inventory management is used to coordinate which item is presently on which van. In this case, you can identify the exact location of particular packages.
And again - there are two ways for inventory management realization. One - is to use distinct QR-code to match each unique asset which worker or user may scan with their smartphone or another device.
The other option - is to use RFID or NFC. We have already covered the topic of undeniable benefits of NFC technology for your business.
RFID tags carry an antenna and memory that allows to store information that can be read with a special device. There are several types of tags — active tags and passive tags. The basic diversity between these types of tags is their read range: for passive it varies about 25 meters, for active - up to 100 meters. This comes from the fact that the passive tags do not have their own power source, whereas active - have one. Logistics industry prefers the second one, of course.
And a few words about the NFC. With this technology, all you need to do is to hold the device in tag's range (not even need to run the application). The data inside these tags can carry a variety of commands for the mobile device, such as opening a specific mobile application. In this case, the information will be transmitted immediately.
How to develop Uber for delivery trucks and cargo shipping
So, developing a mobile app for a logistic company might make your business far more efficient. Mobile applications could help you prune down work, decrease expenses, and increase sales. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
If you want to be a king of the hill on the market, you should, by all means, be thinking to invest in such application development.
P.S. If you are interested in the price of such development, then you most likely would be interested in reading our article about the price of an uber-like application.
