Build An App Like Lalamove (Step-by-Step Guide)

Introduction

Back in the days, booking an express courier was a nightmare for many. However, it is through the launch of applications like Lalamove that you can get your couriers delivered without any hassle.

It has multiple features such as 24/7 availability, affordable delivery charges, multi-stop order placement, real-time tracking, and a zillion other things that segregate Lalamove from its competitors.

If you are planning to build an on-demand delivery app, it only makes sense that you take notes from the outlook, business model, revenue model, app compatibility of Lalamove. This article is an approach to present you with the same so that you do not have to encounter any sort of inconvenience when you head out to create a similar app.

Read the different sections in this article in order to dig deeper into the details. 

Growth Timeline

Before you go on to inspire yourself from the functionality and operations of Lalamove, it is strongly advocated that you should take out some time to learn about the growth timeline of Lalamove. This will certainly help you understand more about the brand and its growth so that you can effectively come up with a plan of action to launch your application in a much more streamlined manner. 

Lalamove was established in 2013 as an on-demand application that strives to present its users with real-time courier delivery services to Asian SMEs with the help of the online mobile application. The application has grown immensely over the course of its existence. Starting from scratch, the application makes a revenue of $152.4 million dollars giving tough competition to its competitors like Quiqup, Sendy, and many more. 

The company has been successful in acquiring a total of $955 million in funding, out of which the recent funding contributed to the most of it with $515 million. The company gradually rose from acquiring Series E funding to Series C funding. 

After prominently dominating the Asian market, the company has set foot to take over the American market as well. It already covers about 21 cities in the Asian-Pacific and Latin American markets, and the next target is to leave its mark on the Central American market, starting with Texas.

It is the dedicated efforts and steady growth of the brand that led to the success of the On-Demand Delivery Application Lalamove.

You too can create your own custom on-demand delivery app Like the successful Lalamove. By contacting GoodTroopers you get the opportunity to shorten the hiring process for on-demand delivery app developers.

Business Model Canvas: workflow, revenue model

After a thorough analysis of the growth timeline of Lalamove, the next obvious step is to familiarize yourself with a viable business model that you can opt for. 

WorkFlow

It might not be wrong to consider the business model of Lalamove with that of Uber. However, the slight difference suggests that instead of getting a taxi at the other end of the spectrum, you can get a parcel delivered to the desired location. 

It is the effectiveness of the business model of Lalamove that has enabled the company to raise such huge funds. 

Benefits for Involved Parties

Both of the entities involved in the process, i.e., the customers and drivers are benefited from the model as the delivery process helps the drivers in increasing their business significantly, and the customers can save a few bucks to deliver their parcel while making sure that it does not get lost in the hefty logistics chain. 

Catering B2B

The Lalamove business model is fee-based and commission-based. This enables the customers to place orders for delivering their parcel without considering the form and size of it. It not only targets the B2C market but has been aggressively expanding in the B2B segment of the market as well. 

Companies that are associated with industries such as the retail market, heavy construction, e-commerce, food, and beverages are the primary targets for the B2B segment for Lalamove. 

Irrespective of the nature of the users, whether they are individuals or SMEs, Lalamove can help them to push their goods across the market for a reasonable fee. Even if the customers are in need of multiple drop-offs, it is not a matter of concern for Lalamove. However, other majorly dominant logistic chains are not able to pull it off with such nuance as Lalamove.

Catering B2C

As far as the B2C market is concerned, all that is required of the user is to download the application, specify their delivery needs such as time, delivery destination, pick up spot, nature of the delivery automobile, and the rest will be taken care of. 

The GPS-enabled system of the app will look out for the registered Lalamove drivers in the vicinity, and the nearest driver will be assigned for the delivery. Thus, in a short span of time, your designated driver will pick up the parcel and will head on to deliver to the specified location. 

GoodTroopers will suggest you to go through the extra pointers to better understand the aspects that helped Lalamove become so successful.

If you wish to explore more extensive details regarding the business model of Lalamove to help you understand how it works, it is suggested that you go through the following list of pointers. 

• Browsing

This is the segment where the user is familiarized with the Lalamove application. This section is highly dependent on the creative demand and the marketing strategies opted by the company. The more effective marketing tactics are employed, the more chances of a user opting for the brand over others become more likely. A great role is played by the user interface in attracting the users. The more functionality embedded in the UI/UX, the likelihood of an increase in downloads can be positively estimated. Once the application is installed on the mobile phone, the user can request a parcel delivery service.

• Payment

Online payments can prove to be a highly dreadful experience for a user. Hence, it is the responsibility of the brand to embed secure payment gateways covering all of the prominent online methods to make sure that the user does not encounter any problem while making the payments whatsoever. 

• Matching

After the payment has been initiated, the delivery details are sent to the nearby driver. This is done by keeping track of the GPS of the user as well as the delivery personnel to find the perfect match. Once the delivery is accepted by the driver, the personnel will reach out to the pickup location to get the job done. Considering the growing scale of the company and the number of working individuals associated, all of this takes place in a very short span of time, saving a lot of trouble, time and money. 

• Tracking

After the delivery personnel has picked up the parcel, all there is left for the user is to wait for it to get delivered. The user can track the parcel in real-time to make sure that the parcel is on its way.

• Reviews

Once the parcel has been delivered successfully, the user will be presented with a form where they can add ratings and reviews. This not only enables the company to build credibility for potential users but also ensures to address any problems that the user might have encountered for a smooth delivery experience. 

Revenue Model

If you wish to build an app similar to Lalamove, after carefully observing the business model, the next obvious step must be to learn about the revenue model of Lalamove. No business can stand tall for long without a strong revenue model backing it up. 

There are primarily two main revenue streams that have significantly helped Lalamove to be up and running. Read the following pointers in order to familiarize yourself with the same. 

• Delivery Fee

Even though the delivery fee is a considerably small amount of money, it is the key contributing factor to the revenue model of Lalamove. The delivery fee for a parcel can vary from that of the other. The deciding factor for the delivery fee is the size and amount of the parcel, along with the requested nature of the delivery automobile. Even though a great portion of the delivery fee goes to the delivery agent, the rest of it ends up contributing to the revenue of Lalamove. Doing so frees the company from any liabilities associated with the automobile, such as fuel or maintenance charges. 

• Convenience Fee

With every order, the user is supposed to pay a convenience fee. Contrary to the misconception, the customers are more than happy to pay this amount as it ensures that the parcel will be delivered at a faster pace and it frees them of spending their own time to get it delivered. 

Create a successful on-demand delivery app similar to Lalamove and generate huge revenue by following any of the above two revenue models. GoodTroopers can be your partners in selecting the best development companies who have mastered the on-demand delivery app development and also match your requirements.

 

Must Have Features for a Delivery App Like Lalamove

• Simple Registration
• Appropriate app layout
• Synchronization of Panels
• Pickup and Delivery Management
• GPS Enabling
• Push Notifications
• Secured Payment
• Feedback

Suitable Team Structure to Build An App Like Lalamove

• Front End and Back end Developers
• Android and iOS Developers
• Project Head
• UI/UX Designers
• Graphic Designers
• Quality Assurance Expert

Technology Stack for a Delivery App Like Lalamove

Application and Data

• PHP
• React
• NGINX
• HTML 5
• MySQL
• Cloudflare
• Redis
• AmazonEC2
• Swift

Utilities

• Google Analytics
• Amazon Route 53
• Twilio SendGrid
• Mixpanel

DevOps

• Docker
• Jenkins
• GitLab
• Android Studio
• Amazon EC2
• TeamCity
• Logentries

Business Tools

• Jira
• Gsuite

Tips

Even though you have explored almost every aspect of building an application like Lalamove, it is suggested that you should read out these points so you can have a fresh perspective to build your app. Read on to know more. 

• Make sure to brainstorm enough about the business idea, explore the already existing on-demand delivery applications. Check out all of the features they already have and what more you can offer to the customers to help you cut the queue. 

• While the backend of the application determines what the future of your app will be, make sure to dedicate enough time to create the UI/UX design. This can help you entice more users than your competitors. Other than this, try to keep it minimal and simple. The simpler your frontend is, the easier it will be for the users to get the job done as at the end of the day, the sole purpose of the application is to serve as a bridge for the customers who wish to deliver an app and the drivers who wish to expand their business horizons. 

• Make sure that the application you are offering to the customers is full of dedicated features as mentioned in the previous section such as the following.

– Simple registration

The sign-up and login process must be as simple as possible. Try to incorporate social media platforms to make it even simpler for the users.

-Effective synchronization of panels

This will ensure that the customer panel, courier panel, and admin panel are working together just fine so that the delivery process can be executed without any sort of hassle. 

-GPS Enabling

It is a highly essential segment of the application as, without the GPS, the app cannot find the eligible delivery parents in the vicinity of the user. 

-Secure Payment

A secure payment gateway will encourage the customers to opt for the application over the other available options.

• Make sure that the application is created while considering the guidelines of the platform, whether it is iOS or Android. 
• Marketing strategies can define the growth of the application, so make sure to incorporate the current social and global environment while selecting them. 

Conclusion

As the world is moving at a faster pace, people are being robbed of time. Thus, it is the need of the hour to come up with innovative on-demand apps that can not only offer the customers convenience but also strive to make their life a tad bit easier. 

Contact GoodTroopers to share your idea of on-demand delivery solutions like Lalamove. We can bring you the best companies worldwide with expertise in developing on-demand delivery applications and you will even have complete control in the selection process. You can interview the shortlisted companies and then decide which one you would like to team up with.

See Also:

• Steps to Create A Courier Delivery App Like WeFast
• A Guide to Create a Pickup and Delivery App Like MakeSpace

Frequently Asked Questions for Building a Delivery App Like Lalamove (FAQs)