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Are parcel delivery apps suitable for the self-employed delivery drivers?

Published on 29 March 2023 • Reading time: 8 min read

The number of parcel delivery applications available on the market is growing. But until now, they have mainly been designed for carriers and shippers.
What about other self-employed deliverymen and workers? Can they also use these applications? What features are offered to them and is it really profitable for them? These are the questions we are going to answer in this article.

Table of contents

• A parcel delivery application for what type of delivery?
  1. On-demand deliveries for urgent needs
  2. Batched deliveries to improve your profitability
• The main features of parcel delivery apps
  1. The key features to optimize the delivery of your parcels
  2. The optional features of parcel delivery applications
• Choose a package delivery application that suits your needs
  1. Shippr, the platform for finding extra parcel deliveries
  2. The AntsRoute route optimization software

Parcel delivery applications meet the needs of self-employed delivery drivers. These innovative tools optimise their routes. For these professionals, it’s a guarantee of greater profitability.

A parcel delivery application for what type of delivery?

There are several delivery methods.
Traditional shipping service providers, such as UPS, FedEx or Chronopost, can handle any of your parcel shipments, including courier services. These are fast, and international parcel deliveries made directly by professional carriers for their customers.
But by hiring a courier service, you will not be able to complete or optimize your deliveries yourself.

These can be of two types:

• On-demand deliveries
• Batched deliveries

On-demand deliveries for urgent needs

This type of delivery is requested mainly for fast handling.

These are one-time, but often urgent requests, to be made within 30 minutes or one hour maximum:

• Delivery of laboratory samples or prescription drugs;
• Delivery of legal documents, which must be signed by a law firm or by the client within one hour;
• Supply of a critical machine part at the last minute;
• Home meal delivery.

These urgent requests must be made quickly from the home or the company. They cannot therefore be carried out by traditional courier services, unless there is a significant financial compensation.

As a self-employed driver, you have a role to play. These deliveries are often made by self-employed couriers, who have flexible working hours and can meet requests in real time. They are a bit like the “Uber” of parcels, for deliveries that can’t wait.

On-demand delivery is very convenient for customers, but can be very expensive and difficult to manage for couriers. It is not easy to group these single deliveries together and increase the number of deliveries per hour.

The parcel delivery app enables self-employed couriers to manage disparate orders.

However, a parcel delivery app can be very useful for self-employed couriers to manage these diverse orders.

There are many apps on the market, covering everything from package and document delivery to food delivery.
They are used to:

• Schedule pickups and drop-offs;
• Manage direct payment;
• Optimize deliveries, to get from one place to another as fast as possible and at the lowest cost.

As a self-employed supplier or delivery driver, it can be difficult to know which one to choose. You can find all our tips below on this page.

Batched deliveries to improve your profitability

If possible, grouping orders is much more cost-effective.
Instead of delivering one parcel at a time, this gives self-employed couriers or operators the opportunity to:

• To deliver several parcels at the same time in a pick-up point, in a company or in a shared delivery location;
• Or to complete several deliveries according to a predefined route.

This allows them to reduce both costs and travel times.
This will be easier to achieve with a parcel delivery application, which includes route optimization functions. These applications also allow for real-time tracking of deliveries, notification to customers and collection of proof of delivery.
This is what we will look at in this second part.

The main features of parcel delivery apps

The key features to optimize the delivery of your parcels

If you are self-employed, your budget is far from unlimited. The important thing is to be able to choose an application with the features that meet your needs.

Among the many features offered by the different route optimization software available on the market, some are key:

• The live tracking of deliveries and/or drivers: knowing the status of your deliveries and the location of your vehicles allows you to plan or reschedule deliveries much more efficiently.
• The collection of proof of delivery: It is essential to be able to prove that parcels have been delivered to customers in good condition, to avoid any disputes afterwards. To do this, you will need to collect signatures on your delivery notes and possibly photos of the delivered packages.
• The sending of notifications to customers: Needless to say, your customers want to know when their delivery is going to arrive. The lockdown is now over, and they can’t wait a whole day for you to arrive. Being able to inform them precisely on time and notify them if they are late is a great competitive advantage in terms of customer experience.
• The integration with other platforms: if you or your customers have an e-commerce platform and/or invoicing software, being able to connect the parcel application will save you a lot of time.
• The route optimization is also essential for your last mile deliveries. This will have a significant impact on your driving times and profitability.

The last two features are not present in all applications.
You will find them in the AntsRoute software.

The validation of a parcel delivery on the AntsRoute app.

The optional features of parcel delivery applications

Every feature you add increases the cost of your application. It is therefore important to choose an application that fits your needs, but does not include unnecessary features.
The additional features include:

• Barcode scanning: When loading the trucks, this option can allow you to scan the packages to be delivered, so that you know in which truck to load the goods. The application will also tell you in which order to load: the packages to be delivered first will be loaded last. This option will save you a lot of time if you are delivering many parcels at the same time.
• Label printing: This function is also available in the AntsRoute software. It allows you to automate the printing of labels, thanks to the connection with a Zebra printer.
• Automated editing of service reports at the end of the day is a great help in accelerating invoicing and salary management if necessary. It all depends on whether you work alone or in a team.
• Order taking and customer management: If you do not have the corresponding software, it may be worthwhile to use an application that offers these functions. However, you will have to switch to more expensive versions of the applications, which you will have to pay for.

To avoid wasting time and money, you should also consider two important aspects:

• Ease of use: If the chosen features are difficult to set up or use, you will lose all the time saved by the application.
• The quality of the support: The software applications are probably not your core business. You need to be able to rely on dedicated assistance at all times, which will get you working as quickly as possible. Because your deliveries cannot wait. The continuous availability of online support is therefore essential.

Choose a package delivery application that suits your needs

To help you in your choice, we offer you to compare 2 parcel delivery applications, which answer different uses:

Shippr, the platform for finding extra parcel deliveries

Shippr is an online platform, which allows individuals and companies to ship parcels with self-employed delivery drivers. It offers them an opportunity to earn money by using their own vehicle (refrigerated, cargo bike, etc.). Drivers can log on to the Shippr platform to find delivery tasks in their area.

The platform offers them both:

• The ability to create shipments quickly online and plan deliveries in advance;
• Real-time tracking of deliveries;
• Real-time notifications to customers;
• 24-hour customer support service;
• A rating system for delivery drivers and customers.

The Shippr platform is available on Android and iOS devices. It allows customers to find self-employed delivery drivers and manage their shipments easily and at any time from their smartphone or tablet.

Shippr offers a wide range of delivery options to meet the needs of different customers, including express deliveries, large parcel deliveries and evening or weekend deliveries. It makes possible to check the identity of delivery drivers and offers an insurance protection for delivered packages.

However, it does not offer route optimization.

It is based on a network of self-employed delivery workers and is being developed throughout Europe. It is therefore not yet available in every country, and its quality depends on the experience and reliability of the delivery drivers.

The customer reviews of Shippr are generally positive, with many customers highlighting the reliability and flexibility of the service, as well as the quality of customer support. However, some customers reported issues with their delivery or user experience.

If you are looking for additional delivery tasks, this platform may be for you. If you are looking to organize and optimize your own routes, you can choose the following solution.

The AntsRoute route optimization software

AntsRoute is a SaaS platform for managing delivery routes. Its software was originally designed for transport companies and can also be an interesting solution for entrepreneurs and self-employed people.

It offers both:

• Real-time tracking of deliveries and geolocation;
• Optimization of delivery routes;
• Collection of proof of delivery with automated editing of delivery notes;
• Integration with other platforms: e-commerce, billing, etc;
• Customer notification;
• Scanning of barcodes when loading trucks and printing of labels.

Available on Android and iOS, it is renowned for its ease of use and has an online chat to communicate with the support team.
It is available from 24 euros per month. Thanks to its route optimization module, you only need to save 200 km per month on your driving to make this subscription profitable.

Parcel delivery applications therefore allow self-employed drivers like you to save time and money, either:

• by accessing new on-demand deliveries such as with Shippr;
• by grouping and optimizing your routes and offering efficient delivery options, such as with AntsRoute.

To know the benefits of using our route optimization software, we offer a free 7-day trial, without commitment. To start your trial period, go to this page.