How to Undertake Logistics Software Development?

The market of logistics software is growing, with revenue of $17.58 billion in 2022 and estimates of up to $23.21 billion by 2027. Steady and stable, no matter the possible recession.

Logistics software development services are essential tools that streamline operations within the logistics industry. These services can enhance various business processes, such as order processing and freight transportation, enabling companies to improve efficiency, track shipments, and foster better relationships with customers and partners.

So, What Stops the Process?

But before the actual logistics software development process, there are a lot of discussions and decisions. What kinds of programs are there? Which one will bring the most use to your business?

And finally, how to build logistics software to save time and money and avoid losing quality?

Read on!

Key Takeaways:

• Logistics and transportation software development involves the creation of WMS and TMS (management systems for warehouses and transportation), logistics tracking, freight software, ERP, and more.
• A company needs a TMS and/or a WMS when it experiences issues with warehouse monitoring and could use efficiency and cost optimization.
• The benefits of using such software include fewer human errors, cost optimization, process automation, and supply chain transparency.
• The technologies ProCoders used to build logistics applications include React.js for frontend, PHP and Node.js for back end, Swift and Kotlin for mobile development, and .NET for cloud-based software.
• To create such an application, you have to plan your budget and timing, hire web developers, build a prototype and then an MVP, analyze it, develop the final version of the app, test it, and then launch.
• The cost of logistics software can range, but if you need a full app built by professionals, tested and prepared for launch, $60-80K is the realistic amount. We can discuss the cost-saving options through the ProCoders Discovery Phase.

What Is a Transportation and Logistics Management System?

A TMS is a type of transportation logistics software that helps companies plan, monitor, and optimize the physical movement of their goods, including documentation control. Such a service is usually a part of a larger supply chain management system (SCM).

Key Types of Supply Chain Management Software

Increase your supply chain planning with these types of management and accounting solutions in the transportation industry.

TMS (transportation management system)

The system is responsible for helping you plan, execute, and improve the shipping of physical goods in and out. The software also helps with documentation, ensuring all the needed docs are available.

WMS (warehouse management system)

A Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a type of warehouse management software responsible for your inventory and distribution. By using this one, you make it easier to see whether a product is available or not, where there are gaps in warehouse operations, and when the next delivery or shipment is due.

Logistics ERP

What is ERP supply chain management? Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP takes care of routine tasks such as accounting, compliance, risk management, purchasing, etc. The system helps you calculate and estimate, which is often half the success if done properly.

Fleet Management Software

Fleet management software helps businesses track, manage, and maintain their vehicles in one place. It typically includes features like GPS tracking, fuel monitoring, maintenance scheduling, driver behavior analysis, and route optimization—making it easier to reduce costs, improve safety, and streamline processes.

Logistics Tracking Software

Logistics tracking is useful for task allocation, day-to-day plans on shipment and delivery, route choice and optimization, etc. Its brilliance is in the ability to automate all those processes for you.

Freight Software in Transportation and Logistics Operations

Freight management is needed to make goods movement smooth within the transportation and logistics industry as it goes from the shipper to the carrier and, finally, to the recipient. Such software should assist you in optimizing this process so that it’s effort- and cost-effective.

Logistics Staff Management Systems

Staff management systems will aid human resources and managers in optimizing employee responsibilities, allocating tasks, monitoring, accessing results, shifting working hours, and more.

Order Management Software

Order management software is a vital component of logistics software solutions, playing a crucial role in the seamless execution of logistics operations. This software encompasses the entire order lifecycle, from order entry and processing to fulfillment.

When Does Your Company Need to Create TMS or WMS Software?

Whenever you see that your business could use:

• More productivity due to process automation
• Better cost-efficiency
• Human error rate reduction
• Improved data collection
• Better customer experience
• A higher customer service level
• Better supply chain management
• Less paperwork

We understand it’s a hefty investment, but the business benefits of using logistic management software are worth it. Analyzing the project scope is crucial to understanding the specific needs and requirements before developing TMS or WMS software.

Business Benefits of Logistic Management Software Development

Process automation

In Industry 4.0, it’s all about logistics automation. If you don’t use technological advances to take the load off your employees, you’re going to stay behind. This is not only because they are going to get tired and quit but because the speed of machinery is faster and the processing capabilities are better.

Plus, you can engage employees in more important tasks, increasing productivity levels. Meanwhile, the program will make it easier to travel through the supply chain, track goods in real time, optimize routes, and much more in a couple of clicks. (If you want to learn more about other ways to automate your work, check our article on n8n automation tool).

IoT, ML, AI in logistics systems

The Internet of Things, machine learning, big data, and artificial intelligence got their way into all industries. We consult with AI now and have ML find out and remember our preferences. Using these advances for logistics will save you effort, time, and money while guiding your company into the new age.

Visibility of the supply chain

Tracking software will help both the company and clients see that all the processes within the entire supply chain are transparent and all the goals are met. This plays a huge role in trust-building and can actually help business owners clean up logistics.

Cost optimization in the logistics industry

No human factor, top-notch resource optimization, proper route choice, and the ability to optimize delivery routes, fewer delays, and minimal paperwork will all contribute to the cost efficiency of your company, as well as increases in revenue.

Reduction of Human Errors

Human errors can significantly impact logistics operations, leading to delays, increased costs, and customer dissatisfaction. Logistics software solutions are designed to minimize these errors by automating processes and providing real-time insights. By leveraging advanced technologies such as data analytics and artificial intelligence, custom logistics software can predict potential delays and optimize inventory management.

Automated inventory management helps businesses maintain accurate inventory levels, reducing the risk of overstocking or stockouts. This not only improves operational efficiency but also reduces holding costs. A logistics software development company can develop custom logistics software that addresses the specific needs of a business, ensuring that human errors are minimized and operations run smoothly.

By implementing custom logistics software, businesses can gain real-time insights into their supply chain operations, enabling them to make informed decisions. This leads to optimized logistics operations, reduced costs, and enhanced customer satisfaction. In an industry where precision and efficiency are paramount, investing in custom logistics software development is a strategic move that can provide a competitive advantage.

Customer Experience Improvement with Logistics Software Development Services

Clicking a couple of buttons is much easier than calling a bunch of people. Besides, when you offer a tool for, say, tracking one’s order, it shows that you’re transparent and honest with your customers, which improves their experience. Customer relationship management systems can further enhance customer experience by integrating customer data from multiple existing systems and communication channels.

What Technologies to Use to Develop Logistics Software?

Here are the technologies ProCoders specialists use in transportation management software:

• Frontend (the client’s side: user interface, request processing, etc.) – React.js, Angular.js, Vue.js, jQuery.
• Backend (the server side customers don’t see) – PHP, Node.js, Python, Java.
• Mobile (a mobile app for more convenience) – React Native, Swift, Kotlin.
• Cloud (for cloud-based software, which is often faster) – .NET and Node.js.

Developing logistics software for web and mobile platforms enhances user engagement and facilitates real-time data interaction, enabling efficient tracking, management of logistics, and improved reporting capabilities.

Steps on Transportation Management Software Development

Knowing the tech necessary to develop transportation software doesn’t mean you know how to implement supply chain management system successfully. We’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to help you evaluate the scope of work.

Step 1. Analyze Your Requirements

Business analysis helps you understand what kind of software you need. Hire a team of analysts to overview your company, its scale, the main pain points, etc., and come up with a report showing gaps in logistics industry tracking, management, and communication.

Utilizing professional software development services is crucial to thoroughly analyze requirements and ensure the development of effective logistics management software.

Step 2. Plan the budget, time, and other numbers

Along with business analysis, it’s important to have a clear plan of the project scope, budget, time, the number of people you have, the number you need, etc. That requires extensive market research and an understanding of the internal development processes.

How can ProCoders help?

ProCoders can help with this as well. Within the Discovery Phase we have mentioned, our experts provide you with the approximate time, investment scope, and the number of developers and testers you may need.

Based on this information, we can discuss:

• Narrowing the timeframe
• Cutting on costs
• Filling your team

Step 3. Hire the right people

This is an optional step as you may already have a full team working on the project. However, if not, you won’t create your logistics management software for years (duh). We mean that finding people who not only have the right skills but can work as a team can take over a year.

That’s hours of resume reading, interview conducting, and technical testing.

But you should know that a team or additional staff for an existing crew can come to the rescue in just a few weeks.

How can ProCoders help?

ProCoders’ staff augmentation strategies can help here. We already have developers and testers on board, so you can forget about all those CVs and calls.

Hiring professionals for custom software development is crucial to ensure the creation of high-quality logistics software that meets your specific business needs and enhances operational efficiency.

Step 4. Develop a prototype and an MVP

After you hire pros that know how to craft logistics software, they will have to work on a prototype and later on an MVP – a minimum viable product. The latter is a very useful approach that makes it easier for you to see if the application is turning out the way you wanted.

Utilizing logistics software development services is crucial in developing effective prototypes and MVPs, as these services streamline operations and enhance various business processes.

Step 5. Approve and execute final development

Make changes, add and remove functions, alter the product according to feedback and execute the main development. Frontend, back end, APIs, etc. have to be handled by professionals.

Ensuring seamless integration of various functionalities and data sources during this phase is crucial for enhancing overall efficiency and aligning system capabilities with business needs.

Step 6. Test the application and debug it

Without testing, you can launch a program. There may be bugs developers can’t predict as they compile the product together. This is where pro testers should come in and use various methodologies, as well as both manual and automatic testing.

Following industry best practices in testing and debugging is crucial to ensure the reliability and security of the logistics software.

Step 7. Launch and gather feedback

The initial feedback is crucial. Gather and analyze every message, and encourage honest reviews. If everything is alright, congratulations! But you can’t guess the right functionality for everyone, so perceive feedback as ideas for a potential next version of the program.

When you know how to build logistics software systems, upgrading it won’t be a problem. Gathering feedback is essential to continuously improve transportation and logistics solutions and meet evolving business needs.

Now you know how to build logistics solutions that matches your business needs and requirements. But how much will it cost? And are there ways to save money without jeopardizing the quality of the whole project? Let’s find out!

Cost of Custom Logistics Software Development

We’d say $60-100K, and let us justify this amount. To develop solutions from scratch, you may need about 4 developers. One middle developer will cost you around $6K a month, and the full engineering may take around 4+ months. Plus, you need a designer, a project manager, a quality assurance specialist, and other staff.

Sounds very investment-intensive. But there’s a way to save finances without losing the quality of the transportation software you want to create.

Have You Ever Heard of Staff Augmentation?

It’s an approach that allows you to hire additional staff without having to deal with the actual hiring process. You find a logistics software development company that already has developers hired or can find some for you in verified talent pools. They find, filter, interview, and test candidates according to your requirements. Your job here is to conduct a final interview to see if the person or people will be a good fit for the project.

In such a case, you save on paid vacations, insurance, office space, and precious time. Looking for the right candidate may take about a year for you, and there’s no guarantee the finalists will be worth it. Why not trust this to people who specialize in hiring skilled technical experts?

If you’re interested in finding a logistics services partner that will add skillful staff to your team to save money and maintain the high quality of your product, you’re in good company. Utilizing logistics software development services can ensure cost-effective and high-quality development.

How ProCoders Can Contribute to Your Business as a Custom Logistics Software Development Company?

Our logistics software development company provides these services:

Discovery Phase Services and Business Analytics

By applying to the Phase, you choose a deep analysis of your business needs and the market. It’s done to come up with a perfect plan for creating logistics software solutions that will suit your unique requirements. Our analysts provide you with time and cost numbers, as well as a clear step-by-step on what to do next.

Analyzing business processes during the discovery phase is crucial to ensure the development of effective logistics solution that enhances operational efficiency and streamlines workflows.

Staff Augmentation

ProCoders can provide a full dedicated team, a hybrid team, or some additional staff for an existing team, depending on what you need at the moment. We can find one person for you so that the project gets a fresh look, or we can hire a full-on band of 25 people to develop logistics solution from scratch.

You can use either way or combine them for the best results. We have extensive experience with building logistics software services and are ready to use our knowledge to empower your company.

Check Your Team’s Availability

Maybe we already have the people you need on the team and they are free and ready to collaborate! And if not, ProCoders will find you an expert who knows how to build transportation software of top-notch quality at an adequate rate. Utilizing logistics software development services is crucial for effective staff augmentation and high-quality custom software development.

Conclusion

Logistics and transportation software will help your eCommerce or another company that needs inventory and shipment/delivery tracking jump to the next level. The benefits are plenty, including process automation, cost-efficiency, faster shipment and delivery, and more.

Development is no easy task, but if you choose the right provider, plan your budget and time properly, and pay attention to feedback, the investment will pay off.

ProCoders is always ready to consult you on the time and money questions, as well as to discuss the functionality and modules needed for the perfect software for your company.