How to Ease the Burden of Operations in an On-Demand Solutions Industry
The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new age of on-demand customer experiences characterized by unprecedented speed and efficiency. As customers around the world grow to expect immediate provisioning from their product and service providers, the on-demand economy continues to flourish. In fact, according to a recent PwC report, the market value of the on-demand app economy is expected to reach a staggering $335 billion by the year 2025.
With the overwhelming growth of the on-demand economy promising to create better business opportunities, the burden now lies on the Operations Team to achieve the necessary speed and accuracy for each delivery. The heroes working in Operations are solely expected to handle numerous issues that may arise in the on-demand business. This leaves them with a sense of ineffectiveness as challenges pile on. To lessen the burden of the Operations Team and enable them to make proactive decisions, sophisticated on-demand applications that integrate adequate technologies are a necessity.
On-Demand App Development Overview
For organizations aiming to enter and flourish in the on-demand economy, a well-crafted on-demand application is fundamentally integral. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, American consumers spend approximately $57.6 billion in the on-demand economy annually. These numbers highlight the immense recent growth of the on-demand industry. It is clear that massive value can be generated by developing a successful on-demand application.
An application developed for the on-demand industry requires a host of unique features depending on the exact service. Besides a visually appealing and friendly user interface, an on-demand app essentially requires order tracking features, a detailed map, order history, vendor profiles, recommendation engines, push notifications and multiple payment gateways for ease of use. Since monetary transactions are at the core of such applications, strong cybersecurity features are also a requisite. Other features such as reviews and ratings and in-app chatting further add to the appeal of on-demand applications.
To additionally ease the duties of the Operations Team, a real-time analytics feature to manage fleets is integral. Customer experiences are at the forefront of the on-demand industry. Thus, the Operations Team is expected to provide immediate solutions and unparalleled efficiency. A constant feed of relevant information can be leveraged to make real-time decisions, adding to the overall customer experience. Being able to analyze routes, traffic patterns and possible shortages in real-time can be a much needed feature to thrive in this industry.
Catching Up With Costs
The cost of developing an app for the on-demand industry is largely determined by the hours of work needed and the functionalities required. A custom on-demand app is widely expected to take anywhere between 2,670 – 3,720 hours to fully develop and deploy. The hourly rates in the U.S. for developing such applications range from $100 to $250 an hour. Hence, developing an on-demand application tends to be more expensive than the average software solution.
Globally, developing an on-demand solution application can cost anywhere between $53,400 for a single platform project to $930,000 for a refined cross-platform application with a plethora of features. Advanced technologies such as real-time insights, recommendation engines and in-app payment gateways take substantially greater time to be integrated into an application but are essential for large scale on-demand apps that cater to wider audiences. Sophisticated technologies, in terms of real-time insights and hyperlocal analytics in particular, have grown in prominence during recent times as speed, accuracy and efficiency become paramount characteristics for an enterprise in the on-demand market.
Guide to Creating Your On-Demand Business
Launching an on-demand business application requires you to follow a number of steps. The process includes designing the application, analyzing the market for opportunities, development and implementation of the app and then finally QA testing and stabilization. A few key imperatives are as follows.
Choose Your Market: The on-demand industry consists of a broad range of subdomains covering fields such as food delivery, retail, healthcare, groceries, cosmetics and taxi services. Before you enter the on-demand economy, identify your niche market and integrate the particular necessary features.
Identify the Target Audience: As per an HBR report, nearly 49% of on-demand service users are Millennials. The age group between 35 and 54 make up another 30%. Your on-demand app has to appeal to the audiences most likely to use your products and services, especially the Millennial population that dominate the on-demand customer base.
Start Locally: To create a successful on-demand application that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also successful, you have to begin at a local level. By catering to a smaller area and a denser population , you can test concepts, strategies and advertisements. This also allows you to test features individually and start with an MVP.
Find Your Features: As discussed earlier, the features you decide to include in your app are determined by your overall product and service portfolio. For a taxi service such as Uber, advanced solutions like real-time insights, traffic data, dynamic price calculations, fleet tracking and route optimization are all essential. The same features may not be necessary for a small scale cosmetics delivery application.
In Conclusion
In today’s on-demand world, the pressure to provide quality services is unrelenting. With ever-growing customer expectations, it becomes increasingly difficult for the Operations Team to provide accuracy and efficiency. Developing an on-demand application can be the optimal strategy to ensure your Operations Team has a strong backbone. Such applications enable your organization to thrive in this blooming new industry. By leveraging modern advancements with real-time, data-driven insights and integrating these features into a comprehensive application, your enterprise can scale up to reach unfathomable possibilities.
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