When was the last time you purchased medicine in-store? Though pandemic brought plenty of disruption, it did help us bring positive reformation as well due to technology. It enabled so many industries to come online and provide users ease of purchasing everything at their finger-tip. One such industry is also pharmaceuticals. In times like these, if you are thinking of starting your own medicine delivery application, you are thinking right and now is the time!
To provide you with some quick stats on why you should invest in on-demand medicine delivery app development:
- Revenue in the online pharmacy market is expected to reach US$52.51bn in 2024.
- Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2024-2028) of 11.57%, resulting in projected market volume of US$81.37bn by 2028.
- User penetration will be 23.62% in 2024 and is expected to hit 30.92% by 2028.
- The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$28.69.
- In global comparison, most revenue will be generated in the United States (US$18,500.00m in 2024).
Source: Statista
Source: Statista
These numbers should help you make a firm decision on why you should invest in mobile delivery app development. So, let’s explore step by step guides on how to develop mobile delivery applications.
Table of Content
- How to Start a Medicine Delivery Business
- How Start Medicine Delivery App Development
- Ways to Monetize your Application
- Conclusion
How To Start a Medicine Delivery Business
Before you start with on-demand medicine delivery app development, you need to define the business model. So, let’s start with it.
Single Store Model
In this type of model, users will upload their prescription in the app and order to local online retail stores. The store owners will then check the particular medicine in the inventory and then deliver the medicine to customers. In this method, the pharmacy will have to maintain the entire inventory, delivery, invest in application development, maintenance, and many other things. Ofcourse, this model will provide you with plenty of freedom, but at the initial stage it requires plenty of investment in a variety of things. If you are ready to invest that amount, you can go ahead with this type of model.
Aggregator Model
When investing in online medicine app development this model is very common in many businesses. As an aggregator you work as a middle-man between the end-users and pharmacies. You will only need to invest in managing the inventory to ensure everything works smoothly. This common model will help you to make less investment, but in turn have more return. Here, online pharmacy owners like you will tie up with local pharmacists in different areas and provide medicines to the users. When users upload their prescription and place an order for medicines, your application will redirect them to the nearest pharmacy and then the store delivers the required medicines. This is the most common model used by startups as it has less investments.
Direct to Consumers
This model doesn’t require you to have third parties to operate as you will be managing everything. In this model, you will directly deal with customers and fulfill their requirements. Reaching out to customers helps business owners like you to have direct control over your business and also build long-lasting relationships with your users. However, in this type of model, there is heavy investment, but no guarantee of achieving success.
If you are still wondering how to start a medicine delivery business and how to start with medicine delivery application development? You are at the right place. At the medicine delivery app development company our team of expert developers and business analysts will help you at each step of medicine delivery app development.
How Start Medicine Delivery App Development
Next up, let’s talk about how to start medicine delivery app development and what things you will need to do.
Research and Analysis
For online medicine app development, the first step is research. It is an essential part to help understand the market needs and validate your idea. Carry out thorough research of the market and your competitors in order to understand how you can provide better services. Moreover, carrying out research will help you to define your unique selling point in terms of services you provide to your users.
Issue Necessary Licensing and Permissions
We all know how strict the laws are when we are selling medicines online, so you will need to have all the necessary licenses and permits in order to ensure smooth operations. When starting the medicine delivery application development, the first step is to make sure that not a single person places an order without uploading a prescription. Get a retail drug license on zone permits to deliver medicines and run your business. Also, remember to register your online medicine store and tie-up with necessary local pharmacies to service customers. Once you have all the necessary permits and licenses you can start your online medicine delivery service.
Features
Chemist Panel
Chemists should be able to have access to all the necessary information and features like dashboard, price, location of delivery, prescription copy, etc.
Order Tracking Notifications
Chemists should be able to track the delivery driver location in order to know the pick-up and delivery eta respectively.
Digital Prescription
Chemists should be able to access the digital prescription in order to make sure that the medicines delivered are perfect.
Manage Discounts
The pharmacy owners should be able to add the custom discounts they want to provide to their users. This will ensure you have a loyal customer base as well.
Order Management
Inventory management is an essential part of this platform. Pharmacy owners should be able to have access to inventory management in order to provide real-time information to their users.
Access Reviews and Ratings
Pharmacy owners should be able to access the reviews and ratings in order to understand their users’ expectations with them so they can keep up with it.
Admin Panel
Inventory Management
Admin should be able to access and manage the inventory in order to showcase users the real-time data of the medicines. This in turn helps them to make necessary decisions.
Marketing and Promotional Tools
Admin should be able to access marketing and promotional tools in order to run ad campaigns and other marketing tactics.
Manage Suppliers and Users
Admin should have access to important data of suppliers and users which they can use whenever necessary.
Access and Generate Reports
Admin should be able to access and generate reports as and when required in order to make necessary business decisions.
Medicine Delivery Person
Delivery Person Profile
The delivery person should have access to the dashboard and their profile in order to make necessary changes when and where needed.
Maps
Delivery should be able to access maps in order to navigate the delivery.
Delivery Updates
Provide real-time updates to everyone involved in the platform to ensure that the correct product is delivered at the correct address.
Customers’ Panel
Signup/Login
This is an essential feature to provide customers so they can get personalized recommendations based on their geo-location.
Profile Management
Users should be able to add, update, and delete their profile information based on their needs.
Upload Prescriptions
Users should be able to upload prescriptions easily in order to place an order.
Medicine Details
Users should have access to important medical details which can help them make necessary decisions to buy it or not.
Filters
Filters are an essential feature to help ensure that users can use and search inside the product efficiently.
Advance Features
In-App Document Scanner
The app should have an in-app document scanner so users can use it to immediately upload their prescription anywhere anytime.
Electronic Prior Authorization
The application should be able to authorize the user's electronics if they require a certain type of medicinal drug. This feature helps ensure authenticity on the platform.
Curb-Side Pickup
In addition to home delivery you can also provide users with curb-side pickup which they can select while placing an order.
Shipment Tracking
Users should be able to check real-time data of their shipment to know its estimated time of arrival.
Multilingual Support
To take your product at the global level, you can provide multiple-language support which can help users to use it in their own language. This feature will help you to personalize your application and retain your users.
If you are still wondering how to start online pharmacy business and can’t understand it, don’t worry. We are here for you. Reach out to us, collaborate with medicine delivery app development company like ours and our team will help you establish your online medicine delivery app development.
Design
Before you start investing in medicine delivery app development you need to focus on designing it. In today’s time, design of an application has a huge role to play to ensure the success of the product. Designing the product which is user-centric will help ensure that you can retain users, help them achieve their goal, and also achieve your business goals. When forming a design, remember to make sure that it is a combination of junior and senior developers. This will make sure that designs are fresh and also in-depth.
Develop your Medicine Delivery App
For medicine delivery app development, we recommend you to use the latest technology tech-stack which can help you build scalable products. Below is the technology stack that we suggest:
Front-end Tech Stack
iOS | Android | |
---|---|---|
Programming Language | Swift, Objective C | Kotlin, Java |
IDE | AppCode, Xcode | Android Studio |
Development OS | Mac OS X | Ubuntu, Mac OS |
SDK | iOS SDK, Cocoa Touch | Android SDK |
Back-end Tech Stack
Programming Languages | Ruby, Java, Node.JS, Python, etc | |
Web Frameworks | Ruby on Rails, Flutter | |
Database Server | mySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB | |
Web Servers | Nginx, Apache | |
Cloud Server Platforms | Amazon Web Services |
Application Programming Interface
Category | Integration |
Payment Gateways | Braintree, Stripe, PayPal, GooglePay, ApplePay, etc. |
Social Media | Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. |
Analytics Tool | Google Analytics, MixPanel, etc. |
Navigation | Google Maps, Google Places |
Email Marketing | MainChimp, Twilio, SendGrid |
Storage | Cloud Storage, Storm on Demand API |
Testing and Deployment
Once you have finished online medicine delivery app development the next step is testing. It is essential to ensure that your product is bug-free and is qualitative in terms of use. Use the latest technology for testing to ensure that it is quality assurance checked and users can use it easily. Once the product is completely tested, you can focus on deploying it on AppStore and PlayStore.
Ways to Monetize your Application
Commission based Model
This is the most common model wherein, you can charge a certain amount of money from the pharmacy vendors on your platform. There are two ways to go for it. You can either charge them a fixed rate or customize it according to the order value. Either way you choose, we recommend you to include this in your business model. Additionally, it will help generate stable revenue which will also help you to innovate your product.
Feature Listing
Have you heard of paid marketing on your platform? Feature listing is just another name for the same thing. You can allow pharmacy vendors to run marketing ads if they want to rank on top on your platform. This source of income is not quite stable, but it will surely help you to serve your platform users’ better.
Conclusion
The development of a medicine delivery app is a transformative journey that requires a deep understanding of both technology and healthcare dynamics. By aligning with a reputable medicine delivery app development company, carefully planning each development stage, and staying abreast of industry trends, you can contribute to the evolution of healthcare accessibility. The fusion of technology and healthcare not only enhances convenience for users but also plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of medicine delivery. Embrace innovation, prioritize user experience, and embark on this exciting venture to make a lasting impact on healthcare delivery. Lastly, our team will provide you with a complete breakdown of medicine delivery app development cost.