Fuel Delivery App Development: Prerequisites, Features, Cost

In the times of COVID-19 pandemic, online business has become more important than ever, and delivery services in various niches have peaked. It has become common to have basic goods, from food to toilet paper, delivered right to one’s door. And this is a perfect situation for the companies specializing in goods delivery.

While companies are competing for the crown of the best food delivery app, fuel delivery app development is something to consider as a relevant and up-to-date startup idea that can attract millions of potential users. 

Fuel delivery is a new trend in the overall scheme of delivery services, and it’s getting more and more popular. According to the report published in Businesswire, fuel delivery market is predicted to grow by US$1.2 billion by 2024. 

Fuel delivery businesses actively embrace modern technology to improve the delivery experience and to meet customers’ expectations of getting quality products brought to them within relatively short time frame. The main elements driving the fuel delivery market are increase in global vehicle production, sales volume of commercial and passenger vehicles, and what’s more important – growing demand for fuel delivery systems. 

So, no wonder that within the last few years there appeared a number of fuel delivery apps that soon gained popularity and took leading position in this niche. Let’s have a look at some of them:

• Booster (previously called Booster Fuels), an American gasoline and diesel delivery service provider. It provides easy-to-use and convenient services to the customers, - all they have to do is just book fuel delivery, pin their location, and pop the gas tank. Once the fuel is filled, one can get a receipt over the app. The company has its own fleets, which are smaller as compared to regular fuel vehicles, that’s why their vehicles can fit into any parking space. Besides, the company also stands out as there is no delivery fee for the service.

• Yoshi, an American fuel delivery company. Its platform lets customers order fuel on demand. The company does charge delivery costs, - yet, what makes it stand out is that it also offers optional membership that includes free weekly deliveries. In addition, the company also provides other car services like engine cleaning, oil change, etc., and the price for fuel drops if one gets other services as well. The company also has a strong referral program.

• MyPetrolPump, India’s first fuel delivery company. The company provides fuel on-demand service as well as doorstep delivery. After the order is received, the company’s truck goes to the petrol station near the customer’s location and brings fuel right to the customer who can schedule the delivery at convenient time. The company is successful, as it also caters to residential and commercial complexes for fueling diesel generators.

But the main reason why these companies are successful is that they take into account people’s needs. And if you want to dive into the fuel-delivery business, you should think, first of all, about your potential customers and their needs. Just put yourself in your customers’ shoes for a moment.

Imagine you are driving along the road on a dark night and suddenly you run out of petrol; you are all by yourself with the forest on the right and on the left and with no petrol station nearby. What would you do? – Most probably, panic. And just imagine that instead of panicking, you can take your phone and simply order the fuel via gas station delivery app. And voila: while you listen to your favorite music, you have the fuel delivered right to you and continue your journey.

So, the main problems fuel delivery app development can solve are:

No petrol station nearby 

Fuel delivery app can become a life vest for the people who got stuck in the middle of nowhere with no petrol station nearby.

No time to drive to the gas station

Fuel delivery apps save people’s time by delivering the fuel right to their place and helping them avoid unnecessary lines or extra driving to the gas station.

Your fuel type is not available at the gas station

Potential customers will be able to select between different types of the fuel depending on what they need in particular, diesel, petroleum, compressed natural gas, biodiesel.

But before starting fuel delivery app development, you should take into consideration some important aspects, specific to this type of business.

Let’s say you are now ready to dive into this type of business. And your first question would be: What should I do first? –So, here are key aspects you must take into account: 

Take care of  the vehicles that will deliver the fuel

Obviously, one can’t deliver fuel in a simple van or car that can be used, for example, for delivery of other goods. Fuel is a highly sensitive, flammable and dangerous substance, so it should be kept and transported under certain conditions. You should consider either designing air-tight, combustion-proof trucks yourself (together with the professional team) or find and buy several specialized trucks. 

Hire professionally trained truck drivers

It’s always better to hire drivers who are trained in driving trucks with dangerous substances. Of course, the sooner the fuel is delivered to the customer, the better, but one should always remember and take into account that there’s flammable substance at the back.

Find fuel carriers to collaborate with

Do research and think about what type of fuel carriers you would want to collaborate with. You can either find independent carriers or start collaborating with fuel station owners. Remember though that the fuel should be of high quality and meet the expectations of the potential customers.

Follow all the regulatory guidelines

You need to register your business, so that everything is official. And apart from paying registration fee, you should also meet all the official requirements. They will vary depending on your country and region. It’s also a good idea to consult a local law company to be sure that you’ve got all the necessary documents and meet all the conditions for starting such business.

Now that you’ve successfully met all the prerequisites, it’s time to think about gas delivery app development, the app that will become a bridge between you and the customer.

Let’s now dive a bit into the process of fuel delivery app development. To have the app successfully running, first of all, you need to build:

• Customer Panel
• Driver/Delivery Agent Panel
• Admin Panel

Each panel should include the basic features.

Customer App Features

For the Customer Panel, such features are:

Registration: Sign Up/Login

The registration should be easy to follow, and it’s preferable that the customers can choose whether to sign up with the email or social media account.

On-demand fuel delivery

This is the most important feature which will allow the customer to  select the type and quantity of fuel needed as well as their location.

Cost evaluation

Before the customers order fuel delivery, they can view approximate cost together with the shipping and then decide whether this price is suitable for them.

Multiple Payment Option

Customers should be given an option to pay either by using debit/credit card, wallet, or internet banking.

Tracking Order History

This feature will allow customers to view all the history of past orders and see all the bills.

Reviews, Ratings and Referrals

The customers will have the option to write reviews, evaluate the services provided and also refer other people to use the app.

Driver App Features

For the Driver/Delivery Agent Panel, basic features include:

Availability (Online/Offline)

The drivers can switch their status to on/off depending on the availability.

Driver's Dashboard

With this feature every driver will be able to see such important information as earnings, finished deliveries, scheduled bookings.

Request Detail and Customer Information

The drivers can see all the important details to successfully complete the refill requests.

Built-In Navigation

Navigation can save a lot of time and can significantly help the drivers to reach the destination on time with real time tracking on the map.

You can find more information about how to make a GPS navigation app here. And in case you wonder what kind of map it’s better to choose, learn more about the difference between Mapbox vs Google maps.

Payment

After successful completion of the fuel delivery, the drivers can generate the invoice and accept the payment from the customer.

Profile

This feature will allow drivers to manage their contact information, bank account, and so on.

Admin Panel Features

The Admin Panel should include the following features:

Login

The admin should be able to securely login into the web-based panel

Manage Booking and Cost Manage

The admin should be able to have access and to manage current and forthcoming delivery requests. The admin should also be able to manage and change the price for different gas types.

Manage Fuel Trucks

The admin can add and track all the vehicles that deliver fuel.

Track Deliveries

The admin can watch where the delivery trucks are on a real-time map.

Analytics and Reports

The admin can view all the data from reports and analytics, which would be helpful in making business decisions.

Order History

The admin can see previous orders of the customers and their transactions.

These are the basic features that the app should include. But if there’s a bigger budget for the gas app development, one could also include more advanced features, like geolocation, re-order, order status, in-app chat helpline, fuel meter integration, notifications, and so on. 

How To Estimate the Cost For On-Demand Fuel Delivery App Development

The cost for app development depends on a number of factors:

• Features. The more complex features you add to the app, the more it will cost.
• Operating system. The cost will vary depending on whether you need the app for the Android operating system, iOS, or both.
• Design. The complexity of web design and user interface design will affect the price as well.
• Mobile app developer's skills. The more technologically advanced mobile developers are, the more they will charge. You can learn more about how to hire an app developer.
• Developer's rates. The cost for gas delivery service app will also depend on which country you are hiring the developers. In some countries (like USA, UK) developers charge higher prices than in India or Ukraine. For example, US developers, on average, charge from $100 to $180 per hour; in India -it’s from $30 to $50, and in Ukraine - $35-120.
  

You can have a general overview of how much it costs to develop an app.

But the best idea is to reach out several experienced developers and get a quote for your project. Then, after you got a basic understanding of what features you would want to include in the app and would like to know how much approximately it will cost to develop such an app, get in touch with us, and we will estimate your project cost.

15 February 2021