AI-Powered Delivery Route Planner App

Business

Late deliveries and poor visibility are the reasons why the majority of businesses fail. We built an AI-powered delivery route planner MVP to solve this issue by automatically suggesting a delivery person with the nearest routes to help drivers reach the destination on time. We focused on cross-platform development to focus on a broader audience. Plus, we added features like real-time ETA’s, smart order batching, and full fleet visibility for dispatchers to help businesses save on fuel and overall operational costs.

Business Problem

Our client is a grocery retailer and wants to expand their business to hyperlocal home deliveries. They had logistics facilities available, but assigning delivery partners was manual. Delivery partners used to search on Google Maps for delivery on their own. These were causing multiple problems like delivery delays, inefficient routing, a lack of real-time visibility, and more. Also, our client noticed that order volume was constantly increasing, which needed a proper route planner app to handle the route assigning and have faster delivery.

Drivers were taking longer routes, which was leading to fuel wastage and late deliveries. Plus, some deliveries were also missed. Hence, he approached Expert App Devs to create an MVP route planner app to handle delivery operations smoothly and guide delivery drivers in taking the fastest route.

The Big Idea

To solve these challenges, the idea was to build a smart automated delivery route planner to handle growing delivery volumes, keep routes optimized. Instead of assigning orders manually or relying on fixed routing, we decided to integrate AI, which considers real-time traffic, delivery windows, driver availability, and even vehicle types. The MVP app dynamically groups orders for the same or nearby locations and adjusts routes accordingly. It also considers factors like a traffic jam or a last-minute cancellation.

Brief Into the App

Our AI-powered delivery route planner is a mobile and web-based platform designed for high-speed, high-volume deliveries. The app has AI which assists dispatchers and drivers in taking the nearest routes and getting an idea about traffic, stops, and other things.

This route planner app for delivery drivers has key features like smart order batching, AI route optimization, live driver tracking, dynamic re-routing, and customer ETA notifications. It has a dashboard that can be accessed by users to monitor delivery progress, assign orders by zones, and view heatmaps. The app also syncs with inventory and order management systems to make sure groceries and other products don't go out of stock.

The client saved 23% of the cost due to proper usage of fuel and efficiency through AI route optimization. Other than this, their business expanded to 3 cities in 6 weeks.

Our Process

To solve the delivery route issue, here is the app development process we followed.

Client Discovery: We started by analyzing their current delivery process, user flows, and scaling goals.
Competitor Research: Our research and BD teams studied apps like Zepto and Blinkit to get an idea about their route logic, batching, and UX design.
User Journey Mapping: Our design team designed workflows for dispatchers, delivery drivers, and end-users.
UI/UX Design: We created a clean, user-friendly design with readable fonts with less animation so that drivers don't divert while driving.
AI Development: For AI-based route suggestion, we used Python-based models for route clustering, traffic prediction, and dynamic adjustments.
Cross-Platform Development: As the target audience were Android and iOS users both, we built using Flutter and integrated Google Maps, Mapbox SDK, and real-time APIs.
Testing & Simulation – Ran real-world delivery tests and stress-tested peak hours.

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Challenges

Like any tech-forward logistics project, this one brought unique hurdles:

Real-Time Traffic Handling: Getting data on live traffic from different sources and normalizing it was a challenging part to make accurate predictions.
50+ Stop Optimization: The AI needed to consider multiple constraints like time windows, zones, and traffic to reorder stops efficiently.
Cross-Platform Stability: Making performance up to the mark for both Android and iOS using Flutter.
User Simplicity vs. Functionality: Balancing advanced backend logic with a simple user interface for non-technical drivers.
Dynamic Re-routing: Implementing instant recalculations when orders were added, canceled, or delayed mid-route.

Solution

AI-based Route Management

We implemented a map routing program with AI to identify the best delivery path in real time. It considers traffic, delivery windows, and order priorities to suggest the fastest route. It will automatically act as a route organiser in specific conditions, like roadblocks or delays.
Multi-Stop Planner

Drivers can plan multiple deliveries with this feature. This feature organizes all those stops in the smartest order, so they don’t waste time or fuel going back and forth. If something changes mid-route, the planner instantly updates the sequence to stay efficient and on track.
Cross-Platform App

We built the app using Flutter, which means it works smoothly on both Android and iOS. Whether a driver uses a Samsung or an iPhone, they get the same easy-to-use experience. This saves costs for the company and ensures all drivers can access the app without issues.
GPS Tracking & ETAs

Customers and dispatchers can check the driver's location and estimated time of arrival.
Admin Control Panel

Everyone can access the dashboard according to their roles- customers, drivers, or dispatchers. For example, dispatchers can assign deliveries, monitor live routes, and check driver performance. While customers can see their orders along with other information.
Delivery Analytics

Here user can see useful delivery data like fuel usage, on-time performance, and route history. This helps the business to identify inefficiencies, measure progress, and make smarter decisions.