One of our clients came up with a call like:
“Our delivery ops are all over the place. The tracking’s broken. Drivers miss pickups. Customers call nonstop. We tried five different apps, but nothing fits the way we work. Can you help us build something that works?”
We get this a lot. Logistics companies, especially growing ones, reach a point where Excel sheets, free apps, and WhatsApp groups don’t cut it anymore.
That’s when they call us. They want to build logistics app that fits their operations.
This blog is about the behind-the-scenes on how we built a custom logistics iOS app from scratch for one such client.
It is the real deal, with real product tradeoffs, growth hurdles, and performance challenges.
We will walk you through the iOS logistics app development process, how we scaled it to thousands of deliveries per week, and what you should watch out for if you’re building your own.
The Problem: Growth Without Structure
Our client ran a fast-growing courier service across mid-sized cities in Spain. Orders were flowing in, but so were complaints:
- Drivers are arriving late because of poor routing.
- Dispatchers are juggling 3 tools to manage pickups.
- No visibility for customers until the parcel showed up.
They tried ready-made iOS logistics apps, but every time they hit the same issue: lack of flexibility.
Their team worked differently, and they needed a logistics iOS app that could adapt to them, not the other way around. That’s where Seven Square’s iOS app development team came in.
What We Set Out to Build?
We weren’t aiming to reinvent the wheel.
Our goal was simple: build a logistics app that gives drivers, dispatchers, and customers a smooth experience with just enough features to improve their work, not overwhelm them.
Here’s what the client needed:
- A driver iOS app with turn-by-turn navigation, delivery confirmations, and task checklists.
- A dispatcher panel for assigning, tracking, and adjusting deliveries on the fly.
- Customer-side tracking with real-time updates.
This is classic on-demand app development territory, and we’ve done this across industries like health, e-commerce, and even food delivery.
What made this project different was the level of real-time sync and offline support needed.
What Were The Core Features We Delivered?
The client wanted to create logistics app for iOS that is unique from others in all manner.
To meet the unique needs of our client, we built a set of tailored features into the logistics app that covered each layer of their operations:
1. For Drivers:
- Turn-by-turn GPS navigation integrated with Apple Maps.
- Offline delivery task management.
- One-tap delivery confirmation with digital signature capture.
- Daily schedule view with time-optimized routing.
2. For Dispatchers:
- Real-time dashboard showing driver locations and parcel statuses.
- Drag-and-drop delivery assignment interface.
- Delivery rescheduling tools with automated notifications.
- Escalation alerts for missed pickups or delays.
3. For Customers:
- Live tracking link with ETA and contact option.
- In-app push and SMS notifications.
- Feedback from post-delivery.
These weren’t features for features’ sake. Each one answered a real workflow issue and made someone’s day easier.
How We Built the Logistics iOS App?
1. Aligning Product Thinking with Engineering
- At Seven Square, our team of 50+ problem-solvers doesn’t just write code, we bring product thinking to the table.
- We spent the first two weeks shadowing the client’s operations.
- From dispatcher routines to delivery routes, we mapped it all out before writing a single line of code.
- It is a standard procedure that we go through for iOS logistics app development.
- That’s how we arrived at a system that feels custom-built & easy to use.
2. Designing a Seamless UI/UX
- Our UI/UX team focused on clarity. The logistics app UI/UX had to work in bad lighting, on the road, with gloves on.
- We built large tap zones, clean task lists, and one-tap delivery confirmations.
- For dispatchers, we built a drag-and-drop dashboard to shuffle delivery slots.
- We prioritized logistics app features that made users faster, not busier.
3. Building for Scale and Offline
- Delivery drivers often lose signal. We built offline sync into the core logic; nothing gets lost if a driver goes offline.
- As soon as they reconnect, tasks sync in. We also planned for scale.
- From day one, we designed for 10x users, using AWS Lambda, Firebase, and background workers.
- This isn’t our first rodeo with logistics app startup projects, so we know how fast things can grow once it works.
4. Real-Time Communication and Tracking
- Using WebSockets and location polling, the dispatcher sees where every driver is, in near real-time.
- Customers get a tracking link with ETA and live driver movement.
- This logistics app growth feature alone cut down customer service calls by 45%.
We also did Razorpay integration in Node.Js apps so that customers can do the payments within the app.
What Happened After the Launch of Logistics iOS App?
In the first 60 days:
- Delivery task accuracy jumped from 72% to 97%.
- Average delivery time dropped by 20%.
- Customer support tickets fell by nearly half.
- The app hit 1,500+ daily active users without crashes.
The client was thrilled with this iOS logistics app development. But more importantly, the team finally felt in control.
And here’s the thing, we didn’t build magic. We just built what fit.
What Are the Lessons for Founders Building a Logistics App?
If you’re building your own logistics iOS app, here’s what we’ve learned that might save you time, money, and a lot of pain:
1. Custom Always Beats Generic
- Yes, SaaS tools are tempting. But most logistics app startups need workflows that evolve. You’ll outgrow generic tools quickly.
2. Offline Mode Is a Must-Have
- Not a nice-to-have. Your app must support offline activity logging and syncing. Field teams can’t afford downtime.
3. Monetization Isn’t Just Ads or Subs
- We built logistics app monetization through tiered features for franchisees tracking upgrades, delivery heatmaps, and analytics dashboards.
4. Scale Slowly, But Plan Ahead
- Your system should handle today’s ops, but be ready for tomorrow’s load. We’ve seen logistics app growth kill apps that weren’t built for it.
5. UI/UX Is Not Optional
- A confusing UI kills adoption. Invest in clean, obvious flows. Our logistics app UI/UX focus made training drivers a 15-minute job.
How We Have Delivered iOS Apps for Other Industries and How They Are Performing?
At Seven Square, we’ve helped companies across industries bring their app ideas to life quickly and reliably.
1. 2wai: AI Avatar Video App
- We helped build a creative iOS app that lets users generate AI-powered avatar videos in minutes.
- The challenge here was performance and real-time video rendering on mobile.
- Our team optimized the app to deliver smooth video generation, even on mid-range iPhones.
2. GBS Master: Slack-Like Communication App
- We built a custom iOS app that gives Ashram members real-time access to data on the go.
- It wasn’t just about listing data, we focused on making it usable, with secure logins, smooth navigation, and offline access for low-connectivity zones.
Want to achieve the same results for your logistics iOS app?
We are here to build a fully-featured iOS app for the logistics industry according to your requirements.
Do you have any iOS app ideas? We are here to build it!
Our App Migration and Optimization Insights
Later, a client wanted to expand to Android.
Our app platform migration approach lets us share logic across iOS and Android using Kotlin Multiplatform for dispatch logic, with platform-native UIs.
We’ve also helped them implement app performance optimization for background updates and battery-friendly tracking.
When comparing app refactoring vs rehosting, we went with partial refactoring to make cloud-native improvements without rewriting everything. That’s the kind of balanced, practical thinking we bring.
Why It Worked?
We think this worked because of a few things:
- We listened first. Built second.
- We didn’t chase trends. We solved real problems.
- We delivered fast, alpha in 3 weeks. Production in 6.
- We kept the team small. Senior engineers only.
That’s the Seven Square way for swift delivery, clear communication, and uncompromising quality.
We’ve delivered custom logistics app solutions for startups, enterprise clients, and everything in between.
We’ve helped clients with application migration, cloud application migration, and even legacy app modernization when needed.
Whatever the case, we don’t just build features. We ship working tech that fits real businesses.
Build for the User, Not the Pitch Deck
It’s easy to get lost in roadmap features and investor slides. But if your logistics app doesn’t actually help the driver, the dispatcher, or the customer it won’t stick.
So build smart. Build lean. Build what works.
And if you’re stuck, you don’t need a bloated agency or a pile of consultants. Sometimes, all you need is a sharp team that knows what it’s doing & we are the best option for you.
FAQs
- We used Swift for iOS development, along with Firebase for real-time updates and push notifications.
- For the backend, we built a custom API in Node.js and used MongoDB for data management.
- We didn’t just build an app, we built a solution around the client’s operations.
- Every feature was customized according to real logistics workflows, not generic templates.
- We’ve seen it work well for courier companies, B2B delivery networks, fleet managers, and even warehouse-to-store logistics.
- The system is flexible enough to fit different models.
- No problem, we can either build an app that connects to your current backend or help you modernize it. We’ve handled both cases before.