Online services have grown at an incredible rate over the last decade and seem to be only getting better in the coming. Every industry from food to pharmaceuticals and even home appliances has its deliberate presence in the e-commerce community. The convenience of shopping from home and still avail a variety and even specific product searches.
Medicines are an important part of today’s society with all the growing number of health concerns. Pharmaceuticals are all over the world to serve the local people. However, there is a limitation in providing all the supply, whereas the internet bridges the gap to demand. Apart from the uninterrupted supply, there are other ways that e-pharmacy has become a crucial part of this digitalized society.
After the Coronavirus pandemic, the demand for e-pharmacy shored even higher. Home delivery of medicines, no-contact payment measures, and the overall e-commerce facility really suited the norms of the times. Even without COVID-19, online medicine delivery app or other e-commerce services has been proven to provide customer satisfaction.
E-Pharmacy Application Benefits
E-pharmacy has several benefits to several players involved in the e-pharma business. While for the customer it allows a better option to acquire the product in a shorter span of time. The retailer gets only to meet the demand in time. It saves the customer time, effort, and often money by availing several discounts offers and coupons.
It gives them a better opportunity to search and filter through different items and even find the specific drugs that may not be locally available. Online purchase also allows online payment and safe delivery to home. The online medicine delivery app allows the pharmacy to build a better relationship with the customer and establish its brand online. There are other benefits to an online medicine delivery application that can only be availed by users.
Business Structure For Online Medicine Delivery App Development
If you are thinking about online medicine delivery app development you have to know the basic structure of the e-pharmacy business. To be frank, there are quite a few e-pharma applications out there that are doing quite a good job. So, in order to have a domineering presence, you have to really innovative and intuitive throughout the development as well as functioning.
The e-pharma business has a few models through which an online business can be established. There are three business models that have been popularized. These are explained below.
Application Tying Up Multiple Retailers
In this type of business model, online pharmacy owners tie up with different retail drugstores from across different places. When a customer puts out details for purchase over the app, it locates the nearest drugstore with the available medicines for the customers. While the payment is cleared online or offline, the medicine is delivered to the registered home address!
This allows the online pharmacy to go easy on its inventory preparations. They can simply meet the demands by using their chain of retail drugstores to provide for the customer. The nearest drugstore will then fulfill the promises of delivery and complete the cycle.
Retail Drugstore Application
Customers directly place their orders with the retailers and look for available medicine. If the pharmacy has all the available medicine they will surely deliver it to the customer. The customer may have to upload their prescription in the online medicine delivery app to place the order with the online retailer.
Direct Pharmaceutical Supply
The online pharmacy here becomes the supplier and delivers it to the customer without any intervention from other players. Here, the online pharmacy provides for the supply and directly delivers the drug to the customer allowing the owner to have full control over the business.
Basic App Model, Functions, And Features
To better understand how application caters to different users it is important to understand the app models and their individual functions and features. Online medicine delivery app has to serve the multiple players involved in the business. The app consists of different functions for different people; i.e the business owner, admins, customer, and delivery portals. Let us discuss these in details down below.
Functions & Features Of The Customer App
As the name suggests, the customer application is designed and dedicated for the customer of the online pharma business. This application is the communication medium or the customer. Customers use this app to search, find, place orders, and purchase medications from authorized dealers.
- Log-in and other registration for verifying different personal and individual credentials.
- Advanced search options or smart search that allows customers to skim through different options, filter searches, FAQs, and support services for providing better search results for specific items.
- The product description and medicine details from its usage and possible side-effects and medical description of the drug being searched such as price, manufacturing & expiry dates, and other information are also mentioned.
- Some customer app may also have comparison features based on the different manufacturers, price, previous customer reviews, and other such criteria.
- It may often be smart enough to suggest substitutes for a drug if the product is unavailable at the moment or have a high price tag to it.
- Authorized online apps often ask for uploading prescriptions for verification purposes of a few drugs.
- Shopping carts allow you to save items that you wish to purchase from the online store.
- Most e-pharma apps today feature in-app payment options for better online business. Online payment options are important especially today, to avoid cash payments and often avail a few online offers.
- The customer may also be able able to track their order in real-time to ensure more trust and authenticity.
- For regular customers, the order history may allow them to reorder in case of a refill.
- Notifications for order confirmation offers on specific products, a delivery notification such things are severely important for the app structure.
- Customer service or store contact must be available for the customer to ask queries and lodge complaints in case of mishaps.
- May also have features to remind customers to set a timer for the consumption of medicine.
- There should be a viable return policy or replacement option for the customer to avail in the case of a defective product or product misplacement for delivery.
- The app can also provide newsletters and articles about health topics for better and healthier individual life.
- A feedback option is essential for the customer to leave their remarks on the performance and the authenticity of the e-pharma application and its services.
- The application should be developed and designed to support all popular digital platforms such as android, iOS, and windows.
There are other features you can include to make the app even more appealing and useful to your audiences.
Functions & Features Of The Drugstore/ Pharma App
The drugstore or pharma application is designed for the intermediary connection of the drugstore and online pharma chain. This app is the pharmacist or the medical store owner. It is designed for controlling orders and shipments of different drugs to online buyers.
- It will also have a log-in or registration panel for the authorized pharmacist or drugstore manager with all the legal credentials required.
- Availability of the product details will allow the retailer to resolve any customer problems.
- Notifications for new order placement, cancel or, approval of the order, payment collection, shipment, and delivery of the order, etc should be provided from time to time on the app itself.
- Checking and verifying prescriptions uploaded by customers before approving the order.
- Management of all orders should be included under one panel. This may include order arrangements, payment, shipment and delivery status, returns and refunds, and similar functions required to manage the online pharma business. The overall order status of each purchase can be accessed under this section.
- The order history will allow the app manager to go through all the past, present business endeavors as well as manage future options that are scheduled for later.
- Keeping a proper physical track of business and raising bills for each deal.
- Tracking of payment details, online payments, cash on delivery, and other due payments must be located under one panel for easy access.
- As the order is packed and ready to be shipped and delivered the store must also have all the details available for tracking, almost similar to that of the customer with a few more options.
- Customer support panel for communicating and providing any possible support to the customer.
- Admin contact for communicating with the admin team for any queries on the app.
This too can have a few more features relating to the growth of the business. However, the basic options are laid down above.
Functions & Features Of The Admin Panel
The admin panel is where the control of the entire online pharma application is rested upon. Like other users of the application, the admin also has his share in controlling the functions of the different users enlisted under its system.
- The admin team also has a log-in and registration option for verification purpose.
- The dashboard offers the admin to monitor different operations on the app. Pending requests, stocks, purchases, complaints, and other such matters are included under this section.
- For the management of the admin team and its operations and maintaining all the details and records in accordance with different admin groups.
- The basic status of the order placed by the customer and the management of the same. All orders, deliveries, customer queries, order details, customer payment details, and other such important information are noted under this module.
- An option to manage the inventory, loading or clearing of the stock, product detail of each item, and other such options.
- A list of the suppliers or manufacturers partnering with the application and their details must be recorded under a single panel.
- Managing the order of the supplier based on the weight of the inventory and all the details regarding the order.
- Managing the price of different products and providing offers and discounts whatever possible.
- For advertising and marketing, the admin can monitor all the campaigns through the app.
- Notification panels for the admin to stay updated with orders, stocks, payments, the overall online business.
- Customer service panel for the users to register feedback, support, complaints, or ask queries about the app.
- Contact option for the admin to get in touch with the retailer or pharmacist.
These are the basic features and functions of the admin panel. A few more options can be included based on your own convenience.
Functions & Features Of The Delivery App
The delivery application is intended for the drivers. The driver set for the delivery of the product will be using this application to record his functions as well as provide the information on delivery of the item on both the sides, the retailer and the customer.
- The driver’s app also has log-in and registration for the driver to fill up.
- Notifications for the driver to deliver items in said location, accept requests, acquire delivery details and other information.
- Mapping and AI-supported route guiding option for the driver to follow.
- Communication option between the customer and driver to avail quickly.
- The status of the delivery, whether delivered, denied, or on the way to delivery all recorded under one panel along with payment options.
- The performance history of every driver for better authentication and review purposes.
- Ratings and feedback for the customer to reveal their experiences with the overall delivery and the delivery personnel.
- Multiple platforms support so all drivers can easily use the application on their own devices.
The delivery app allows a bridge between the retailer and customer in order to provide for the demand. There are advanced features that can be added to each of the applications and not all types of online medicine delivery business modules require all of the applications or the said features.
Cost To Consider For Developing Online Medicine Delivery App
The cost of developing an online medicine delivery app is probably the most crucial thing to consider. This includes the online platforms for the app to run, features, design, and other development costs.
Other automatic features, AI-based technology, app size, and the developer’s cost are separately included in the cost structure of the online medicine delivery app development. The cost is simply depended on how you wish to present the application.
Conclusion
The demand for online medicine delivery apps is at its peak and is only expected to increase in the coming time. Medicines are very important for different health problems, and online shopping provides unique options in this field.