Build an On-Demand Medicine Delivery app for iOS & Android

Introduction

Most people would be content with the fact that food, clothing, and delivery are the most basic needs of humankind. However, medicines and pharmaceuticals also deserve a parallel of the listing along with those listed above, as they can be life-saving at times.

There has never been a better time to understand the significance of medicines. Now that almost every business and service are adopting the on-demand mode; medicines are not an exception. An on-demand medicine delivery app, as expected, selves to deliver medicines to the doorsteps of customers from local pharmacies.

There are a lot of businesses that have already embarked on app-based medicine delivery on demand. However, given the fact that the world is going through a pandemic that impulses heavy restrictions on going out of homes, there has never been a better time to start an on-demand medicine delivery app business.

The Market

Medicine delivery has been going through its hiccup of adoption, or rather, the minutia of people having been used to purchasing their drugs from brick and mortar pharmacies. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, was a much-needed Silver bullet for the e-pharmacy industry. There was an exponential increase in the demand for on-demand medicine delivery app solutions.

It has been predicted by Zion market research that the e-pharmacy market will skyrocket to a staggering value of about $107.53 billion by the end of 2025.

It is a massive growth considering the fact that the market was worth just about $42.32 billion in 2018. Mobile health applications are expected to grow even bigger, garnering a $111.1 billion worth by 2025. This is a massive 1300 percentage quantum leap from the estimates of 2018, which was hovering at around $8 billion.

The following image displays the global e-pharmacy market share, by product, 2018

Considering that the market is quite wide and open, and almost every individual is a possible consumer of medicines and pharmaceutical products, it could be the right time to invest in on-demand medicine delivery app development.

The possibilities of profitability are quite wide and diverse. Let us look at the different business models, the monetization channels, the essential features, and the possible ways you could go about building your on-demand app.

The Different Business Models

Medicine delivery applications are far from being monotonous. There are different business models, and based on your market and your operational capabilities, you can choose one that fits your requirements.

- Single Store

As the name implies, this medicine delivery app is more like a brick and mortar store’s digital representation. The users can download the app, upload that prescription, and wait for the updates. The pharmacy checks the product’s availability and takes care to send the medicines to the user’s location, taking up the delivery task upon themselves.

- Aggregator

The aggregator, although it shows an online pharmacy, does not have it on the stock. Alternatively, it enters into a partnership with local pharmacies in the vicinity. When the user places an order, the app system checks the nearest pharmacy to the user’s location and lets them know the order. The local chemist takes care to deliver the medicines to the users.

- Aggregator With Delivery

This is probably the most beneficial business model for all the parties involved in the ecosystem. Here, the app shows the list of pharmacies that a user can order from when they enter the drug of their requirement. The app business takes care to affect the delivery by using the dedicated fleet of delivery executives. In most cases, these delivery executives are gig workers, and they are not employed either with the pharmacy or the app.

As you may have inferred, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. It is the responsibility of the app business to choose the best business model based on their target market, the availability of partner pharmacies, the possibility of finding delivery executives, and the audience and the affinity or absence of it for adopting new technology even for traditionally rooted processes.

The Benefits Of Medicine Delivery

Using an online medicine delivery application presents its own share of benefits for the customers and the pharmacy alike.

- For The Customer

• As a direct consequence, the customer will find it extremely convenient and comfortable to order medicines in the comfort and confines of their homes.
• The entire order mechanism is transparent to the extent of even notifying the customer of the delivery executive’s movement on the map interface by using GPS.
• It is quite likely that the app might provide offers and discounts at all times. There can also be free shipping offers that can serve as an enticement for customers to order online than visiting a pharmacy.
• The app gives access to a wide range of drugs that might not have been known to the customer in the case of over-the-counter medicines.
• In the interest of business, the app and the pharmacy will ensure that there is no compromise in terms of quality.
• There’s also room to include a few advanced features and service extensions like consulting a doctor or a nutritionist over the app, integrating diagnostic and lab results, and uploading documents and prescriptions.
• At a time when there is an emphasis on minimizing human contact, customers can make use of digital payment methods and avoid transacting in cash if they use an on-demand medicine delivery app.

- For The Pharmacy

The online medicine delivery app, in essence, creates an additional channel of revenue for the pharmacy.

• The pharmacy does not have to any longer depend on people who essentially walk into their store. They can capitalize even on users who have an app and can access their online avatar.
• It gives a cloak of being technologically advanced if you have the best presents. It accounts for high-end customer service.
• The online pharmacy functions like a digital inventory, and it can also help the business get notifications on expiry dates and products that are about to get over.
• It can also help understand customer behavior through data, which was, until recently, unstructured and unorganized.

The Modes of Monetization

No business model is complete without defining the different ways in which it can make money. When it comes to online medicine delivery, there are a lot of revenue channels.

- Commissions

Let us focus on the aggregator and the aggregator with delivery business models. What these abs do are nothing more than creating an additional channel of business for the local pharmacies. Therefore, the app can take a cut from the profit earned by the pharmacy, and when you play the number game, these commissions can accumulate to be a large chunk of revenue for the business.

- Sponsored Listings

There might be a few pharmacies that are relatively new in the neighborhood, and they might need additional visibility, at least to start with. There is no better place for them to mark a presence other than a medicine delivery app.

- Advertisements

Leading mobile app platforms provide their own monetization programs through hosting ads on apps. In addition, your app can’t seek partnership with pharmaceutical companies, diagnostic centers, hospital chains, private practice doctors, insurance companies, and any other business that aims to gain some traction in a locality. It can also be useful for gyms, provision stores, and beauty parlors.

The Features

The on-demand medicine delivery application is a grand culmination of three different apps working in tandem with each other — one for the customer, one for the pharmacy, and one for the administrator. There might also be instances delivery executives also have their own application.

A few features need to be essentially present in the apps to ensure the proper functioning of the app and proper execution of the medicine delivery process.

- For The Customer

• The customer should be able to easily login and register with either the email address or their phone number. They should also be able to sign up for the services using legacy login credentials like Google and Facebook.
• The login should open a profile where they can maintain their personal information, the prescriptions, the delivery addresses, and the history of all the medicine orders.
• The customers should be able to upload prescriptions without any hassle in their profile.
• The customer app should be equipped with a search mechanism that includes medicines by their brand name and generic name, but even buy the ingredients in the medicine to find an easy alternative.
• The process of ordering medicine should be easy and straightforward. They should be able to complete an order in less than three steps.
• The customer should be able to make payments using multiple payment methods like credit cards, Internet banking, debit cards, and wallets. For this purpose, the app should be tied up with a robust payment services provider.
• To make the entire ecosystem democratic, the customer should be able to rate their experience with the pharmacy and the delivery executive.

- For The Pharmacy

• Just like customers, the pharmacy should also be able to register for the services quickly. They should be able to input their details, including the physical address, business registration, and payment/banking details.
• The pharmacy should be provided with a dedicated user interface that helps them manage and create orders. They should also be able to manage their inventory so customers are notified of the availability or unavailability of certain medicine in the pharmacy.
• The pharmacy should have access to a decoded digital prescription that should relieve them of the cumbersome task of interpreting doctors’ handwriting to find out the exact medicine that has been prescribed.
• They should be able to quickly receive payments made it through the app to the bank accounts.
• They should have a facility to push notifications to users to keep them updated regarding important events like the acceptance of an order and the dispatch of a delivery. They should also be notified of new orders through a push notification.

- For The Administrator

The administrator is responsible for upkeeping the sanity and sanctity of the app.

• They should be provided with a dedicated dashboard that gives a snapshot view of all the important statistics, including but not limited to the customer orders, the number of active stores, the total value of all the orders for a given timeframe, and the nature/descriptions of the orders.
• The administrator should have access to a payment gateway that can help them efficiently process payments to the pharmacy or refunds to users.
• They should be provided with insightful analytics that helps them plan their promotions, discounts, and the next business move.
• They should be able to contact customers and partner pharmacies over phone or email.
• They should be able to handle customer support and resolve issues, and if need be, delegate their responsibilities to the customer support team.
• They should have instantaneous access to the app’s earnings on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

The Additional Features

The features that have been mentioned above are more than sufficient to ensure that your app delivery process happens without any hassle. However, if you intend to delight your customer and distinguish yourself from your competition, you can consider adding a few additional features.

• The customers should be able to advance book medicines that they might need in the future without any concerns about unavailability. This would also give room for the pharmacy to make certain medicines available.
• The app can also facilitate subscription packages, and it might come in as a useful feature for people who are on continuous medication.
• Your app should have a feature to request an urgent dispatch at an additional cost. This feature might come in handy for medicines that might be needed after an accident or some traumatic incident.

The Challenges

It cannot be denied that the business of on-demand medicine delivery is profitable, but it also has its own share of challenges.

As can be understood, medical data represents one of the most sensitive segments of data. There are regulatory requirements like the HIPAA that your business needs to establish compliance with. Establishing HIPAA compliance might cost the business a bit, but it is not as expensive as fighting labs in compliance.

Regulatory bodies like the FDA govern the entire Pharma industry. It is important to establish compliance with the FDA rules and regulations on an ongoing basis.

One of the biggest challenges that the on-demand medicine delivery app business would face is people’s resistance to moving from their traditional systems. Parallel to this, even hospitals have been quite resistant to this upgrade, and medicine delivery apps might face their initial share of non-acceptance. Still, it is just a matter of time, just like any other technology!

Conclusion

It is proven beyond and iota of doubt that medicine delivery on demand is one of the most profitable businesses for the future. Suppose you are one of those aspiring entrepreneurs who would like to build a business using this idea. In that case, all you need to do is invest in on-demand medicine delivery app development.

Rather than building the app from scratch, you can consider using white label films of medicine delivery apps. They are not only easy to customize but also save quite a lot in terms of both time and money, helping you launch your business at the earliest.

You can get in touch with a company specializing in on-demand medicine delivery app development and white label customization. They will take care to provide you with the entire app ecosystem that you would require to launch your business.