CheatSheet: How to Build an App for UberRush

October 4, 2016 | Sakshi Sharma

Everyone knows about Uber. They’re one of the most disruptive and successful tech companies in the world, having started off as a ride-sharing, pseudo-taxi service. They’re an algorithm and associated mobile app revolutionized the taxi industry, solving a huge issue most people didn’t even realize was there.

This is where the success and brilliance of Uber Cofounders Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp truly lie. It isn’t in creating a beautiful piece of code that performs with near perfection, while simultaneously being some complex that it kept any competitors from pulling ahead of Uber. It isn’t even their ability to bypass state and city regulations, thereby avoiding the huge costs that Taxi companies face.

It was in their ability to realize that there was a problem: people around the world were in dire need of a ride service that was available immediately. Plus, they wanted something that can be summoned to the rider, rather than the rider hunting down a taxi. Most people didn’t even realize this was an issue, much less seeing the path toward solving it!

Disrupt, Disrupt, Disrupt!

But as with most Silicon Valley tech companies, Uber follows a simple creed: innovate or die. Conquering the world from San Francisco to Beijing to New York wasn’t enough; so UberEats was launched. Similar to other food delivery services, UberEats allows the user to order food and have it delivered by an Uber driver.

Camp and Kalanick have also launched UberRUSH; which delivers products within an hour. The true entrepreneurial genius behind UberRUSH is that it’s offered to businesses as an API. This means that SDI’s developers can take any app and add in the UberRUSH API. This way, users never even have to leave your app to have their orders delivered near instantaneously.

Let’s take a traditional Marketing approach to this: First, we will identify the problems with delivery services, then we will talk about how integrating the UberRUSH API is superior to other options and good for your SMB or startup.

The Problem[s]

There are a lot of delivery services out there. A lot a lot. We all know the big guns: UPS, FedEx, even the US Postal Service. There are even Delivery Services that go beyond the traditional shipping giants, such as GrubHub, DoorDash, or PostMates. Even Amazon has its own rapid delivery service.

While these are all great options with their own advantages there are issues with each one:

• Traditional Shipping/Receiving companies (UPS, FedEx, etc) are great for shipping in volume and have nice inexpensive options. But the fastest they offer is 1-day shipping, which costs an arm and a leg. 10 years ago that would have been enough. Unfortunately, today is the day of instant gratification, so 24 hours is 23 hours too long.

• GrubHub and other Food Delivery App businesses are great, quick options that aren’t super expensive. But they only focus on food delivery, and are only consumer-facing. As a business, you probably have your own app (contact us if you don’t!) so what you need is a Business to business API. Something that can be added to your branded app.

• PostMates solves the issue of B2B services, but isn’t an integrated API. Users and shoppers need to use the branded PostMate app. So that cuts out your own app and brand, unfortunately. Also, PostMate tends to focus on the big players, leaving the small guys by wayside.

• Of course, there’s always the old, traditional way of doing things: having your own drivers. But then how often do you have a rush delivery order? Even if you have a lot of them, you’re still looking at paying employees for round trips, providing auto insurance, wages, gas money, maybe even benefits.

The Solution

Let’s talk about how UberRush works. UberRUSH integrates fully with any app, granting you the ability to provide one hour delivery service. Not tomorrow, not just relegated to food. Even better, UberRUSH is specifically oriented at small local businesses, ones that can’t traditionally offer deliver services.

As Uber’s Product Manager (Calvin Lee) has stated, UberRUSH is the company’s first attempt at a wholly B2B service. With SDI’s help, you can integrate this API right into your app, allowing users to instantly order their products with a single tap of a button.

It avoids the expense of maintaining your own delivery service, because you’re only hiring a driver as needed, you don’t pay their insurance and other incidentals and you’re only paying for a one way trip. As the company itself points out, when an UberRush Driver, you’re only paying for the trip from your business to your client (and that cost is passed on to your consumer).

So with a simple call to our developers, you can add incredible value to your app, while keeping your users firmly planted in your own app. Plus, the costs are negligible and the appeal massive. Don’t have an app for your company yet? No problem: Give us a call at 408.805.0495/408.621.8481 – or click to contact us!

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