Due to this COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen many changes in all the industry sectors. All of them have suffered an immense loss, and now they are trying to recover from it. The same is the case with the local shop owners; they had to plan something to keep up with their business. This post (Shopify vs. Zeo Route Planner) will compare two applications and their services and help you choose the correct delivery software for your business.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a rapid change in how local companies operate because lockdown has forced business owners to think of new ways to reach customers. One of the significant shifts has been retailers handling their deliveries, taking online orders directly to people’s doors. We have seen how businesses have adopted the Zeo Route Planner to get their business going. It seems like we’re not the only ones to notice this trend because Shopify just launched their route optimization app, Shopify Local Delivery.
Nancy Pearcy has rightly said that “Competition is always a good thing. It forces us to do our best. A monopoly renders people complacent and satisfied with mediocrity.” This guide will compare and contrast the Shopify Local Delivery App with our offering, Zeo Route Planner. We will look at the benefits and limitations of the Shopify app and also look at how the Zeo Route Planner compares with the Shopify app.
Suppose you want to rapidly scale up delivery services or need a simple solution to manage deliveries and optimize routes. In that case, both Zeo Route Planner and Shopify Local Delivery are options worth considering. This post will help you to decide which solution makes the most sense for you.
Shopify: The local delivery app
The Shopify local delivery app is launched in the market to help store owners manage delivery lists, optimize the order of deliveries and route planning, and provide their customers with updated status reports about parcel deliveries.
If we look into the app in more detail, we may find that many of these features seem to match with Zeo Route Planner. However, there are plenty of significant differences between the two apps that we’ll find out in this post.
Benefits of the Shopify app
Shopify and the Zeo Route Planner apps have a very slight difference, but there are some significant benefits that Shopify provides, and we would like to tell you those. The unique benefits of the Shopify local delivery app are as follows:
- The Shopify local delivery app is native: The Shopify local delivery app is built natively for Shopify store owners. It means that if you currently run your eCommerce store on Shopify, the tool is built into your existing platform and can be integrated easily with your admin, processes, and staff.
- It’s free: The Shopify local delivery app is free to use for all the Shopify merchants if they are eligible to use the app. You can start using this app as soon as you have 20 or fewer locations (i.e., warehouses or stores), have custom checkouts disabled, and have multiple location inventory enabled.
- Customizable email notifications: According to Shopify, if you are familiar with Liquid, which is Shopify’s templating code language, you can customize local delivery notifications and also customize the order confirmations for customers that choose the local delivery option at checkout.
If you’d like more information about how the Shopify Local Delivery App works, you can find details on the Shopify help center.
Limitations of the Shopify delivery app
Though it provides a decent amount of benefits and customization services, it also has some limitations. Let’s look at the limits in the Shopify local delivery app:
- Only limited to Shopify: Suppose if you are running an eCommerce store on WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, or any other eCommerce platform, you cannot use this Shopify local delivery app. For this purpose, you ought to use a third-party app just like Zeo Route Planner to manage your delivery problems.
- It is only suitable with one driver: Though the Shopify local delivery app considers all the list of addresses and provides you with the optimized route, it cannot distribute the task among your drivers. So, the dispatcher would need to do this manually before the app optimizes each route. It is time-consuming and difficult for a human to plan all the deliveries manually without making any mistakes.
- No customer interaction: With the Shopify local delivery app’s help, the drivers can update the delivery status (completed or failed), but the notes left on the app are not available for the end recipient to view. It is in contrast to Zeo Route Planner, where drivers and recipients can leave visible notes for each other, and the driver can also share their proof of delivery photo.
- Limited to Shop Pay: You cannot use the Shopify local delivery app with any other payment platform other than Shop Pay. This means that customers can’t choose Shopify Local Delivery if they wish to pay with PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay, or Google Pay. They won’t be able to select local delivery at checkout if they use these payment methods.
- Limitation of 100 stops: This might be plenty for the smaller retailers, but if you want to scale up deliveries while keeping your routes optimized, the app won’t help anymore.
In addition to this, Shopify has also warned their enterprise-level users that adding Shopify Local Delivery to their checkout can cause problems with their customized checkout templates.
How is Zeo Route Planner better than Shopify local delivery app
The Shopify local delivery app is a good option for small Shopify merchants operating with one driver. If none of the limitations comes in the way we have listed above, it can be useful for small businesses. The route optimization is reliable and straightforward, and the delivery notifications keep recipients in the loop about their order’s general status.
In contrast, Zeo Route Planner is better for businesses that employ more than one driver for running deliveries and with a more extensive inventory of items that need to be delivered daily. And if you also have specific delivery requirements (e.g., a parcel needs to be shipped before 11:00 PM), Zeo Route Planner is probably a better fit.
Benefits of using Zeo Route Planner
Let’s look into how Zeo Route Planner can help you in managing all your delivery problems:
- Managing addresses: Zeo Route Planner provides you various ways to handle all your delivery addresses. With Zeo Route Planner, you can import all your addresses using the spreadsheet, image capture, bar/QR code scan, manual typing (our manual typing uses the same autocomplete feature provided by Google Maps). With the help of these features, you cut down the human error and save much time. Also, Zeo Route Planner can optimize up to 500 stops at a time. Zeo Route Planner’s efficient algorithm can provide you the fastest route in just 30 seconds.
- Managing time constraints: Zeo Route Planner provides you the option to make any delivery ASAP or in any specific time window. All you need is to mention these constraints of the stop, and the algorithm will provide you the fastest route possible while keeping all the conditions in mind. With this, you can deliver the packages to your customers within the time window and provide better customer service.
- No limitation on stops: Unlike Shopify, Zeo Route Planner doesn’t cap on the number of stops you choose in one day. Shopify can only make 100 deliveries per day, which is not suitable for you if you plan to scale up your services. Zeo Route Planner will help you that by providing an unlimited number of stops for each day. So, there is no worry about how many deliveries you make every single day.
- Route monitoring: With Zeo Route Planner, you get the essential option, i.e., route monitoring. With this service’s help, you can get your drivers’ real-time location and help them in case of any mishappening on the road.
- Proof of Delivery: Proof of delivery is an important feature you should have in handling a delivery business. It not only helps you to record the completed delivery, but it also allows you to keep a transparent relationship with your customers. Zeo Route Planner will enable you to capture a digital signature on the driver’s smartphone or photograph capture in proof of delivery.
- Navigation services: Your drivers need to use the navigation service of their choice. We at Zeo Route Planner have tried to provide various navigation services in our app, such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, Yandex Maps, TomTom Go, Sygic Maps, HereWe Go, Waze Maps.
- Customer notifications: It is essential to keep your customers informed about the deliveries that will take place. With the help of Zeo Route Planner, you can provide this seamless service to your valued customers. Zeo Route Planner sends out notifications to your customers about when their delivery is going to take place. It also provides you a link to a customer tracking dashboard to track their packages in real-time.
Final thoughts
If you have more than one delivery driver, complex delivery requirements, and the potential for more than 100 deliveries per day, Zeo Route Planner is relevant for you. Other factors make our app a superior option for any retailer regardless of the complexity of their deliveries.
The Shopify local delivery app is an excellent tool for Shopify merchants who only have a few deliveries to make per day or per week with one driver’s help. If your ambition is to get optimized and better route planning, this mobile app is simple, quick, and easy to launch from your existing Shopify store.
However, if you run a delivery business and want proof of delivery, route monitoring, and other essential features, you should switch to Zeo Route Planner. And for companies who need more robust delivery management for complex inventories and multiple drivers, route optimization for more stops, real-time updates, and route monitoring, Zeo Route Planner is the solution that makes sense.
Try it now
Our motive is to make life easier and comfortable for small and medium businesses. So now you are only one step away to import your excel and start away.
Download the Zeo Route Planner from Play Store
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zeoauto.zeocircuit
Download the Zeo Route Planner from App Store
https://apps.apple.com/in/app/zeo-route-planner/id1525068524
