Editor’s note: Today’s blog post comes from Dr. Mohammad AL-Abbadi, CEO and Founder of Kaebox. Learn how Kaebox is increasing the accuracy of deliveries and improving the driver experience with Google Maps Platform Mobility services.

Transportation logistics is the backbone of economic growth. Consumers expect frictionless, fast deliveries from businesses of any size, but not all companies can afford the large-scale shipping operations needed to meet these expectations. At Kaebox, we support global equity by helping almost anyone to get their goods into the hands of consumers as fast as possible and cost-effectively.

Our shipper app lets customers operationalize all stages of shipping from a mobile device. Customers can request a package collection from various courier options according to their needs and budget. Drivers who are already offering ride-hailing services transport these parcels so we don’t need to introduce more vehicles to already heavily-trafficked areas. Many of these drivers are new to the courier journey, so we designed a separate mobile app to guide them at every step of the way.

In 2022, we wanted to refine the accuracy of pick-up and drop-off locations in our apps, optimize driver allocation, and help our drivers navigate faster, with more reliable routes. A search for geolocation services brought us to Google Maps Platform.

Delivering frictionless experiences on time

Sending drivers to the wrong spot negatively impacts driver safety and customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, this happened occasionally with our previous mapping solution which surfaced inaccurate pick-up and drop-off locations, leading drivers to small alleys or the back of buildings while customers waited at the front door. This introduced friction and delays to the delivery process. 

When Google Maps Platform launched Mobility services, we were immediately interested in how they could bring more precision and reliability to the mapping functionality of our apps. With support from Google Maps Platform Partner Searce, our team became one of the first to implement Mobility services in a React Native app globally.

With the Address & Location Context capabilities, customers can now drop a pin on a map within the Kaebox mobile app to request a precise pick-up location. For example, instead of inputting the generic address for a large apartment complex, they can indicate the exact door that is closest to them, and Mobility services calculate the driver’s route accordingly. This feature eliminates delays, helping Kaebox deliver smooth, timely services.

Keeping drivers on the ideal and clearest path

Mobility services also enable detailed journey tracking with the Consumer SDKs. Customers can see the parcel status on the map so they know exactly where their parcels are, from collection to delivery. Using the Navigation SDK, the driver’s app provides turn-by-turn directions, taking into account live traffic conditions, so drivers can select the best path to complete a job at any given time. Routes optimized for our specific vehicle types offer more accurate ETAs.

Importantly, for driver safety, all these features are available within the same app so drivers no longer need to switch between applications to receive order requests, contact recipients, and navigate between locations. 

Eliminating worry and complexity for the IT team

Behind-the-scenes, these updates also benefit our IT team, who previously relied on multiple APIs and services to enable different application features. This introduced complexity because we needed to manually manage API calls for everything from address validation to driver allocation. Our application’s performance was dependent on the stability of these multiple service providers, so if any of these connecting points went down, so did our app.

By unifying all of the Kaebox mobile app’s functionalities with Mobility services, we simplified our architecture diagram and established Google Maps Platform as our single point of dependency. We can now rest assured our application will always be up and running with the global reliability of Google Cloud.  

More deliveries, less time traveled 

To further optimize operations, our team worked with Searce to customize the various features within Mobility services for our driver allocation process. To help us assign the most appropriate drivers to incoming pick up requests, Mobility services surface drivers within the proximity of each request, then calculates the ETA for each one, according to real-time traffic conditions, to determine who’s more likely to arrive at the destination faster. 

Within this subset of drivers, our algorithm can then verify the compatibility of the drivers’ vehicles with the parcel size and weight, whether they have space for a new parcel, and whether he or she is available for this new request.

We can now also match drivers who are already on a delivery path with more requests within that same route, optimizing the number of deliveries they can make within the same distance. As a result, drivers now spend 14-18% less time traveling to complete the same amount of deliveries.  

Next, we’re planning to expand our services to make deliveries more accessible and affordable for individuals and small businesses worldwide. We’re working to offer new services, such as same-day delivery, to all US states and territories, and thereafter internationally. Searce and Google Maps Platform will play a key role in making this possible.