How to design an e-commerce parcel logistics software that meets the needs of users?

In today's era of booming e-commerce, courier services as an important mailing tool have become an integral part of people's lives. How to meet users' needs for courier services and improve the quality and efficiency of courier services has become an urgent problem for many courier enterprises. In such a context, user needs analysis and functional design has become one of the key concerns of courier enterprises. In this paper, we will discuss how to design an e-commerce parcel logistics software that meets user requirements from four aspects: user requirement analysis, functional design, interface design and system architecture design.

(1) In the user requirements analysis stage, the needs and usage habits of users need to be further refined, including

User portrait: to understand the basic information of users such as age, gender, region and occupation, as well as the consumption habits and payment habits of users.

User needs: to understand the user's needs for courier services, such as courier delivery range, courier timeliness, courier costs, parcel security and other aspects of demand.

User behaviour: analyse the behaviour of users in the process of using courier services, such as the common courier companies, the frequency of querying logistics information, the process of placing orders, etc.

User pain points: understand the pain points and problems encountered by users in the process of using courier services, such as lost parcels, delayed delivery, customer service communication, etc.

(2) Through in-depth analysis of user needs, functions and interfaces that meet user needs can be better designed.

Functional design

In the functional design stage, functions that meet user habits need to be designed according to user needs, including

Courier query: provide a variety of query methods, such as courier bill number query, sender mobile phone number query, recipient name query, etc.

Logistics tracking: provide real-time logistics information query, including parcel status, logistics track, estimated delivery time, etc.

Shipping order: provide online shipping order service, including filling in shipping information, selecting shipping method, selecting courier company, etc.

Order management: provide order enquiry, modification, cancellation and evaluation functions, allowing users to manage order information conveniently.

After-sales service: provide services such as refund, exchange and after-sales consultation to provide users with better after-sales protection.

(3) Interface design

A simple, clear and easy-to-use interface is designed to enable users to quickly find the functions they need, providing a variety of operations to facilitate user operation, including

Main interface: provide the entrance to express enquiry, logistics tracking, shipping order, order management and other functions, while displaying information on popular express companies and popular products.

Express query interface: provide the way to query express by inputting express single number or selecting express company, and display the query result.

Logistics tracking interface: displaying the logistics information of the parcel, including transportation status, location, estimated arrival time, etc.

Shipping order interface: provide online filling of shipping information, choosing shipping method and courier company to place orders.

Order management interface: provides functions to view order status, modify order information, cancel orders, etc.

After-sales service interface: provide online application for after-sales service, including return, exchange, repair, etc.

(4)System architecture design.

System architecture design is an important part of e-commerce parcel logistics software development. A good system architecture can make the software more scalable, reliable, safe and efficient in operation. When designing the system architecture, the following factors need to be considered.

Scalability: With the increase in the number of users and changes in demand, the software needs to be constantly expanded and upgraded, so a system architecture with good scalability needs to be designed for subsequent upgrades and expansions.

Reliability: E-commerce parcel logistics software is an important mailing tool for users and needs to ensure its stability and reliability, so it needs to consider how to avoid software failure and failure.

Security: Mailing logistics involves users' personal and financial information, so the security and protection capability of the software needs to be ensured to prevent user information from being stolen by malicious attackers.

Operational efficiency: for users, mailing logistics time is very important, so it is necessary to ensure the operational efficiency of the software, shorten the user waiting time as much as possible and improve the user experience.

(5) Interaction design.

Interaction design is one of the key points of user experience in e-commerce parcel logistics software. Good interaction design can improve user satisfaction and use efficiency, specifically including the following aspects.

Interface design: the software interface needs to be designed to be simple, intuitive and easy to understand, in order to facilitate users to quickly find the required functions and improve the efficiency of users' use.

Text prompts: The software needs to have clear text prompts to help users understand the software functions and how to operate it.

Dynamic effects: Dynamic effects can attract the user's attention and improve the user's experience.

Audio prompts: appropriate audio prompts can enhance the user experience, for example by providing warnings if the user makes a mistake.

Vibrating prompts: Some users may prefer to receive feedback through vibration, so consider providing vibrating feedback in appropriate situations.

(6) Testing and iterations are a very important part of the software development process. They help developers to continuously optimise and improve the software, improving its quality and user satisfaction. The following are some detailed additions to testing and iteration.

 Test types: During testing, different test types can be used to ensure the quality of the software, such as unit testing, integration testing, system testing, performance testing, security testing, etc.

Testing tools: Testing tools can help developers to test more quickly and accurately, such as automated testing tools, performance testing tools, security testing tools, etc.

Iteration cycles: Iteration cycles should be set according to the specifics of the software development, typically 2-4 weeks, which allows developers to deal with user feedback and comments in a timely manner and continuously improve the software.

 User feedback: User feedback is an important source for improving and optimising software. Developers should collect and process user feedback in a timely manner to understand users' needs and pain points, and adjust the software's functionality and interaction design in accordance with the feedback.

 Code quality: Testing and iteration is not only about checking whether the software functions properly, but also about the quality and maintainability of the code. Developers need to focus on the readability, scalability and reusability of the code.

In this paper, we discuss how to design an e-commerce parcel logistics software that meets user requirements from four aspects: user requirement analysis, functional design, interface design and system architecture design, respectively. In the user requirements analysis stage, we need to refine the user needs and usage habits, including user portrait, user needs, user behaviour and user pain points. In the functional design stage, we need to design functions that meet user habits according to user needs, and design a simple, clear and easy-to-use interface. At the system architecture design stage, we need to consider factors such as scalability, reliability and security to ensure the stability and reliability of the software. Designing an e-commerce parcel logistics software that meets user needs will not only improve the user experience, but also bring more business opportunities and development opportunities for courier companies.