Software
Google Maps is releasing a new developer solution for on-demand and shipping agencies.
The Google Maps Platform, the maker of Google Maps, is introducing today a new app for on-demand ride & delivery companies that blends some of the platform 's current functionality with new features for locating local drivers and exchanging trips and ordering progress details with customers.
This is not the first foray of the Google Maps Platform into this market. Back in 2018, for example , the company launched an in-app routing solution for ride-sharing businesses. At the time, though, the team didn't particularly concentrate on distribution options, but that's clearly one of the few thriving markets right now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Building on 15 years of experience mapping the globe, the On-demand Rides & Delivery solution lets companies boost operations as well as turn the driver and passenger path from booking to arrival or delivery – both with consistent price per completed trip," says Google's senior product manager Eli Danziger in today's announcement.
The heart of the app is the Google Maps routing app, which developers can tweak to deliveries by bike or motorcycle, for example, and to find customized routes with the shortest or fastest path possible. The team notices that this so-called "Preferred Paths" feature also allows arrival time forecasts for time-sensitive deliveries and price estimates.
The other new aspect of this app is that it allows developers to easily create experience that lets users locate nearby drivers. Imaginatively named "Nearby Drivers," the concept here is as basic as you would think and helps developers to locate the nearest driver with a single API call. They can also add custom rankings, depending on their unique preferences, to ensure that the correct driver fits the correct path.
Unsurprisingly, the platform also includes in-app navigation assistance, which is closely related to the rest of the feature collection.
Developers will also conveniently incorporate Google's real-time journey and order progress functionality to "keep consumers updated from pick-up to drop-off or delivery, with a real-time view of the driver's current location, route, and ETA."
Much of this is pretty much what any user might expect from a typical ride-sharing or distribution service, but most of it is table-based stakes. The infrastructure behind it is not, though, and a lot of distribution firms have set up large-scale infrastructure operations to develop precisely such functions. They're not going to move to the Google Platform, but the platform may give smaller players a chance to work more effectively or reach new markets without the added cost of having to develop this software stack from the ground up — or cobble it together from several vendors.
