Raintree Nursery: What does a custom app do for an online plant store?

Client Overview    

Raintree Nursery is an online plant nursery that offers customers a huge selection of fruit trees, berries, and other tasty plants around the United States. The business has been in business since 1972 and is renowned for its dedication to organic and sustainable agricultural methods.     

Various plants, including exotic and unique species that are difficult to locate elsewhere, are available at Raintree Nursery. Each product listing provides comprehensive details on growing needs, fruit features, and more. Buyers can explore the website by category, plant type, or desired fruit.  

Along with plants, Raintree Nursery also offers a selection of gardening supplies and equipment, such as books, fertilizers, and pesticides. The company provides a one-year guarantee on all plants and free shipping on orders over $125.  

Challenges  

As their business grew, Raintree Nursery realized they needed a customized app that would enable them to accept orders, transport plants in bulk, and, if necessary, manage orders in batches. They wanted to create an app with various features to simplify ordering and shipping. To monitor, handle, and track several orders simultaneously, Raintree Nursery needed to be able to manage these orders in batches. The application should be linked with well-known shipping companies, which will result in automated shipping cost calculations, and real-time tracking information should be provided. The app will greatly optimize Raintree Nursery's business processes and improve the client experience.  

Client Requirements  

Raintree wanted to create a custom app to help ship efficiently at different warehouse locations with multiple carrier service integrations.  

Bulk Shipping: The application would need to make it possible for Raintree-Nursery to ship plants to clients in bulk, cutting shipping costs and streamlining processes.  

Order batch management: Managing orders in batches should be made possible by the app, which should allow for the creation of batches based on various criteria such as date, pin code, season, etc.  

Date-Based Batches: To manage and handle orders more effectively, Raintree-Nursery should be able to create batches using the app that is based on dates.  

Pin Code-Based Batches: Raintree-Nursery should be able to build batches using pin codes through the app. This will allow them to detect orders shipped to the same place and adjust their shipping routes as necessary.    

Season-Based Batches: Raintree-Nursery should be able to establish batches using the app based on the seasons, allowing them to prioritize orders for plants in the current season.    

Solutions we provided  

We created a custom application for Raintree Nursery with some excellent features.  

• Address Validation: The application validated the customer's address to ensure the product was shipped to the correct location.  

• Multiple Products Shipment: The app enables customers to order multiple products in a single shipment.  

• Add Multiple Carrier Services: The app helps you to add multiple carrier services to their shipping options, giving customers more choices for delivery.  

• Add Different Warehouse Location: The app helps Raintree-Nursery add different warehouse locations to its system to ship products from multiple locations based on customer demand.  

• Customize Packages Dimensions: The app helps customize package dimensions based on the size and weight of the product, ensuring that it is shipped in the most appropriate packaging.   

What does the app provide?  

Orders 

• Merchants can view, search, and filter orders.   

• Merchants can print Package slips, labels, Pick lists, and Order Invoices.   

• Here they can export orders, create a Batch, hold an order, and cancel it.   

• Orders have a different status, such as:   

• Awaiting Shipment   

• Shipped   

• Hold   

• Canceled  

Batches

Batches are a selected group of orders created or processed based on particular conditions like date, pin code, season, etc.   

• Merchants can view, search, and filter batches.   

• Merchants can create and archived batches.  

Shipment

In the Shipment module, it displays the label generated by the shipping carrier and tracking details like tracking id and tracking URL.   

• Merchants can void the shipment label.   

• Merchants can print package slips and labels in this section.   

 

Shipments have different phases:   

• In Transit   

• Delivered   

• Voided   

• Failed  

 

USPS  

• The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a carrier service provided by the federal government of the United States.  

• USPS is the largest postal service in the United States and is responsible for delivering mail and packages nationwide.   

• USPS offers a range of services for sending mail and packages, including:   

• First-Class Mail   

• Priority Mail   

• Priority Mail Express   

• Media Mail   

• Parcel Select  

UPS  

UPS (United Parcel Service) is a private carrier company offering package delivery and logistics services.   

The company operates worldwide and provides various shipping options for individuals and businesses.   

Some of the carrier services offered by UPS include:   

• UPS Ground   
• UPS Next Day Air   
• UPS 2nd Day Air   
• UPS 3-Day Select   
• UPS Worldwide Express  

Products 

- Merchants can Import and Export products in bulk.

- Merchants can edit the product details like Warehouse location, fulfilment SKU, and origin.  

Settings 

There are 3 types of settings:   

Shipping Carrier:

- Here the merchant can configure the shipping carrier services.   

- There are 2 shipping carrier services we have integrated:   

   USPS & UPS      

Ship From Location:

- The admin can configure the location from which the product will be picked up.   

- The following locations are warehouses where the product is stored.  

Package Type:

- Depending on the size of the product, merchants can add custom package boxes.   

- Merchants can edit, delete and add a new package.  

Technology Stack

• Java   
• Framework – Spring boot 
• React   
• PHP   
• Shopify Webhook – For Orders, Products Sync   
• MySQL – For Database Management  

Deployment Stack

• AWS (Amazon Web Services)   
• AWS Services   
• AWS Cognito for the security of super admin login   
• AWS S3 – for storing images   
• AWS Lambda   
• API Gateway   
• SQS   
• Event Bridge  

Outcome  

Increased customer satisfaction: With multiple features, customers have more shipping options and better pricing, which has led to increased satisfaction. Increased sales: The ability to offer Multiple Products Shipment and Add Different Warehouse Location features has increased the variety of products Raintree-Nursery can offer its customers, leading to increased sales and revenue. Improved logistics: The app's ability to Customize Packages Dimensions has helped Raintree-Nursery streamline its shipping process, improving logistics and cost-effectiveness.  

Increased customer loyalty: Raintree-Nursery has improved customer loyalty and retention by providing a user-friendly, efficient shipping experience.  

Look what our happy customer has to say about us:   

Why Lucent Innovation for developing custom applications?  

Expertise

Lucent Innovation offers a team of experienced developers and designers adept at building customized apps that cater to organizations' unique requirements. We have a track record of providing our customers with high-quality, useful software.  

Client-focused strategy

We employ a client-focused strategy while developing apps, which entails working closely with clients to comprehend their unique needs and goals. This strategy guarantees that the app is designed to the client's specifications and produces the expected results.  

Knowledge of the latest technologies

The team is versed in the most recent technologies and trends in the app development sector, which allows them to offer innovative solutions that are both effective and affordable.     

Cost-effective

Businesses wishing to design custom applications have a cost-effective choice in Lucent Innovation because of the competitive pricing for their app development services.     

Delivery on time

Lucent Innovation is dedicated to completing projects on schedule so its clients may meet deadlines and launch their applications on schedule.  

A custom mobile or web application development can mean the difference between your business succeeding or failing in today's fast-paced digital world. With Lucent Innovation, you can be sure you're collaborating with a team of seasoned experts to support your goal-achieving efforts. Our team has the skills to produce results if you're seeking to enhance your user experience, raise consumer engagement, or streamline your business processes. So, why wait? To begin your upcoming project, get in touch with us immediately!