Folo Case Study: One Platform for Food and Parcel Delivery

Folo is a food delivery app based in Malaysia. Its selling point was an affordable, on-demand logistics service. Crucially, a single order could include items from several merchants at once. According to Folo, it was the first service in the market to offer this.

Folo also went beyond food. Customers could book parcel deliveries, with vehicles ranging from light to heavy-duty. As a result, the platform had to serve hungry diners and businesses moving goods through the same system.

The brief came down to a handful of clear aims:

• Support multi-merchant orders without confusing customers, riders or restaurants.
• Give customers a reason to come back, rather than compete on price alone.
• Help riders collect from several locations quickly.
• Let merchants manage their own stores and see how they are performing.
• Give Folo's team full oversight, with the power to step in when something goes wrong.

A delivery service is really three businesses in one. Customers want speed and transparency. Riders want sensible jobs and efficient routes. Merchants, meanwhile, want control over their menus and a clear view of sales.

For this reason, we designed a separate experience for each group instead of one app with three modes. Each interface shows only what that person needs. Behind them, however, a single linked system keeps every order, location and status in sync.

Our UI and UX design work focused on the customer journey first. Ordering from several merchants can feel complicated, so the flow had to stay simple. We also looked for ways to make repeat ordering feel rewarding.

We delivered five connected pieces, built through our mobile app development and web development teams.

Customer website and app

Customers can order from the website or the mobile app. To encourage loyalty, we gamified the experience: customers collect stamps and reward points as they order. While a delivery is under way, they can also track the rider's location live.

Rider app

Riders get their own app, which offers them orders closest to where they are. Next, the app suggests an optimised route and pick-up sequence. That matters most for multi-merchant orders, where one rider collects food or parcels from several stops.

Merchant app

Restaurants and sellers use the merchant app to accept or reject incoming orders. They also control how their menu or store appears to customers. In addition, built-in reports let them track their sales performance over time.

Admin dashboard

Finally, Folo's own team has a dashboard with a bird's-eye view of daily operations. If an issue comes up, admins can override the normal flow. They can then adjust it for the customer, rider and merchant involved.

Folo now runs on a linked platform that handles food and parcel delivery end to end. Customers can combine merchants in one order and earn rewards. Riders receive nearby jobs with suggested routes, and merchants manage their stores and sales reports themselves. Above all, Folo's admins can see and correct every part of the operation from one place.

• Design for each user group separately. Customers, riders and merchants have different goals. Separate apps on one shared back end keep each experience simple.
• Plan your admin tools from day one. Things go wrong in delivery. A dashboard that lets staff override the flow saves time and protects customer trust.
• Build loyalty into the product. Stamps and points give customers a reason to return that does not depend on discounts alone.
• Your unique feature drives the architecture. Multi-merchant orders shaped the rider routing, so define your USP before development starts.