The Tiny App That Eliminated a Shipping Processing Bottleneck

Custom app cut shipping preparation time from 10 minutes to 60 seconds, slashed errors by 80%, and paid for itself in 30 days — all for $3/month

Late 2020. A wholesale trading company owner showed me his shipping process.

“We spend two full workdays creating shipping labels. Each package takes 10 minutes, and we handle 100+ daily.”

I watched him navigate a clunky interface, manually entering the same customers and products repeatedly.

“Only managers can do this correctly," he explained. "Different delivery methods, cash-on-delivery transactions — it's all too complex for regular staff."

They had discovered the shipping provider offered an API. Could we build something better?

Finding the Path Forward

The API, though SOAP-based, provided everything needed: address validation, pickup points, and package creation.

We chose Firebase as our foundation and React for the interface. But the real challenge wasn't technical — it was understanding the workflow.

Designing for Speed

We identified three critical components:

1. Client Addresses: Each customer has multiple delivery locations with specific delivery methods.

2. Product Classification: The courier required standardized product classes for customs and taxes.

3. Form Efficiency: Package creation needed to be lightning-fast.

"What if we could create a package without touching the mouse?"

We built a keyboard-optimized form where users could jump between fields with tab keys. Type "SMI" and "Smith Manufacturing" would appear.

For clients with multiple addresses, unique codes like "SMITH-HOME" and "SMITH-OFFICE" allowed instant selection.

Clients management: list and details with multiple addresses

Product classes management: list and details

Packages list and dynamic, keyboard-focused package creation form

The Transformation

After four weeks of part-time development, we deployed. Training took 30 minutes.

The owner called the next evening:

"We finished all shipping by lunchtime. Package creation now takes less than a minute."

More importantly:

"Everyone can create packages now, not just managers. We've reduced shipping errors by 80%, and I'm finally focusing on growing the business."

Within 30 days, they recovered their investment. Monthly maintenance: $3.

Five Years Later

Today, the application continues to serve their growing business. We've added multi-currency support, multi-store capability, and migrated to a new shipping API seamlessly.

"Of all our software," the owner told me recently, "this simple shipping app has had the greatest impact. It paid for itself in a month and has been saving us time and money every day for five years."