Today marks an important milestone for both Express120 and our team at ELIS Co. The new Express120 platform is now live at express120.com.
Express120 is a startup courier company focused on fast and reliable deliveries, offering services ranging from 2-hour express delivery to standard 24-hour delivery options.
The Challenge
The previous Express120 website was built on WordPress and WooCommerce. While WooCommerce is an excellent platform for e-commerce, courier services have fundamentally different operational requirements.
In a traditional online store, delivery is the final step of the customer journey. For a courier company, delivery is the business itself.
As Express120 grew, the limitations of the existing platform began to impact daily operations. Managing orders, drivers, pricing rules, notifications, and shipment tracking required workflows that WooCommerce was never designed to support.
Recognizing these challenges, Express120 approached ELIS Co. to help create a platform tailored specifically to the needs of a courier business.
Starting From Scratch
After evaluating the existing system and its limitations, we recommended building a completely new solution rather than attempting to extend the existing platform.
Our initial plan was to use Next.js for the new website. However, the client had already prepaid their hosting provider for the next 12 months, and the hosting environment did not support Next.js applications.
To avoid unnecessary infrastructure changes and additional costs, we chose Laravel as the foundation for the new platform.
This allowed us to deliver a modern, scalable solution while continuing to use the client’s existing hosting environment.
A Fast Delivery Project
One of the project’s key achievements was the delivery timeline.
The entire platform was designed, developed, tested, and deployed in just 45 days.
To ensure a smooth transition for existing customers, we intentionally preserved the familiar user interface from the previous website during Phase I. This minimized user confusion and allowed clients to continue using the platform without needing to learn a completely new interface.
What We Built
The new Express120 platform introduces functionality specifically designed for courier operations.
- Three user roles – admin, driver, and client
- Dynamic price calculation
- Client-specific discounts
- Credit card payments
- Email notifications SMS notifications
- Bilingual support (Bulgarian and English)
- Waybill generation with QR codes
- Shipment tracking
Multi-Role User Management
The system supports three distinct user roles:
- Administrators
- Drivers
- Clients
Each role has access to functionality tailored to their responsibilities within the delivery process.
Bilingual Support
The entire platform was built using Laravel’s native localization capabilities, making all user-facing content translatable. The initial release includes Bulgarian and English language support, providing a better experience for both local and international users while creating a foundation for additional languages in the future.
Dynamic Pricing Engine
Courier pricing often depends on a variety of service options.
The platform automatically calculates shipment pricing based on selected options, including:
- Return Receipt or Documents
- Cash on Delivery
- Additional service requirements
This eliminates manual calculations and ensures consistent pricing.
Client-Specific Discounts
Business customers can receive custom discount rates that are automatically applied during order creation.
Integrated Online Payments
Customers can pay for shipments directly using credit cards, providing a convenient and streamlined ordering experience.
Automated Notifications
The platform keeps customers informed throughout the delivery lifecycle through:
- Email notifications
- SMS notifications
Smart Waybill Generation
The system automatically generates shipment waybills and supports two optimized print layouts:
- Standard printer layout
- Mobile printer layout
Each waybill includes a QR code that allows quick access to shipment tracking information.
Shipment Tracking
Customers can track shipments in real time, improving transparency and reducing support inquiries.
Improved Operational Workflow
Perhaps the most significant improvement is the complete redesign of the delivery workflow.
The new platform streamlines operations for administrators and drivers, reduces manual work, and provides a foundation for future automation.
Technology Stack
The platform was built as a modern Laravel full-stack application.
Backend
- PHP 8.3
- Laravel 13
- Laravel Breeze Authentication
Frontend
- Blade Templates
- Tailwind CSS v3
- Alpine.js v3
- Vite
Testing
- PHPUnit 12
Development Tools
- Laravel Pint
- Laravel Pail
- Laravel Prompts
Architecturally, the application follows a standard Laravel monolithic approach with server-rendered Blade templates, enhanced by Alpine.js for interactive user experiences and styled using Tailwind CSS.
What Comes Next
The launch of Phase I is only the beginning.
Our roadmap for future development includes:
Enhanced UX/UI
While the familiar interface helped ensure a smooth migration, future releases will focus on improving the overall user experience and modernizing the visual design.
Google Maps Integration
Mapping and route visualization capabilities will further improve shipment management and delivery efficiency.
Automated Dispatching
We plan to introduce automated dispatching functionality to optimize driver assignment and reduce operational overhead.
Agentic AI for Process Management
One of the most exciting future initiatives is the introduction of agentic AI capabilities to assist with operational management, decision-making, and workflow automation.
Conclusion
The successful launch of Express120 demonstrates how a purpose-built platform can transform business operations when generic solutions no longer meet growing requirements.
In just 45 days, we replaced a limiting e-commerce-based workflow with a dedicated courier management system designed specifically around the needs of Express120’s business.
We look forward to continuing our partnership with Express120 and helping them build the next generation of courier services.
At ELIS Co., we specialize in creating custom business software that aligns technology with the way organizations actually work – not the other way around.