What is an API-enabled carrier?

What is an API-enabled carrier?

Introduction

Some of the time-saving features offered by SureShip™ are made possible by data links established between shippers and carriers. This link is created using an automatic connecting tool called an API, which runs in the background of the module.

What is an API?

An Application Programming Interface (API) is what sits between your ERP system and your shipping carriers’ electronic databases, allowing both systems to communicate with each other.

In other words, the API is a computerized messenger that allows you to send and receive shipping data directly from your work station’s CloudSuite™ Industrial application, without having to open up third-party applications or manually transcribe information. This cuts down on time that might otherwise be spent switching between applications, re-entering and verifying data, etc.

API data transfer is generally bidirectional. An action performed inside of the ERP application triggers the API to send out information or signals to the carrier, which is followed by the carrier sending back some other desired piece of information. Because these transfers are performed by computers, they require minimal input and happen within seconds.


What are API-enabled carriers?

API-enabled carriers are shipping carriers for which API functionality is possible within the SureShip™ module. Rate shopping, automatic tracking number and shipping label generation, automatic retrieval of transportation costs, and package tracking are all examples of such functionality.

Currently, the following carriers are API-enabled:

  • FedEx® and FedEx Freight®
  • UPS® and UPS Freight®
  • United States Postal Service
  • Old Dominion Freight Line®
  • Estes Express Lines®

To take advantage of the SureShip™ module’s API capabilities you must setup your company’s shipper accounts for API-enabled carriers.

Can SureShip™ be used with carriers that are not API-enabled?

Yes – the module can be used to pick, pack, and ship any order regardless of carrier type. The process flow for these activities is similar between API-enabled and non-API carriers, with the following exceptions:

  • Rate Shopping: Non-API carriers do not appear during rate shopping.
  • Tracking Number & Shipping Label Generation: Tracking numbers and shipping labels for non-API carriers are generated and voided externally. Relevant data is manually recorded in SureShip™ for reference.
  • Freight Cost Accumulation: Freight costs, if required, are manually entered for non-API carriers.
  • Package Tracking: Package delivery status is tracked externally for non-API carriers.

References and Related Articles

Setting up and granting access to shipper accounts for API-enabled carriers


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