The Secret to Streamlining Your Logistics Supply Chain: APIs
In the last two years, the logistics industry has had to rapidly adapt to meet and overcome various challenges, including the ongoing freight recession, the use of efficiency to maintain margin, and the constant demand of customers wanting their B2B experiences to mirror their consumer/the sea experiences. Most of these adaptations have a key attribute: real-time integration.
So what powers these real-time interactions? APIs. Despite being well understood and present in even the most legacy of development toolboxes, APIs were frequently underutilized in favor of more standardized, batched technologies—many of which were built around supporting X12-based (EDI) syntaxes.
This radical move to API integration is not radical and certainly is not new. API has always been one of the most elegant ways of integration, and thus, the foundation of process improvement and efficiency. Although the lack of governance standards has hindered the massive adoption of APIs for B2B-based processes, the best way to integrate functions that require back-office collaboration is by leveraging APIs and their related technologies, such as JSON.
What Are APIs?
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) have become an integral aspect of the modern supply chain, as they facilitate real-time data exchanges and interactions between integrated software systems, applications, and trading partners. By using APIs in logistics, companies can easily connect their logistics management software with other systems, such as TMSs, WMSs, visibility platforms, trading partner platforms, and more. This creates seamless communication between different departments and teams, allowing for more efficient and transparent data exchanges.
APIs differ from EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) since EDI commonly utilizes batch processing to transmit data between platforms and trading partners, which can create a delay between when the data becomes available and when the data is delivered to its intended destination/recipient.
How Have APIs Evolved?
In the early days of logistics, companies had to rely on traditional methods of information management such as phone calls, emails, faxing, and physical documents to manage logistics services. Companies used spreadsheets and documents to track inventory, shipments, and deliveries. However, these manual processes were time-consuming, error-prone, and often resulted in delays and inefficiencies. With the rise of digital technology, logistics companies began experimenting with alternative systems to automate processes and improve operations.
APIs started to gain more momentum in the 1990s, with web-based APIs being introduced in the early 2000s by companies like eBay, and Amazon. These APIs forever changed the trajectory of eCommerce and helped usher in the online shopping boom by offering streamlined seller integrations, expanding reach, improving the user experience, and providing more accurate data.
The mid-2000s witnessed the rise of RESTful APIs, which simplified integration and enabled scalable solutions for route optimization, tracking, and inventory management. Further advancements saw the integration of IoT devices, allowing logistics providers to monitor shipments and assets in transit, as well as provide real-time updates regarding an order’s location and details.
In recent years, APIs in logistics have evolved to support predictive analytics, machine learning, and AI-driven solutions. These technologies enable predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, and dynamic routing, further optimizing logistics operations. Today, APIs continue to shape the logistics landscape, facilitating agile, data-driven decision-making, fostering collaboration across the supply chain, and paving the way for autonomous, efficient, and responsive logistics ecosystems.
How Modern APIs Add Value to the Logistics Industry
Logistics companies can add immense value to their operations and supply chains by incorporating modern APIs. Some of the ways logistics APIs provide value is by:
1) Increasing Supply Chain Efficiency and Automation
By using APIs in logistics, companies can implement end-to-end business process automation, removing manual intervention from tasks like the load-tender-to-invoice (L2I) process, inventory management, and shipment tracking. In combination with real-time data, automation speeds up processing times, minimizes errors, and gives employees more bandwidth to work on other projects that cannot be automated.
2) Enhancing Data Visibility and Order Tracking
With access to real-time shipment data, logistics companies experience improved visibility throughout the shipping process. This enables logistics companies and their clients to track shipments, monitor inventory levels, and predict potential delays, fostering transparency and better decision-making.
3) Improving Digital Ecosystem Integration
APIs enable seamless communication between different systems internally and externally, facilitating integration across the supply chain. This connectivity allows logistics companies to easily share data with trading partners, carriers, warehouses, customers, etc., streamlining operations and keeping everyone informed every step of the way.
4) Promoting Adaptability and Innovation
By providing a flexible framework, logistics companies can quickly adapt to changing market conditions, integrate new technologies, and innovate their services. Adaptability helps companies become more agile, allowing them to better respond to customer demands and industry trends.
5) Growing Revenue
Unlike manual processing, APIs are scalable. So when an influx in orders occurs, logistics companies can easily scale to meet demand. This allows them to process more orders and fulfill them quicker, resulting in more satisfied customers that will return for repeat business.
Additionally, some trading partners require their logistics providers to use EDI/APIs, which means having API capabilities will enable a logistics company to accept more orders. Furthermore, the trading partners that tend to require API compatibility are usually larger companies. This means that logistics companies can expect larger orders from these larger customers, therefore increasing overall revenue.
See Our Platform in Action
Watch a quick demo to learn how you can automate EDI & API, onboard parters faster, and directly integrate into any TMS/WMS.
Examples of Popular APIs for the Logistics Industry
With thousands of logistics APIs available, you may be wondering which are some of the most useful. Examples of popular APIs in logistics that provide measurable value include:
Shipping and Tracking
ShipEngine API
Provides multi-carrier shipping functionalities, allowing businesses to compare rates, generate labels, and track shipments across various carriers, streamlining the shipping process.
Route Optimization and Planning
Google Maps Platform
Offers route planning with multiple factors like traffic, tolls, and real-time conditions.
Supply Chain Visibility and Data
Provides real-time visibility and tracking into shipments across various modes, offering location updates and predictive insights for optimizing operations.
Warehouse Management
Fishbowl Inventory
Manage inventory, process orders, track stock movement, and synchronize data across platforms for efficient and centralized inventory control.
Learn More About API Use Cases
Learn about the benefits of leveraging APIs for common Logistics & Transportation use cases, including L2I Transformation, Real-Time Shipment Visibility and Tracking, and more.
Maximize the Benefits of Logistics APIs by Partnering with Cleo
In order to successfully utilize APIs in logistics, companies need a strong logistics API integration solution that supports any-to-any integration. This enables logistics companies to integrate and share information with any platform or trading partner, eliminating data silos, streamlining communication, and promoting in-depth supply chain visibility.
One of the leading cloud-based API integration solutions on the market is Cleo Integration Cloud (CIC). While CIC supports API integration, it also supports EDI integration which is particularly useful because it provides logistics companies with additional flexibility and agility to integrate with trading partners that have unique requirements. And with end-to-end business process automation, customers can fully automate processes like order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, and load-tender-to-invoice, increasing overall efficiency and reducing costs. Lastly, CIC’s glass box transparency lets customers dig into their processes and transactions so they can remain in the know every step of the way.
–
As the logistics industry continues to evolve and modernize, more providers will turn to logistics APIs to increase efficiency, enhance data visibility, integrate platforms, foster adaptability, and boost revenue. From shipping and tracking to route optimization and warehouse management, various APIs are adding immense value to logistics operations. By investing in flexible integration solutions like Cleo Integration Cloud, companies can fully leverage the power of logistics APIs, opening the door to unprecedented opportunities in supply chain automation, collaboration, and predictive analytics. The future of logistics is data-driven and API-enabled, ready to cater to the ever-evolving demands of the global economy.
If you have questions about what was covered in this blog or Cleo’s products and services, contact us at sales@cleo.com or +1.815.282.7695. Or explore some of our educational resources through our content hub.
About Cleo
Instantly access demo videos
Comprehensive Guide to Gaining B2B Control
Duraflame Case Study
