The thrill of seeing your business grow online gives another level of satisfaction. Orders are coming in, your revenue is increasing, customers are engaging, and most importantly, your hard work is paying off.
But with this growth comes a set of challenges. The major one among them is managing orders delegated to multiple carriers. Monitoring when they are dispatching, if they are in transit or not, and whether they have successfully reached the end customers can be challenging.
And exactly here, the multi-carrier shipping API takes center stage. In this article, we will give a detailed breakdown of what a multi-carrier API is, and how it works. Also, we will give you some tips on how you can choose the right multi-carrier tracking API along with some best options available on the market.
Let’s get started!
What Is a Multi-Carrier Tracking API?
To put it simply, a multi-carrier tracking API is mainly a software interface that lets you retrieve tracking information from various carriers and aggregators and helps you monitor the shipments on a centralized portal.
As a result, it eliminates the need to visit multiple carriers’ tracking portals to receive shipping updates. Instead, it gives you a unified view of all your shipments’ whereabouts in a single place.
How Does a Multi-carrier Tracking API Work?
Consider the multi-carrier tracking API a middleman that works in the background of your system. When you enter tracking numbers, it identifies which carriers they belong to and sends requests to their tracking systems.
It then interacts with the respective carriers’ tracking APIs and retrieves the data. Next, the multi-carrier tracking API consolidates and converts the collected information and displays them on a unified dashboard.
The ideal tracking API performs this act from time to time. When you refresh the page, you’ll get real-time updates on those packages’ whereabouts. Now, if you have set up automated customer notifications, it’ll also send order updates to your customers every time a milestone is achieved. This method is also called the polling method and this type of tracking API is known as pull API.
Besides the pull API, there is another type of tracking API, known as push API. Push APIs are mainly server-initiated or webhook-based APIs. In this process, you’ll get automated shipment notifications without any need for constant polling. A perfect shipping platform provides both the pull and push APIs to give you ultimate control of your shipments.
What Are the Benefits of a Multi-Carrier Tracking API Integration?
You can think of the multi-carrier tracking API as a control tower. It helps you manage all the shipments without any hassles. In fact, it also provides on-time delivery updates to each customer, so they can remain free from anxiety.
Here, we’ll list down some major advantages of using a multi-carrier tracking API.
1. Provides centralized shipment visibility
Constantly switching to carriers’ tracking portals just to get one single tracking update is quite daunting. Since this multi-carrier tracking API is already connected with numerous carrier companies, it can easily pull real-time tracking data and show it on a unified interface. And the best part is it provides granular-level shipment updates on each order. These include shipment status, their current location, estimated delivery dates (EDDs), etc.
2. Sends real-time shipment updates to customers
According to a recent study by DispatchTrack, around 90% of customers want to track their orders in real-time. This means that if you want to stay at the forefront of customers’ minds, you will have to provide time-to-time tracking updates to customers. These multi-carrier tracking APIs take off this workload.
Besides providing real-time shipment tracking updates to you, these multi-carrier tracking APIs also notify your customers regarding their shipments’ whereabouts via different communication channels. Consequently, it also improves their post-purchase shopping experience.
3. Improves operational efficiency
Imagine a situation when you are dealing with multiple shipments, managing your warehouses, resolving customers’ queries — everything at the same time. This will not only get on your nerves but also leave your customer support team in an overwhelming phase. Worse, it may also lead to errors like overlooked delivery days, unresolved support tickets, shipment loss, and so on.
A multi-carrier tracking API can help you in this case, too. First things first, they provide you and your customers with real-time shipping updates. This further reduces the number of WISMO (Where-Is-My-Order) calls and messages. In fact, they also send automated delay notifications to customers to maintain their peace of mind. You can even connect these APIs with your WMS and OMS solutions to manage each task in a single place, which improves your operational efficiency.
4. Saves time
As an eCommerce business owner, you have lots of work and responsibilities on your plate. If recurring tasks such as shipment tracking, notifying your customers, or updating orders eat up most of your time, you may miss out on more important tasks for your business.
With the multi-carrier tracking API, you can automate those manual repetitive tasks, which further saves valuable time that you can invest in creating a new business strategy or crafting a marketing plan.
5. Offers in-depth analytics and reporting
The Multi-carrier tracking API also offers comprehensive analytics on various aspects, such as on-time delivery rates, carrier performance metrics, average delivery rates, and so on.
These reports come in handy to optimize your business strategy. They show where you’re lacking, where most of the delivery issues are happening, and which areas of the logistics process need improvement. Later, you can work on them and improve your logistics workflow.
How Will You Choose the Best Multi-Carrier Tracking API?
There are a number of multi-carrier tracking API integration platforms available on the market. But not all of them keep their promises. That’s why, while looking for the best multi-carrier tracking API solutions, you must keep an eye out for the below-mentioned factors:
1. A wide range of carriers
As their name suggests, a multi-carrier tracking API must integrate with several logistics companies and aggregators. If the number is limited, it becomes a burden. Plus, if an API covers carriers in the European region where your main target region is the Middle East, again, it would be of no use.
That’s why, while opting for this API, ensure it has connected with all the carriers you usually deal with, has enlisted all the leading carriers on the market, and most importantly, has integrated carriers from those regions where you want to scale your business.
2. Compatibility & ease of integration
Another important factor you must consider is that the API must be easy to integrate with and compatible with your eCommerce platforms, WMS, OMS, and other systems. Either way, you might face frequent technical glitches that might further hamper the overall experience.
You can check the API documentation to get clarity on these capabilities. Additionally, the carrier library should have updated tracking APIs for all its current partners, as well as keep adding new carriers to the list.
3. Nature of the tracking workflow
The approach to capture the latest tracking information from the carrier often differentiates the best multi-carrier tracking API from the good one. This means it should send requests periodically and show them on the dashboard with a minimal latency rate. Typically, the ideal API must have almost a 99.99% uptime rate.
Oftentimes, most multi-carrier tracking APIs have both the push and pull webhooks. You should also consider that in the best multi-carrier tracking API.
4. Advanced complementary functionalities
Only having the tracking capability isn’t enough! The API must also have some additional functionalities that will enhance its core offering i.e. tracking. For example, these APIs must:
Provide a white-labeled tracking page to improve your brand authority.
Adopt a multi-channel strategy to send real-time shipping updates to customers.
Allow you to customize the notifications as per your brand details and customers’ information.
Have the functionality to track the Proof-of-delivery (POD) method.
Track SLA breaches and notify the same.
Send delay updates.
Help you track returned orders.
5. Active customer support
Not to mention, the API platform you’ll invest in and continue working with should have an active customer support team. They will guide you throughout the integration process, resolve technical issues, and update you time-to-time if any changes occur in the future.
Most of the time, the company assigns a dedicated manager to each of its clients, which is surely a big turn-on when choosing a multi-carrier tracking API.
Top 5 Multi-Carrier Tracking API Integration Platforms You Must Consider
Though we’ve given you every detail you need to know before investing your money into a multi-carrier tracking API, we know it’s still a bit challenging for you to pick the best one. Let’s make the process easier for you.
Based on the factors we have mentioned above, we’ve listed down the top 5 multi-carrier tracking API Integration platforms you can consider. We will also show why they stand out among a multitude of other options. Let’s start.
As of now, it has successfully tracked over 1M shipments. ClickPost tracks the shipments by using both the pull and push APIs, which further ensures real-time granular-level shipment tracking. Moreover, the API has the lowest latency rate (99% uptime rate). If you go for its shipment tracking API, you can go live within just one day.
Key advantages of ClickPost’s multi-carrier tracking API:
You can monitor shipments across 350+ carriers across the world, including FedEx, DHL, USPS, and more, on an integrated dashboard.
You can send customized tracking updates to your customers via multiple channels, including SMS, email, and WhatsApp.
It also offers a branded tracking page that you can customize with your customers’ local languages.
On the branded tracking page, you can show personalized product recommendations, ETA, and delayed notifications. You can also enable a 2-way communication method on this page.
You can integrate ClickPost’s API with your mobile app.
It also identifies SLA breaches and helps you take instant action.
At the same time, it helps you and your customers track returned and exchanged shipments.
2. Metapack
Metapack is another leading post-purchase shipping platform. Its tracking API will allow you to monitor shipments with 300+ carriers, 4000+ services, and 3,50,000+ PUDO points. You can also track omnichannel shipping with Metapack’s tracking API. At the same time, it has a customized tracking option; meaning, you can send your customers a branded tracking page and translate the tracking data in more than 20+ languages.
Key advantages of Metapack’s multi-carrier tracking API:
It lets you track pre-ship events.
Its tracking API shows local time stamps at each event.
MetaPack’s tracking API sends real-time shipment updates to customers to reduce WISMO calls.
Businesses and their customers will be able to track returned shipments.
It will allow you to embed the tracking API into your CRM system.
3. Narvar
Narvar is a popular multi-carrier tracking platform with a special focus on developing a better customer experience. As a result, the integrated tracking API plays a vital role in the implementation of various post-purchase experience features. Plus, Narvar also offers a unified tracking dashboard, allowing for real-time visibility over shipments from multiple carriers.
Key advantages of Narvar’s multi-carrier tracking API:
It sends proactive order status notifications to customers via SMS.
You can show time-to-time shipment updates to your customers on a branded tracking page.
It lets you customize the tracking page as per customers’ region.
With the API, you can address delivery exceptions and delivery delays.
4. Shippo
Shippo is mainly a multi-carrier tracking platform by nature. It has integrated multiple logistics companies available on the market, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, and more. Since Shippo’s API has a 99.99% uptime rate, you’ll barely have any issues while monitoring the real-time statuses of the orders.
Key advantages of Shippo’s multi-carrier tracking API:
It provides in-depth shipment visibility on a centralized dashboard.
You can verify fulfillment status, packages’ arrival date, and package service level.
It sends on-time package updates to customers.
5. AfterShip
AfterShip’s multi-carrier tracking API will allow you to track orders across a number of 3PL carriers, last-mile carriers, and LTL carriers. In fact, it also lets you compare tracking data from different logistics companies. The thing that makes it one of the best tracking APIs is that it can retrieve shipping information within just 100 ms.
Key advantages of AfterShip’s multi-carrier tracking API:
It offers detailed
tracking across 7-main and 33 sub-statuses.
It has integrated AI technology to identify new tracking data.
The API has a 99.99% uptime rate.
You can also enjoy branded tracking with AfterShip.
Final Verdict!
And that’s it! A multi-carrier tracking API proves to be a game changer on your way to logistics success. So, go for the right API, integrate it with your shipping platform, and streamline all the tracking tasks for better work efficiency. Good luck!
