Best Shipping API for eCommerce
As ecommerce businesses grow, managing a surge in shipments can become challenging. Scaling from 20 to 200 shipments daily requires advanced technology to keep up. Shipping APIs provide a practical solution by integrating shipping features directly into your existing tech stack, boosting both efficiency and customer satisfaction.
This is why it’s important to find the best shipping API that can boost your eCommerce business. We’ve found it and we’d like to share it with you.
What is a Shipping API?
APIs are Application Programming Interfaces that connect two software to share information and provide services. A shipping API connects a shipping software (server) with an eCommerce store (client). It integrates shipping functionalities into your ecommerce platform, forging a seamless communication medium and streamlining shipping operations.
For example, if you wish to provide customers a way to check if their addresses have delivery serviceability, you can use a shipping API. It’ll scour through your service level agreements with carriers and check within seconds if the pincode is serviced by the carrier or not.
If yes, it’ll display the information to customers along with an estimated delivery date. A simple act like this can greatly improve checkout experience and improve your conversion rate.
Frequent Use Cases of the Best Shipping APIs:
- Track Orders: Shipping APIs synchronize data for you and customers. It monitors the flow of shipments allocated to carriers at all times, sharing the information with you and notifying customers to keep them in the loop.
- Increase Shipping Efficiency: APIs automate interactions with carriers and warehouses streamlining tasks like carrier selection, dispatching bulk shipments, calculating EDD, etc.
- Secure Shipping: APIs safeguard your shipping data against potential breaches, ensuring customers’ privacy protection, and uninterrupted data transfer between systems.
By integrating with shipping APIs, you can streamline operations, improve customer experiences, and potentially reduce logistics costs.
The Secret Components of the Best Shipping API
Not all shipping APIs get the accolade of being the best shipping API. To have this recognition, they have to fulfill certain requirements. Let’s a take a brief look at them-
1. Integration Abilities- They have Software Development Kits (SDKs) and libraries for seamless integration with different programming languages and platforms. Similarly, they support webhooks for real-time data updation and ensure API-webhook compatibility.
2. High Performance Low Latency- They have excellent performance with fastest response times. Its APIs can handle increased loads, especially during peak seasons. In other words, it scales flawlessly as your business grows.
3. Tight Authentication and Security- They have robust authentication mechanisms as API keys, OAuth, or token-based systems that allows only the authorized users to access the APIs. Furthermore, APIs use encryptions to ensure data integrity.
4. Prompt Error Handling and Support- They have robust error handling protocol such as quick diagnosis, prompt display of error message, and detailed error codes. Moreover, they offer comprehensive technical support, resolve tickets within a short timeframe, and multiple avenues to connect with them.
Let’s Now Reveal The Best Shipping API for eCommerce
Keeping all the above factors in mind plus after evaluating the shipping API services, we think ClickPost is the best shipping API solution for eCommerce businesses, especially in India. And there are multiple reasons for this.
First of all, it offers a stellar onboarding experience, often assigning dedicated account managers for the brand to smoothly conduct their shipping. But, almost every other shipping software solution does it. So, what’s different about ClickPost?
The distinction lies in its product specifications and API efficiency. ClickPost has mainly 12 categories of shipping APIs that extensively covers every aspect of shipping and delivery management from order manifestation to returns. Let’s take a look at a few of them-
1. Recommendation API- Automatically allocated the best shipping carrier suited for a shipment based on pre-set rules and custom business requirements.
2. Shipping Label Generation API- Generates a new shipping label or provides the one created at the time of order manifestation, useful for bulk shipments.
3. Tracking API- Real-time order statutes using AWB and courier partner. It is automatically triggered and refreshes shipment data every 2 hrs.
4. Expected Delivery Data API- Deploys ML to predict SLA time range for every shipment. Can be customized to offer a delivery range or precise date.
5. NDR Action Update API- Updates the NDR action taken to resolve failed deliveries directly from the carrier’s database.
6. Return Webhooks- Track return shipments using webhook and deliver them to your endpoint.
7. Serviceability API- Checks pincode availability of a given courier company, cost of shipping, and turnaround time for the delivery.
All of its APIs (yes, there are many more) have incredible uptime adherence of 99.9%, EDD prediction within milliseconds, and real-time customer support plus prompt error handling. ClickPost is also compliant with several security protocols like GDPR, ISO, and SOCs making it an ideal tool for safeguarding both your and your customers’ data.
