11/19/2014

7 Package Tracking APIs That Rock | ProgrammableWeb

Review (/category/all/news?articletypes=review), Shipping (/category/shipping), Location (/category/location), Logistics (/category/logistics)

7 PACKAGE TRACKING APIS THAT ROCK

Wendell Santos (/profile/wsantos)
Aug. 26 2014, 03:30PM EDT

A niche vertical of APIs in which there are multiple web services to choose from is package tracking. There are more than 70
tracking and shipping APIs (http://www.programmableweb.com/category/shipping) listed in the ProgrammableWeb directory
with many of the biggest global package shippers represented including FedEx, DHL and UPS. These are typically designed for
commercial applications that need to integrate tracking, address verification, label printing and rate calculations. Here's a quick overview of 7 options
available to developers wanting to track their packages.
FedEx API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/fedex): This package tracking API has been integrated into a variety of third-party shipping tools
(They highlight case studies from Cover Shield and Webgility). Their new FedEx Web Services is replacing the soon to be retired FedEx Ship Manager
API. Uncertified developers have access to standard services such as package tracking and FedEx locator. More advanced services are available to
developers that submit to a certification process. Note that their site provides little in the way of public documentation.
DHL API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/dhl): DHL calls their offering XML Services. Along with shipment tracking, the service provides
access to availability, shipping rates, bookings for courier pickups and transit times.
UPS API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/ups): UPS offers over a dozen XML-based services about packages and shipments. The Tracking
API is currently available in over 40 countries and allows developers to track shipments from within their e-commerce sites. This functionality
includes tracking by reference or order number, finding scanning details such as time and location, and verifying the arrival of packages.
USPS Track & Confirm API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/us-postal-service): The United States Postal Service offers a suite of APIs
including this service that allows users to get estimated delivery times and track their packages. The developer portal is unclear as to how open this
API is. Developers are encouraged to register for access to the API yet the documentation notes that the APIs are restricted to USPS internal use
only.
Aramex API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/aramex): Aramex is available in over 60 countries and over 354 worldwide locations. They
offer a suite of APIs including their Shipments Tracking API. With this SOAP API, developers can access live updates on a packages location and
status via a tracking number.
AfterShip API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/aftership): AfterShip currently supports over 200 couriers worldwide and standardizes the
tracking results across all carriers. SDKs are available across 8 languages. AfterShip tracks shipments at intervals of 30 minutes 2 hours instead of
tracking in real time.
Canada Post API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/canada-post): This Canadian based service allows developers to integrate Canada Post
services such as shipping, tracking, post office location, pickup availability, returns and more into their applications. The Tracking API, available in
both REST and SOAP, returns tracking summaries, tracking details, images of signatures and delivery confirmation receipts.

About the author: Wendell Santos (/profile/wsantos) is the editor at ProgrammableWeb.com

(http://www.programmableweb.com/). You can reach him at wendell@programmableweb.com
(mailto:wendell@programmableweb.com). Connect to Wendell on Twitter at @wendell78 (https://twitter.com/wendell78) or
Google+ (https://plus.google.com/100797727591825162602?rel=author).
Follow on Twitter (https://twitter.com/wendell78)

Related APIs
FedEx (/api/fedex), DHL (/api/dhl), UPS Shipping (/api/ups-shipping), USPS Track & Confirm (/api/usps-track-confirm), Aramex (/api/aramex), AfterShip (/api/aftership), Canada Post
(/api/canada-post)
Related Companies
Aramex (/company/aramex), Canada Post (/company/canada-post), DHL (/company/dhl), FedEx (/company/fedex), UPS (/company/ups), USPS (/company/usps)
Find out more about...
Shipping (/category/shipping), Location (/category/location), Logistics (/category/logistics)

http://www.programmableweb.com/news/7-package-tracking-apis-rock/review/2014/08/26

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7 Package Tracking APIs That Rock | ProgrammableWeb

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(/profile/yashrbc)
Yashrbc (/Profile/Yashrbc) 12:28 PM Sep. 22 2014

Reply (/Comment/Reply/137842/50706)

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Hi Sir,
I want to implement DHL API (http://www.programmableweb.com/api/dhl) into C# ,ASP.Net, So if posible then help us for the developemnt code?

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