How carriers and shippers are getting better service through Quicargo's automated integrations

By Lucas Bonavita
June 18, 2020 • 10 min read

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MAKE USE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF QUICARGO’S INTEGRATIONS

It has been a long road to integrate with the Quicargo network of carriers. Last year, we decided to take the integration process in our own hands. This has led to us reaching more than 20 automated connections in May. Thanks to the hard work of our development team and our carrier’s support we have been able to accomplish this.

In this article, we’re going to discuss:

What had to be done?
What are the possibilities in the field of automated connections?
Why are automated connections important for Quicargo?
What is the added value for shippers?
Conclusion

What had to be done?

In the market you can find many different types of connectors and document formats, so a standard solution would not suffice. Our developers worked very hard to propose a solution that is adaptable and flexible to any type of connection, while also being easy to use for a non-technical person. This resulted in Quicargo being able to integrate with a carrier within 48 hours after a carrier provides us with all the required/necessary information. We are now getting requests from our carriers to integrate with our system every month.

“It’s incredibly amazing what we achieved in one year. When we began, we only had 3 integrations running and currently we have 20. Also, the integration we created permits us to connect to most of the systems within a few days, while it was taking several months before. We still have work to do since there are a lot of integration possibillities in the market, but we have taken big steps in the right direction.”

– Lucas Bonavita, Product Manager @ Quicargo

What are the possibilities in the field of automated connections?

We are now able to connect via 2 types of application programming interfaces (API) connections:

Web services: an XML-based information exchange system that uses the internet for direct application-to-application interaction. These systems can include programs, objects, messages or documents.
FTP/SFTP: This is a protocol used to transfer files between an FTP host or server and an FTP client computer on the Internet. The SFTP is also a protocol, but it is more secure.

Why are automated connections important for Quicargo?

Automated connections are enabling the automated flow of information between the system the carriers use for planning, executing and optimizing shipments; this is called a Transport Managment System (TMS), and the Quicargo platform. It might seem a bit complicated, so let’s use an example for further explanation.

The shipper is placing an order on the Quicargo platform. After being reviewed by our system, it sends a request to relevant carriers. They accept the order on the Quicargo platform and this is where the magic happens; the order information is automatically sent to their TMS where they do their planning. The planner doesn’t have to fill in the order manually in ther system, this is now automatically done via the integration fo our platform. In addition to helping the planner, it also removes the possibility of a human mistake while taking over the order information. Less work while improving the level of service, this is already of great value, but the magic does not stop here.

What is the added value for shippers?

Shippers also get their share of value with automated connections. The integrations can work in 2 directions, sending order delivery information and receiving delivery updates. Instead of emailing or having Quicargo’s operations team check the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and status updates (pickup and delivery) in different carrier platforms this information will now directly be taken from the TMS of the carriers and shown in the order track an trace of the shipper.

This provides more transparency towards our shippers when it comes to their deliveries. At any time, they can check the platform for their orders knowing that the data provided is up to date.
No need to call or e-mail a carrier anymore, everything is visible in the app.

Additionally, it improves the level of service Quicargo can provide. Not only is Quicargo now able to work in a more proactive way by automating tasks, the data is also way more accurate. Quicargo has a better overview of the level of service that each carrier provides and permits our carrier managment team to discuss improvement backed with precise data.

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