Are you relying on an API aggregation service for LTL carrier connectivity? While these providers offer libraries of API connections for quotes, bookings, documents, and status updates, their technology is showing its limitations. Here’s how 1Logtech is redefining this space, starting with status messages. In other blog posts, I’ll delve into additional challenges, like their struggles with updating API versions and their lack of flexibility.
These API aggregators retrieve status messages from carriers by accessing the carrier’s API. The API returns the current status of the shipment. Just for background, an API is essentially like a person going to a webpage and entering information. The difference is that it’s not a person—it’s another application, hence the name “Application Program Interface.”
Let me first explain the issue aggregators face when using APIs for status updates. I’ll break it down as if the system were you as a user. Imagine you’re going to a carrier’s website, entering the BOL number, and retrieving the current status of a shipment. Some time goes by, and you check again, only to see the same status because nothing has changed. You could hit refresh 100 times and often get the same result.
This is how retrieving status via API works. The aggregator hits the carrier’s API on a polling schedule, checking many times during the life of the shipment. This generates a lot of excess data and processing needs. To avoid flooding your TMS with duplicate status messages, the aggregator must set up logic to filter out redundant information—duplicates created by their own polling technology. And it’s slow. Some aggregators only poll every two hours, while others increase the frequency at the cost of significantly higher data and processing requirements. Polling every five minutes generates over 1,000 tracking messages for a four-day move. Somebody has to pay for processing and sorting all that data—and that’s you if you’re using their service.
The Problem with Polling
To make matters worse, polling still misses status updates. Shipments sometimes have multiple statuses at the same time, and polling often fails to capture these overlapping updates. Aggregators try to compensate with logic and clever techniques, but missed messages remain inevitable. The core issue is that API technology can’t “push” data to you. Just like a webpage can’t contact you directly, an API requires you to repeatedly request updates.
While there’s a concept called API “webhooks,” which allows an application to register and receive push notifications, very few LTL carriers have adopted this technology yet. Estes experimented with webhooks, but major API aggregators struggled to support it, and the program was ultimately canceled. At 1Logtech, we’ve already partnered with smaller carriers using webhooks, and we’re ready to support them when major carriers adopt the approach.
A Smarter Solution
At 1Logtech, we’ve solved the polling issue by asking carriers to provide status updates as they happen. Carriers have supported this capability for decades with EDI VANs, but this isn’t your grandfather’s EDI. We’ve eliminated the traditional EDI transfer process. Instead, carriers directly deposit status messages into our advanced AWS-based file transfer system. This eliminates EDI batch lag and transmission costs, delivering data instantly and inexpensively—just like an API.
From there, 1Logtech transforms the carrier status data into whatever format your TMS requires and directly inserts it into your system in real time. No lag from API polling, no missed status messages, and no complex logic flooding your TMS with redundant data. Just accurate, instant status updates delivered as they happen.
The Bottom Line
APIs are great for quotes, bookings, and documents, but until carriers support webhooks, they’re not the best option for status. Polling for status is a bad solution—and it’s laggy. I find it ironic that real-time visibility providers use polling and claim to be real-time. The best answer is getting a direct push from the carrier—either through a direct file transfer or webhook API.
1Logtech combines the best of all options today and is ready for future updates from carriers. Not only is our solution faster and more reliable, but it’s also significantly cheaper. By simplifying the process with modern technology, we’ve reduced costs while improving performance.
If you’re ready for better LTL carrier integration for quoting, booking, documents, and tendering, give us a call. Let us show you how we can deliver faster, better service at a significantly reduced price.