Data Integration

Use our flexible integration options to provide the data needed to keep your customers updated throughout the delivery process.

Overview

Data forms the building blocks of the parcelLab platform that enables you to provide your customers with the best post-purchase experience.

The order data you send us, along with the data we receive from your carriers, is used to:

• Trigger communication

• Display order and delivery information in the emails and other communication channels, such as SMS, that your customers will receive

• Display order and delivery updates on the Order Status page

Data Integration Methods

The data integration methods that can be used with your e-commerce systems and carriers are described in the following sections.

Data Integration: e-commerce Systems

You can use the following methods to send order data to parcelLab from your e-commerce system:

• API - the most flexible method of data integration is API, whereby all the necessary order information can be submitted and received instantly

• File transfer via SFTP - if you want to send us order data using file transfer, the preferred transfer channel is through our SFTP server with certificate-based authentication

We support multiple file formats, which allows for easy integration.

• Email BCC - the lowest effort for data integration is to send order and tracking information to parcelLab via email in BCC

There are limitations in terms of flexibility as the email needs to contain all the necessary information for orders and trackings.

Data Integration: Carriers

To provide updates on orders, an interface method is needed to enable us to get the relevant data from the respective carriers.

For most carriers, we recommend requesting specific interface credentials from the carrier. These are referred to as "private" interfaces, whereby parcelLab can query the carrier on your behalf by using your direct account with the carrier to retrieve data. This offers the possibility to extract more detailed information that otherwise would not be shared due to privacy restrictions.

The following methods can be used for parcelLab to receive data from your carriers:

• File transfer - our preferred method for carrier integration is file transfer, where the data can be downloaded by parcelLab, or the files are uploaded to parcelLab’s SFTP servers

• API - for integration via API, carriers can either provide parcelLab with an API endpoint to call, or they can call parcelLab’s API to send the required information

For further information on carrier interface methods, see our carrier integration guide.

Carrier Interfaces