Freight API integration: How an API provides more capacity options and faster freight quotes

• An API connects two systems automatically. It lets a shipper’s TMS query Schneider and get a freight quote back within seconds.

• Real-time data means more options. The connection surfaces newly available capacity as the network changes, so the TMS can pick the best value.
• Spot freight moved more smoothly. The company received 700 to 800 quotes per day and got a faster "yes" without compromising service.

When you have freight to move, you don’t want to jump through hoops to make it happen. For one of our customers, this meant working with Schneider to use dynamic technology and adopt streamlined processes to secure enough on-demand capacity, making it easier to get the job done. 

The company has been a Schneider customer for decades, moving hundreds of shipments across the country daily via various modes of transportation. Far too often, a primary carrier would reject awarded freight, and the company would be left scrambling, reaching out to carriers on the spot market to find available capacity. This plan B often came with a premium cost and a less-than-desirable service experience. 

The company was looking for ways to make securing freight capacity easier. It reached out to Schneider to learn more about integrating its transportation management system (TMS) with Schneider through an application programming interface (API) connection. 

An API is a set of programming instructions that lets two software applications talk via the web. In other words, an API lets a shipper’s software (in this case, a TMS) communicate with other software. One system can query another and receive a response within milliseconds, so data syncs between the two systems automatically. An API connection would give the company a smoother, more automatic process for securing freight on the spot market. 

The API connection let Schneider access the company’s freight needs and provide a quote within seconds. While Schneider can provide live or drop capacity, the company chose to use its API connection with Schneider to find drop capacity solutions.   

Schneider could bring more capacity options to the company more quickly because the API provides real-time access to newly available freight capacity as the network changes. With these real-time updates, the company’s TMS can automatically choose the option that provides the best value. 

With an API integration through Schneider, the company was able to find more freight capacity with less effort. It received 700 to 800 unique quotes per day, and the API made it faster for the company to get a “yes” for its freight when it needed capacity. While the spot market has a reputation for lesser service, the company didn’t have that experience. The API connection supported better service because the company could bid the lanes that made the most sense for its network.   

Because the company chose to integrate via API with Schneider, it also received these benefits:

• A fast and easy setup for its API connection. Once a connection is made by the customer, Schneider can turn around subscription keys for testing within two days. 

• Access to Truckload, Brokerage, Intermodal and Power Only capacity through an API. 
• Award-winning technology that Schneider continually invests in to support strong customer service. 

• A high level of trust and service that keeps Schneider’s customers around for an average of 10 years, or in the company’s case, more than 50 years.

Connecting its transportation management system to Schneider through an API helped the company find capacity more quickly without compromising service. With real-time updates, the company kept its spot freight moving more smoothly than ever. 

Learn about an API connection to Schneider.