An API (or application programming interface for those acronym junkies) is defined on Wikipedia:
An
application programming interface (API) is a set of functions,
procedures, methods, classes or protocols that an operating system,
library or service provides to support requests made by computer
programs.
We designed an application programming
interface recently for an e fulfillment company (look for a case study
in an upcoming blog).
This client's advantage to his business is pretty straightforward. He can offer same day shipping with his location being a short
drive to the wholesale warehouse. Previously, the wholesaler had to
mail the dealer the shipment, then they had to ship the order
themselves.
We spent a great deal of time examining and
integrating this process with the wholesaler and talking to dealers. Of
course we spent a lot of time with our client as well. Technicate
prides itself on being able to see a business process and creating an
application around it.
That's what we do. :)
In order to
make the process seamless to dealers (and users of the website), we
decided to create an API that transfers orders from most popular
E-Commerce platforms (i.e OSCommerce, Magento, Yahoo). By sending a
simple XML feed we allow the dealer to send orders real time.
If
the dealer is technically inclined and a do it yourselfer, they have
all they need. Technicate has also helped dealers integrate into the
system as well.
We in essence became the e-fulfillment house's IT department.
It's
been fun watching this e-fulfillment company grow. By using an API
rather than an interface, we've saved the dealers time and money spent
on inputting orders.
Our next step?
Hopefully in the future integrating this API into the wholesaler, eliminating any interaction from the dealer.
At that point, they can get shipping done while they sleep. :)
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