Beacon API allows you to programmatically create and track shipments, including updating container ETAs in your ERP or TMS. This article outlines the data exchange capabilities with Beacon via our API endpoints, assisting you in seamless implementation within your system. If you have any feedback or inquiries, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact Beacon Support.
If you're not yet a Beacon customer, please get in touch with us to learn more about our API. For existing Beacon customers, if you would like to access the API, please contact Support at support@beacon.com to turn on API access. Once turned on, your username and password will be your credentials to access our API endpoints.
To learn more about Beacon API, you can find our API documentation here and Swagger documentation here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How long does it take to implement the Beacon API?
The implementation time depends on the complexity of the software you are using. From our experience, our customers have implemented the Beacon API in as little as 5 working days, including testing.
What data can I send from our systems to Beacon through the API?
In addition to the shipment identifier e.g. container number, you can also send the destination warehouse to make use of the warehouse ETA feature and any custom fields you have created in Beacon.
What data can I get from Beacon's API to populate in my systems?
In addition to all the shipment milestones you see in Beacon, e.g. ETD, ETA, gated out full, our API response also contains warehouse ETA (if destination warehouse is provided and transit time from POD to the warehouse is configured), and any order numbers and custom fields you have uploaded to Beacon.
Can I send or fetch data for more than one shipment at a time?
Yes you can. When you fetch for the latest tracking data, you can also choose to fetch data for all containers or specify up to 50 containers in each request.
Does Beacon automatically push ETA and other tracking changes to my systems?
No, Beacon does not automatically push data to your systems. Instead, our API always responds to requests sent programmatically from your systems. As such, you should schedule to call our API upon certain triggers. For example:Call Beacon's POST endpoint to start tracking a container when container number is saved in the ERP
Call Beacon's GET endpoint to fetch the latest ETA for a container every 4 hours until the PO in the ERP is closed
How often should I fetch for the latest tracking data via API?
Almost all tracking data update hourly in Beacon. We suggest scheduling your API calls to fetch the latest data from Beacon no more frequent than every hour.
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