Integrations & systems
Who can design and implement carrier API integrations for labels, manifests, tracking and customs data?
Short answer
You need someone who understands both the parcel operation and the software: a product or integration lead who writes the requirements, maps the data, coordinates with the carrier and tests the result, plus developers who build it.
I do the first part, and I can deliver the second with your developers or with developers I contract. The integration is done when labels, manifests, tracking events, customs data, returns and errors work in production, not when the first API call succeeds.
What a carrier integration actually covers
| Part | What has to work | Typical pitfall |
|---|---|---|
| Shipment creation | Right service and options per parcel (home, PUDO, locker, signature, insurance) | Only the default service is implemented |
| Labels | Correct format, size and barcode quality for the carrier's sorting | Labels pass the API but fail on the sorter |
| Manifest / pre-advice | Data sent before parcels arrive; manifests closed at cut-off | Parcels arrive without pre-advice and get delayed |
| Tracking events | Carrier events mapped to your statuses and customer notifications | Dozens of raw codes shown to customers, or exceptions missed |
| Customs data | Item-level data for cross-border lanes, including new EU fields | Free-text descriptions, missing origin or identifiers |
| Returns | Return labels, return tracking, link to original shipment | Returns built later as a separate project |
| Errors and monitoring | Retries, address validation, alerts, manual fallback | Silent failures found by customers |
| Security and ownership | Credentials, environments, access, code ownership | Credentials in one developer's laptop |
Why integration projects stall
- Requirements written by nobody. Developers get the carrier's API docs, but no one has decided which services, label rules and exception processes the business needs.
- Carrier dependencies. Test credentials, certification of labels and go-live approval take weeks if nobody chases them.
- Operations not involved. The warehouse finds out about new labels or cut-off times on go-live day.
- Tracking treated as an afterthought. It's the part customers see most.
- No acceptance criteria. Nobody can say when the integration is "done".
Who does what
A good integration project has three roles, whether in-house or external:
- Product / integration lead: defines requirements, maps data, owns the carrier relationship during the project, writes test cases, gets operations ready, decides trade-offs.
- Developers: build the integration, tests, monitoring and deployment.
- Operations owner: confirms labels, handover, cut-offs and exception handling work on the floor.
Many companies have developers but no one in the first role with parcel experience. That's the gap I fill.
Three ways to get it delivered
- A blueprint (from €2,250): I specify one integration completely so your developers can estimate and build it.
- Leadership with your developers (from €4,750): your team builds; I lead requirements, carrier coordination, reviews, testing and launch.
- Delivered with contracted developers (from €18,500): I contract and manage the developers and deliver a scoped integration. You own the code and the repository.
Each is defined on the Carrier Integration & Logistics Systems page, with what's included and what isn't.
What to have ready before the project starts
- The carrier contract and services you've agreed, including which options (PUDO, signature, returns) you're allowed to use.
- Carrier API documentation and test credentials, and a named technical contact at the carrier.
- Your parcel profile: weights, sizes, countries and volumes, so label and service rules can be tested with realistic data.
- Access to your systems: shop, OMS, WMS or ERP documentation and a test environment.
- An operations contact in the warehouse who can print and scan test labels and confirm the handover process.
- Customer communication: which tracking notifications you want customers to receive, and in which languages.
Missing items don't stop a blueprint, they become part of it. They do slow down a build, which is why the blueprint comes first in most projects.
Who this is for, and who it isn't
A good fit
- Merchants adding a carrier, market or service
- Carriers onboarding partners or merchants through APIs
- 3PLs, consolidators and marketplaces connecting to last-mile networks
- Teams building logistics products such as tracking or customs platforms
Not a good fit
- A plug-in for a standard shop system already does what you need
- Software unrelated to delivery and returns
- 24/7 support or open-ended maintenance
Why me
I have worked across 18+ carrier and API integrations in my career, including European network and PUDO integrations in international product development at Hermes, where I also led a seven-person product team and took a customs product live. I also design and run predictapp, my own production software platform with APIs, data pipelines, authentication and payments. I know where parcel operations and software meet, and where they break.
Questions
How long does a carrier integration take?
A single, well-documented carrier with standard services can be specified in one to two weeks and built in a few more. Carrier certification and approvals often take longer than the coding. Multiple carriers or customs data add time.
Do you write the code yourself?
For client projects, developers write the production code: your team, or developers I contract and manage. I lead the work and review it.
Can you work with our ERP or WMS?
Yes, if we can access documentation and a test environment. Heavy ERP customisation is quoted separately.
Who owns the code?
You do. For contracted builds, IP assignment, repository and credential ownership are written into the statement of work.
Free discovery call
Need a carrier connected? Let's scope it
30 minutes, no cost. Bring your lanes, volumes and questions; you leave with a clear next step, whether or not we work together.