What is SOA?
Service-Oriented Architecture ( SOA ) provides IT infrastructure with easy
tools for building and extending applications. SOA is built around
business processes to separate functions into distinct services that can be
combined with other services or reused in application development. SOA
enables companies to develop robust user experiences that can be easily
enhanced or changed through the underlying services that are used. Not
only does SOA bridge the gap in hardware, software and platform
dependencies, it is creating new standards on how developers approach
building applications. Applications are able to be built in a manner
that closely resembles how a business runs.
DigitalShipper Web Services
As Web services have become a common method for integrating systems,
companies are looking for shipping execution software that is extensible to
other applications either through APIs or Web Services. This is a
growing trend among IT departments and companies desiring to develop their
own interface to software that provides carrier compliance.
DigitalShipper's SOA-designed Web Services offer the most robust and
complete set of shipping features in the marketplace today for designing
your own shipping front-end or integrating DigitalShipper directly into
other applications. Entity data types and full descriptions are also
available for integrating shipping domain into an enterprise.
The suite of DigitalShipper products is built on Microsoft’s .NET
technology platform and through our Web Services, Data Wizard, and standard
Plug-in Architecture developers can build custom business rules and
automation without having to hire an integration specialist or having an
in-depth knowledge about shipping. DigitalShipper Enterprise’s
standard interface uses the same DigitalShipper Web Services to communicate
with the backend compliance engine so you can be assured that the Web
Services methods are proven and reliable.
Exclusive Features of the DigitalShipper Web Services:
Quick Ship streamlines the shipping function for shipments by sending all
the data in a single operation and provides the maximum efficiency and speed
for a transaction that is done in one easy step. If all packages in
the shipment are provided with a rate shop group, the Quick Ship will
automatically select the least cost carrier and service using the Total
Order Rate Shopping feature.
Rate Shopping is one of the core components behind our shipping and
rating applications that make up the DigitalShipper product suite.
Rate shopping can utilize either published rates or negotiated rates and can
take into consideration transit times and accessorial fees. The
DigitalShipper Web Services gives power and flexibility to the type of rate
shopping that best suits your needs:
- Basic Rate Shop – returns the least cost rate for the services in a rate
shop group
- Comparison Rate Shop – returns the rates for all qualifying services in a
rate shop group
- Ad-hoc Rate Shop – returns the rates for a list of services that are
supplied by the caller
- Total Order Rate Shop – the most accurate rate shop that uses all the
packages in a shipment to return rates and can even compare small package
(including hundredweight rating) versus LTL rating (including deficit weight
rating) in a single operation
Out of Order Processing allows you to build and modify the data for your
shipments as the information becomes available (i.e. create shipments, add
packages, edit addresses, add/remove special services). DigitalShipper
will even allow for shipping packages out of sequence for carriers and
services that permit this type of processing.
Request Carrier Labels provides on demand label printing once a shipment
has been shipped and is ideal for printing labels in batches, printing
labels on automated conveyor systems with label applicators, or just simply
reprinting a single label.
End of Day Activities such as closing a carrier or account and
transmitting EDI files to the carriers can easily be called through the web
services.
Configuration and Management for sites, carriers, accounts, services,
users, workstations, and peripherals are included in the DigitalShipper Web
Services for companies that want to develop their own front-end instead of
using the DigitalShipper Management Console.