Why It's Faster to Integrate with EasyPost
by Jillian Voege
It's always a tough decision to replace an existing business solution with an alternative that promises to be better. Sure, your current solution is lacking, full of time-sucking inefficiencies, and costs more money to maintain than it's worth. But the man-hours and money associated with replacing a legacy solution can incite a lot of doubts. Even though legacy solutions are barely working above a minimally viable level, stakeholders just don't want to deal with the messiness of ripping out the old and installing the new.
So when we built our API, we kept the integration process in mind. Making the integration process as painless as possible is a big reason why we've cultivated great relationships with all of our customers. It all starts with having a robust and cooperative RESTful API infrastructure, and then supporting developers with all the documentation and client libraries they need to build a good integration. We've gone the extra mile to ensure that your average developer could build a functional integration with our API in just a few days of work. Compare that to a direct integration with FedEx's SOAP endpoint, which can take months from your average developer.
So why is there such a huge difference in integration time between our API and a carrier's SOAP or XML endpoint?
One of our biggest strengths is the accessibility of our API. Carrier endpoints are traditionally built on outdated SOAP/XML infrastructure, while we have a RESTful API interface with support across six different programming languages. The difference between working with a SOAP/XML endpoint and RESTful APIs is like working with two sets of blueprints - one written in an unknown language (SOAP), and one written in a universal one (RESTful). Sure, with enough research and work, it's possible for any developer to work with the operation set for a particular SOAP endpoint. But wouldn't it be much, much easier if the developer used a uniform operation set (like RESTful) that's easily learned and has an abundance of documentation behind it?
Of course, every integration is unique and requires different things. Your business might just require shipping label functionality to start with, while others need labels, tracking, and address verification before going live. And every business has a different stack of technology, built using different languages and protocols.
With EasyPost's RESTful API, you get two main advantages: a standardized RESTful operation set that most developers can work with, and all the client libraries and documentation required to help build out all the major functions of the API. While your specific integration may have its own unique challenges, we can give you all the tools, assistance, and support you need to quickly create a solid shipping solution that can elevate your business operations.