Today's exceedingly dynamic and disrupted business environment has reinforced the need for enterprises to have complete visibility and control of their supply chains. In response, many have turned to technology for ways in which they can better connect with their partners, quickly respond to disruptions, and accurately meet evolving customer expectations.
As an enterprise, you have several solutions at your disposal to ensure supply chain visibility and control. Application programming interfaces, for instance, can help you get a handle on supply chain integration by giving you access to disparate information and document processing systems and allowing you to tap into the data that matters. That way, you can stay connected with your trading partners and launch timely and effective strategic actions.
Internet-based APIs have been around since the early 2000s, but they are just now finding their way into mainstream supply chain management. Our post discusses the meaning of supply chain API and how API integration can deliver value to modern-day enterprises by improving supply chains.
API Explained: How are APIs Being Used in B2B Interactions?
Simply put, APIs are sets of protocols that allow different systems to interact with one another through real-time, app-based integration. In many ways, APIs are data interpreters positioned between systems to enable seamless communication.
So, say, for example, you intend to order green bottles from a vendor, but the vendor's data system categorizes the green bottles as light green bottles. In this case, the API would translate "green bottles" to "light green bottles" before forwarding the order to the vendor.
This interpretation may seem simple, but it ensures the seamless, accurate flow of vast data volumes between trading partners when performed at scale.
Developers use APIs widely in today's internet-connected world. According to Gartner, APIs perform at least 25% of all B2B interactions, and the number is rapidly growing. As a result, businesses are increasingly building modular platforms that offer flexibility and agility instead of relying on individual monolithic solutions.
By incorporating API capabilities into legacy integration options like EDI, enterprises implement comprehensive solutions that give them more communication options and narrow the distance between them and their partners.
APIs in Supply Chain Integration
Conventionally, businesses achieve supply chain integration using on-premises document processing systems combined with data warehouses and business intelligence (BI) tools.
However, as supply chains become more complex and the need to increase supply chain visibility continues to rise, enterprises are turning to supply chain APIs for help.
APIs make it possible for businesses to have digital supply chains, on which information, from inventory levels and shipment position to the status of a payment or order, can be accessed in real-time. Trading partners can use APIs to avail data, documents, and actions to the relevant systems and people at the right time. Consequently, they can avoid manual data handling and ensure the best possible decisions are made along the entire supply chain.
If you are keen on improving supply chain efficiency, you can use APIs to connect your organization's ERP system with your partners' software and converge information access to one platform. For instance, pulling together inventory and shipment location data with weather, shipping route changes, and fulfillment requirements onto one platform can give you the oversight you need to streamline logistics.
Businesses can accomplish comprehensive supply chain API integration using hundreds of APIs connecting numerous disparate applications, objects, systems, and environments. These APIs are often categorized into four classes:
- Order management APIshandle order exchanges, invoices, shipping notices, payments, and other order-related transactions.
- Control Tower APIs provide status visibility and updates, such as shipment position, deviations, and delays.
- Master data APIshelp create and manage core data to ensure co-innovation across departments and enterprises.
- Specification APIshandle data transfers and integrate services.
Numerous APIs fall into these categories. They support various data connections, improving efficiency and visibility throughout the supply chain.
How Do APIs Add Value to Supply Chain Management?
Using APIs to integrate B2B data systems can provide significant business performance improvements. With APIs, you can keep track of disruptions and execute responses faster, efficiently, and cost-effectively.
Furthermore, the ability to share data and services with partners in a plug-and-play manner eliminates collaboration gaps, enabling you to maximize scalability and accelerate growth rates.
From a bottom-line perspective, strategically deploying APIs can help you:
- Mitigate business risks by reacting quickly to changing circumstances
- Optimize capital allocation by accurately identifying opportunities
- Streamline change management by continuously managing partner relations
- Lower administrative errors and costs by automating data and document sharing
- Grow and scale effortlessly by maintaining fluid, real-time connections with partners
Unlock the Value of Supply Chain API Integration with Remedi
API has been on the horizon for quite some time, but thanks to the increasingly critical need for reliable, flexible, and transparent supply chains, the technology's time to showcase its potential has finally come. Enterprises looking to instill efficiency into their supply chains and get ahead of the competition can benefit significantly from API-enabled optimization.
Like any other enterprise tool, APIs must be deployed and maintained responsibly to deliver absolute value. As a business, implementing APIs to streamline trade partnerships means developing the infrastructure required to secure, control, and manage programs systematically and strategically.
As experts in B2B integration options, Remedi has the answers to all your API integration needs. Working with the top API solution providers, we help companies unlock the full benefits of API integration with as minimal time and resources as possible.
Contact a Remedi expert and learn how we can help you build API capabilities on your existing supply chain management investments to unlock greater efficiency and strategic value.
