As part of the continuing expansion of its API Store, APM Terminals Mobile in the United States has rolled out a truck appointment API this week. The API automatically connects a customer’s Transport Management System  directly to APM Terminals’ truck appointment system.

This seamless integration puts the information required for efficiently managing terminal truck appointments right at the customers fingertips. The API uses real-time information directly from the terminal, so it can also help shave previous time off transit times and associated costs. In addition to saving time and effort, APIs also remove the chance of human error that can occur when manually copying information between systems.

Full range of appointment functionality

APM Terminals Truck Appointment API enables customers to perform all appointment tasks currently carried out manually through APM Terminals Truck Appointment System, such as viewing available time slots; creating, updating and cancelling appointments; and producing a list of appointments, appointment information and updates for a requested timeframe.

Appointments can be made for import pick-up and drop-off, export drop-off and pick-up, empty container pick-up and drop-off, chassis pick-up and-drop off (currently only for APM Terminals Mobile).

Combined with data from other APIs offered by APM Terminals, such as vessel schedules and import availability, it becomes a powerful tool for reducing the time a container takes to transit through the container terminal to an absolute minimum.

“Using APIs not only removes the manual errors that can occur when working in different systems,” says Denson White, Director of Customer Engagement at APM Terminals Mobile. “But having a complete range of real-time data all in one system, can help flag errors or oversights before they occur, through, for example, real-time reporting.”

Secure

The API uses a 2-step authentication process involving system and user-level authentication. All end-users must therefore be registered as authorized users on TERMPoint, where an authorization key for the API will be stored. This enables the API to validate that the user is a valid TERMPoint user, associate the user to a trucking company and a terminal and validate the user’s permissions in TERMPoint.

System level authentication is done using a Consumer key, which can be requested by a software provider or trucking company in our developer portal.

APM Terminals Truck Appointment API is also available for APM Terminals Los Angeles, APM Terminals Gothenburg and APM Terminals Vado Ligure.