Quote, book and track FedEx Freight consignments from your order entry and warehouse systems, with real-time freight rates, pickup requests and shipment paperwork generated from the same record.
FedEx Freight takes pallets, crates and oversized consignments rather than parcels, so the questions are different: what does this load rate at, when can the terminal collect it, and where is it now. The Freight API answers all three from your order entry, warehouse management and inventory software, which is freight management system integration rather than another portal for dispatchers to keep open.
Freight does not book the way a parcel does. These are the parts of the FedEx Freight workflow that the API takes over.
A freight booking needs more than a parcel label. Piece count, packaging type and the freight class all affect the quote, so those fields travel with the booking instead of being agreed over email. FedEx Freight returns the consignment number and the rate, and the shipping paperwork is generated from the booking.
If a load is not going out, or the consignee is no longer expecting it, the booking can be cancelled from the same record before collection. That matters more in freight than in parcel shipping, because a cancelled terminal collection has to happen while there is still time to change the plan.
Freight tracking works differently from parcel tracking: the interesting events are pickup, arrival at the terminal, departure and delivery. Those come through the FedEx Freight tracking API and land against the load in Softpal, so a customer asking where a pallet is gets the terminal detail rather than a generic in-transit message.
Freight status is usually polled rather than pushed. The interval is worth thinking about carefully here, because each open load adds to the number of calls and terminal systems see very little new information between scans. Polling more often than the operation needs gives no fresher answer and costs more than it returns.
Freight accounts carry their own rate structures and account codes, so the integration is configured around the contracts you actually hold. Class-based rating, accessorial charges such as liftgate delivery, and delivery appointment rules are set per account rather than applied as a generic default.
Running freight means coordinating the warehouse, not just the printer. Manifests, pickup scheduling and multi-piece loads sit alongside the order, and where a load needs to be booked by hand because of its packaging or an unusual delivery constraint, manual booking is still available.
The fetch rate is how often Softpal asks FedEx Freight for rate and status data. A five-minute interval is reasonable for an active freight desk; an hour is enough for scheduled, lower-volume shipments. Requests can also be triggered by an event, such as a new booking or a load status change, rather than repeating on a timer.
A pickup request tells FedEx Freight that a load is ready at a given location and needs collecting. Sending it through the API keeps the request attached to the booking, so the terminal and the dispatch record agree on what was asked for and when.
The delivery estimate is produced after collection. Freight transit depends on the distance between terminals, the service level and how the freight class affects handling, none of which are settled before the load is actually in the carrier's hands.
International freight brings its own layer, from export documentation to customs brokerage, and the requirements differ by origin and destination. Freight management system integration matters more here than anywhere else, because a documentation error stops a container rather than delaying a parcel.
Freight invoices are the ones worth checking carefully. Comparing the charges in accounts payable against FedEx Freight's statements, line by line, is how accessorial fees, detention and class discrepancies are caught, and bringing the data in through the API makes that comparison repeatable instead of a monthly exercise.
Several FedEx Freight accounts can run concurrently, with the account chosen by rule. Weight slabs are one approach, splitting consignments under 5 kg from heavier loads, and regional accounts are another, with a default account for any location that matches no specific rule.
