API's, Websites and adding a button for customers to book collections

mattyg

mattyg

mattyg

Soldato
Joined
17 Jun 2007
Posts
9,351
Hello, You clever lot!

We've been asked by one of our contracts to add a electronic booking option to our system. We currently use a call centre to make 600 calls a day to our customers which then gets collated and sent via sms to 50+ drivers and they want this streamlining.
We've been looking at other systems as well (new tracking, Planning + ePOD systems)

We dont have an IT dept (apart from myself and I'll **** this up if I try)

How hard?
Whats needed?
One of the systems we are looking at has an open API. We just really need a button that the customer can click to order a collection that then adds the job to our system.

Any ideas guys?

Matt
 
mattyg said:
Hello, You clever lot!

We've been asked by one of our contracts to add a electronic booking option to our system. We currently use a call centre to make 600 calls a day to our customers which then gets collated and sent via sms to 50+ drivers and they want this streamlining.
We've been looking at other systems as well (new tracking, Planning + ePOD systems)

We dont have an IT dept (apart from myself and I'll **** this up if I try)

How hard?
Whats needed?
One of the systems we are looking at has an open API. We just really need a button that the customer can click to order a collection that then adds the job to our system.

Any ideas guys?

Matt
Click to expand...
Can you link to the API documentation? Hard to tell without seeing what is required.
 
Honestly sounds like a liability without an IT department or anyone to support it.

Is there not a company offering a white label solution?
 
Without really knowing that much about "your system" ...

The answer is, you've either got to custom develop it, or you've got to adapt an off the shelf product.

Either option is quite hard. They'll be people that say "oh that's simple", but the reality is that nothing ever is.

Development - You need to write a detailed spec, find a coding team, develop it, test it, and implement it. A lot of work, and quite hard.

Adapt an Off the Shelf Product - Takes a lot of searching and trialling, and then you'll probably be left with something that has issues, and you can't easily improve upon.
 
Last edited:
As above really. But I'd look into your system and see if it has any existing integrations you can use. Most website forms can connect to an API and put the information in if your system has one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom