Flexport Core Workflow A: Bookings & Purchase Orders

Overview

The primary Flexport integration path: create purchase orders, book shipments, and track cargo through the supply chain. The API v2 uses RESTful endpoints at https://api.flexport.com with JSON payloads.

Prerequisites

• Completed flexport-install-auth setup
• Understanding of Flexport freight types (ocean FCL/LCL, air, trucking)
• Valid shipper/consignee addresses configured in Flexport Portal

Instructions

Step 1: Create a Purchase Order

const BASE = 'https://api.flexport.com';
const headers = {
  'Authorization': `Bearer ${process.env.FLEXPORT_API_KEY}`,
  'Flexport-Version': '2',
  'Content-Type': 'application/json',
};

// POST /purchase_orders — create a PO to track inbound goods
const po = await fetch(`${BASE}/purchase_orders`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers,
  body: JSON.stringify({
    name: 'PO-2025-001',
    status: 'open',
    buyer: { name: 'Acme Corp', address: { country: 'US' } },
    seller: { name: 'Shanghai Supplier', address: { country: 'CN' } },
    line_items: [
      { sku: 'WIDGET-A', quantity: 500, unit_of_measure: 'pieces' },
      { sku: 'WIDGET-B', quantity: 200, unit_of_measure: 'pieces' },
    ],
    cargo_ready_date: '2025-04-15',
    must_arrive_by: '2025-05-20',
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

console.log(`PO created: ${po.data.id}`);

Step 2: Create a Booking

// POST /bookings — book freight against a purchase order
const booking = await fetch(`${BASE}/bookings`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers,
  body: JSON.stringify({
    freight_type: 'ocean',          // ocean, air, trucking
    incoterm: 'FOB',                // FOB, CIF, EXW, DDP, etc.
    origin_port: { code: 'CNSHA' }, // Shanghai
    destination_port: { code: 'USLAX' }, // Los Angeles
    cargo_ready_date: '2025-04-15',
    purchase_order_ids: [po.data.id],
    wants_freight_management: true,
    wants_customs_service: true,
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

console.log(`Booking: ${booking.data.id} | Status: ${booking.data.status}`);

Step 3: Track Shipment Milestones

// GET /shipments/:id — once booking is confirmed, a shipment is created
// Milestones include: cargo_ready, departed, arrived, customs_cleared, delivered
const shipment = await fetch(
  `${BASE}/shipments/${booking.data.shipment_id}`, { headers }
).then(r => r.json());

console.log(`Shipment ${shipment.data.id}:`);
console.log(`  Status: ${shipment.data.status}`);
console.log(`  ETD: ${shipment.data.estimated_departure_date}`);
console.log(`  ETA: ${shipment.data.estimated_arrival_date}`);
console.log(`  Legs: ${shipment.data.legs?.length ?? 0}`);

Step 4: Retrieve Documents

// GET /shipments/:id/documents — commercial invoices, bills of lading, etc.
const docs = await fetch(
  `${BASE}/shipments/${shipment.data.id}/documents`, { headers }
).then(r => r.json());

docs.data.records.forEach((doc: any) => {
  console.log(`${doc.document_type}: ${doc.file_name} (${doc.url})`);
});

Error Handling

Examples

List All Purchase Orders with Filters

const pos = await fetch(
  `${BASE}/purchase_orders?status=open&per=25&page=1`, { headers }
).then(r => r.json());

pos.data.records.forEach((po: any) => {
  console.log(`${po.name} | ${po.status} | Ready: ${po.cargo_ready_date}`);
});

Update PO Line Items

await fetch(`${BASE}/purchase_orders/${poId}`, {
  method: 'PATCH',
  headers,
  body: JSON.stringify({
    line_items: [{ sku: 'WIDGET-A', quantity: 750 }],  // Updated quantity
  }),
});

Resources

• Booking API Tutorial
• Purchase Order API Tutorial
• Shipment API Tutorial
• API Reference

Next Steps

For customs and invoicing workflow, see flexport-core-workflow-b.