Real-time pricing of shipping vendors
Systems and methods for real-time pricing of shipping vendors are provided. Various shipping vendors may be queried concerning shipping specifications. Some embodiments provide for a query to be transmitted to a shipping vendor through an interface associated with the particular shipping vendor. In response to the query, real-time pricing information associated with the shipping specifications is received and displayed to a user. Upon the user designating a shipping vendor, customized shipping labels for each shipping vendor may be generated.
1. A method for real-time pricing of shipping vendors, the method comprising:
maintaining vendor information in memory concerning a plurality of shipping vendors, the vendor information concerning querying each shipping vendor;
querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors with one or more shipping specifications, each query being specific to the shipping vendor;
receiving real-time pricing information associated with the one or more shipping specifications from one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors, the real-time pricing information including a price generated by the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors in response to the query;
executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by a processor generates a menu display of the received real-time pricing information from the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors;
receiving a designation concerning a chosen shipping vendor, the shipping vendor chosen from the menu display; and
generating a shipping label specific to the chosen shipping vendor based on at least the one or more shipping specifications.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising configuring a user device to receive shipping specifications, communicate with the plurality of shipping vendors, and display received information.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein configuring the user device further comprises storing account information associated with each of the plurality of shipping vendors.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more shipping specifications is based on information provided by a user.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more shipping specifications is based on information provided by a contacts manager.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors occurs asynchronously.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors comprises using a vendor-specific interface associated with a shipping vendor from the plurality of shipping vendors.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the generated menu display further includes shipping options associated with each shipping vendor.
9. A system for real-time pricing of shipping vendors, the system comprising:
a vendor database in memory and configured to store information concerning a plurality of shipping vendors, the information concerning querying each shipping vendor;
a communications interface configured to query each of the plurality of shipping vendors for real-time pricing information based on one or more shipping specifications, each query being specific to the shipping vendor, and to receive real-time pricing information associated with the one or more shipping specifications from one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors, the real-time pricing information including a price generated by the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors in response to the query;
a display generator stored in memory and executable by a processor to generate a menu display of the real-time pricing information received from the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors; and
a label generator configured to generate a shipping label based on the one or more shipping specifications, the shipping label being associated with a chosen shipping vendor, the chosen shipping vendor being chosen from the menu display.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the communications interface is further configured to query the plurality of shipping vendors asynchronously.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the communications interface comprises a vendor-specific interface for querying a shipping vendor from the plurality of shipping vendors.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the query to the plurality of shipping vendors is further based on the one or more shipping specifications.
13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more shipping specifications is provided by a user.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more shipping specifications is based on information provided by a contacts manager.
15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the label generator is further configured to generate a plurality of shipping labels, each shipping label associated with a designated shipping vendor from the plurality of shipping vendors.
16. A computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon at least one program, the at least one program being executable by a processor in a computing device to perform a method for real-time pricing of shipping vendors, the method comprising:
maintaining vendor information concerning a plurality of shipping vendors, the vendor information concerning querying each shipping vendor;
querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors with one or more shipping specifications, each query being specific to the shipping vendor;
receiving real-time pricing information associated with the one or more shipping specifications from one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors, the real-time pricing information including a price generated by the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors in response to the query;
generating a menu display of the received real-time pricing information from the one or more of the plurality of shipping vendors;
receiving a designation concerning a chosen shipping vendor, the shipping vendor chosen from the menu display; and
generating a shipping label specific to the chosen shipping vendor based on at least the one or more shipping specifications.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises configuring a user device to receive shipping specifications, communicate with the plurality of shipping vendors, and display received information.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors asynchronously.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises querying each of the plurality of shipping vendors using a vendor-specific interface associated with a shipping vendor from the plurality of shipping vendors.
20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the method further comprises receiving the one or more shipping specifications from a contacts manager.