COVID taught the world the importance of logistics in our daily lives. In both  global and local economies, items need to move efficiently, and without interruption. End consumers, retailers, and producers, all rely on stable operations. 

Knowing that trucks, ships, and trains are moving along smoothly is an important data point for companies. When disruptions inevitably arise, timely notifications are crucial. Alternate routes can be found, relevant stakeholders can be updated, and confidence can be kept that everything is accounted for.

Vonage has integrated our Network APIs with SAP  to help track, verify, and secure logistics operations. In anticipation of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, let’s explore how our collaboration is driving innovation in logistics.

Improving Logistics with Vonage APIs

Imagine you are a shipping company. You have a truck carrying a load of textiles that is bound for consumer packaging in Barcelona. As you pass through the Pyrenees, you encounter a traffic jam. After checking for updates, you learn that a rockslide has blocked the road. This was the most direct route, and any alternate routes would add a massive amount of time to the overall trip.

You get yourself extracted from the traffic jam, and manage to find a place to stop for the moment. You pull out your phone and contact your dispatcher, which is actually an Agentic AI agent powered by the SAP's Business Technology Platform. You tell the agent that your route is blocked, and need a new route.

The Agentic AI agent finds a new route, and alerts all the needed parties that the delivery will be late. You get your new route, and head off on your way.

How does all of this work seamlessly?

• Vonage's Silent Authentication uses the cellular network to verify that the device and your account.

• The Vonage Voice API can provide a voice interface to an Agentic AI agent.

• Vonage's Device Location Retrieval API is integrated into the Agentic AI agent to provide your location based on your device.

• Vonage's Messages API can be accessed by the Agentic AI to message contacts, including over newer channels like RCS Messaging.

How to Test Vonage Network APIs Today

While this overall solution with SAP is still in the incubation phase and is currently only available in some countries, many of the Vonage APIs can be played with today. Thanks to Vonage's Network API Playground, you can test our network APIs using a Virtual Cellular Service Provider (CSP) to try out the APIs in a developer environment and prepare yourself for when the network APIs become available in your region.

Vonage has wrapped the Network API into easy-to-use HTTP calls that can be made in any language that speaks HTTP. For example, getting the location of a device is a single API call, shown here in Node.js:

const phoneNumber = '+9905556666'; // Replace with the actual phone number
const locationAgeSeconds = 600; // Optional: Specify the maximum age of the location information
const token = 'eyJhbGciOiJIU...'; // JWT Token generated from server authentication 

fetch('https://api-eu.vonage.com/v0.1/location/retrieval', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${token}`
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    phone_number: phoneNumber,
    location_age_seconds: locationAgeSeconds // Optional
  })
})
.then(response => {
  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error('Network response was not ok');
  }
  return response.json();
})
.then(data => {
  console.log('Device location:', data);
  // Process the location data here
})
.catch(error => {
  console.error('Error retrieving location:', error);
});

Vonage also supplies instructions for authenticating on both the server-side as well as on-device.

Join Us at MWC Barcelona 2025 to Explore Innovative Solutions

Both Vonage and SAP will be at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from March 3rd, 2025 until March 5th, 2025. We would love to speak with you about processes like logistical improvements, or how SAP and Vonage can help your business in general.

You can also visit SAP later in the year at one of their Sapphire conferences in May 2025.