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Import FedEx Data to Google Sheets

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byAna
< Knowledge Base

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to import FedEx shipping data directly into Google Sheets, using the API Connector add-on for Sheets.

The FedEx API uses the OAuth client credentials flow. Therefore we will get our token through some custom API requests rather than through API Connector's automatic OAuth2 connection manager (as the OAuth manager currently only supports the authorization code flow).

Contents

Before You Begin

Click here to install the API Connector add-on from the Google Marketplace.

Part 1: Create a FedEx Project

  1. If you haven't already, navigate to https://developer.fedex.com and log in or create an account.
  2. Once you're logged in, click My Projects > +Create A Project
    fedex-createproject
  3. From the Create Project screen, select why you need API access
  4. Choose the APIs to which you'd like to have access
    fedex-selectAPIs

  5. Accept their terms, configure your project, and click Create
    fedex-configure

  6. You should now see test credentials on the page. We'll start with these to show how it works. If you've already done this you can switch to your production key.fedex-keys

Part 2: Get Your Access Token

To get your access token, set up a request as follows. Note that the below is for the test environment; if you're connecting with production credentials, change the domain from apis-sandbox.fedex.com to apis.fedex.com, so that the request URL is https://apis.fedex.com/oauth/token.

  • Application: Custom
  • Method: POST
  • Request URL: https://apis-sandbox.fedex.com/oauth/token
  • Headers
    • Key = Content-type, Value = application/x-www-form-urlencoded
  • Request body: {"grant_type":"client_credentials", "client_id":"your_api_key", "client_secret":"your_secret_key"}

Substitute in your API key and secret key from above. Name your request and click Run. The whole thing should look like this:
fedex-token

Note the value returned in the access_token field. That's the token we'll use for getting FedEx tracking data. This token will be valid for 1 hour, after that you'll need to run the request again to get a new token.

Part 3: Get FedEx Data in Sheets

You can create a request using any of the endpoints and parameters described in FedEx's documentation. Here's an example to their tracking API. Substitute in your own access token and an actual tracking number (the test tracking numbers provided in their documentation aren't reliable).

As before, the below configuration is for the test environment; if you're connecting with production credentials, change the domain from apis-sandbox.fedex.com to apis.fedex.com.

  • Application: Custom
  • Method: GET
  • Request URL: https://apis-sandbox.fedex.com/track/v1/trackingnumbers
  • Headers
    • Authorization: Bearer your_token
    • Content-Type: application/json
  • Request body: {"trackingInfo":[{"trackingNumberInfo":{"trackingNumber":"794843185271"}}],"includeDetailedScans":true}

For convenience, the example in the screenshot references the token value from cell A2. This means the header doesn't need to be updated as it will automatically pull in the new value each time the access token is refreshed.

Part 4: API Documentation

Official Track API documentation: https://developer.fedex.com/api/en-us/catalog/track/v1/docs.html

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