INTEGRATIONS

PortPro Integration Architecture for Drayage Automation

This page covers how Doublefast's operating layer can connect to a PortPro-based drayage operation: where incoming order and terminal data comes from, how it gets normalized into structured records, how a handoff to PortPro or another system can work through an API, EDI, or another interface where one is available, how terminal and container monitoring runs alongside that, where human review sits in the flow, and how status updates, documents, and billing data go back out. It is the technical/architecture companion to our more conceptual explainer on how AI can work alongside PortPro.

Last reviewed: August 17, 2026. This analysis was prepared by Doublefast.

Doublefast prepared this analysis and may be considered a competitor or complementary provider. Product details and pricing can change. Verify final requirements and pricing directly with each vendor.

Architecture

How the integration architecture works

At a high level, the flow is a chain of six steps. Each is described in its own section below with the honest caveats that apply to it — this is a description of how the pieces fit together, not a claim that every step is turnkey or already certified for every PortPro account.

1

Incoming data

INTAKE

Terminal websites, EDI feeds, email, PDFs, and the carrier’s own PortPro records arrive continuously and in mixed formats.

2

Normalization

NORMALIZE

Raw inputs are parsed into structured records: container number, LFD, appointment window, accessorials, and status.

3

PortPro / API / EDI handoff

HANDOFF

Structured records are made available to PortPro or another downstream system through whichever interface the carrier’s account and trading-partner setup support.

4

Terminal & container monitoring

MONITOR

Container and appointment status is checked against live terminal data on an ongoing basis, independent of how the handoff step is configured.

5

Human review

REVIEW

Defined checkpoints hold ambiguous data, exceptions, and anything touching money or dispatch for a person to confirm.

6

Outbound data

OUTBOUND

Confirmed status updates, documents, and billing data flow back out to customers, drivers, and the carrier’s billing stack.

Step 1

Sources of incoming data

A drayage operation running PortPro rarely has all of its data inside PortPro. Order and status information typically arrives from several places at once:

  • Terminal websites. Container status, LFD, appointment availability, and hold information published directly by the terminal.
  • EDI feeds. Order (204), status (214), or invoice (210/990) transactions where a trading-partner relationship already exists.
  • Email and PDFs. Delivery orders, rate confirmations, and accessorial notices sent the way customers and brokers already send them.
  • The carrier's own PortPro data. Loads, driver assignments, and status already recorded inside the carrier's existing PortPro account.

See our dedicated pages on terminal integrations and email and document intake for more on how each of those source types is handled on its own.

Step 2

Data normalization

Each of those source formats represents the same handful of facts — container number, LFD, appointment window, addresses, accessorials, status — differently. The normalization step takes the raw input, regardless of source format, and maps it into one structured record shape before anything downstream touches it. This is what makes a terminal-website update, an EDI 214, and a PDF delivery order comparable to each other, and it is what a downstream handoff (PortPro, another TMS, or a billing system) actually consumes.

Step 3

PortPro / API / EDI handoff

Once data is normalized, it needs a way into (or out of) PortPro or whatever system the carrier runs day to day. PortPro publishes its own API reference documentation, which confirms an API surface exists on the PortPro side. PortPro's own site also describes the platform as designed to integrate with other systems and to pull data automatically from terminal websites. Third-party providers in this ecosystem publish their own setup instructions for connecting to PortPro as well — for example, Motive publishes an end-user guide for enabling its PortPro integration, which is one indicator that connecting external systems to a PortPro account is a documented, supported pattern rather than something unusual.

None of that is the same thing as Doublefast holding a live, certified integration with PortPro today — it does not, and we are not going to claim otherwise. What it means in practice is that, depending on a given carrier's PortPro plan, whether API access is enabled on that account, and whether an EDI trading-partner relationship already exists, a handoff can potentially be built through an API connection, an EDI feed, a flat-file exchange, or some combination. Which of those is available, and what scope it covers, has to be confirmed for each customer's specific account and cannot be assumed from this page alone.

For a broader look at how this compares across TMS platforms generally, see our TMS integrations page and our overview of drayage TMS platforms.

Step 4

Terminal and container monitoring

In parallel with whatever handoff path is in place, container and appointment status is checked against live terminal data on an ongoing basis: LFD changes, appointment availability, holds, and gate activity. This monitoring runs independently of the PortPro handoff step — it is watching the terminal, not just watching PortPro — so status updates can be caught even if the only path back into a carrier's system of record is a manual one for a given account.

Step 5

Recommended human review points

This is the explicit control boundary in the architecture. Regardless of which handoff path is configured, we recommend a person confirm before anything crosses these lines:

  • Any record with a missing or ambiguous field the normalization step could not resolve.
  • Any write back into PortPro or another system of record, before it is committed.
  • Any change to an accessorial charge, rate, or invoice line before it goes to billing.
  • Any dispatch-affecting change — driver assignment, appointment time — before it is sent.
  • The first several transactions on any newly configured handoff path, as a validation period.

Where those review points sit, and who staffs them, is part of what gets defined during the discovery process described below — not something fixed in advance for every account.

Step 6

Outbound status updates, documents, and billing data

Once a record has cleared any relevant review point, the same normalized structure supports outbound flow in the other direction: status updates to customers and brokers, delivery documents and proof of delivery, and billing data pushed to the carrier's invoicing or factoring stack. Our TMS integrations page covers what that billing and status handoff looks like in more detail once data is already structured.

Want to walk through what this looks like for your specific PortPro setup?

Discuss your current TMS setup

Before You Start

Implementation discovery checklist

Before any integration work starts, a carrier's team should be able to answer, or go find the answer to, each of these:

  1. 1Which PortPro plan/tier the carrier is on, and whether API access is enabled on the account.
  2. 2Which terminals and port complexes the fleet operates at, and whether existing terminal-website credentials are available.
  3. 3Whether an EDI trading-partner relationship (and VAN, if any) already exists for order or status data.
  4. 4What sits downstream of PortPro today — billing/accounting software, a factoring company, or a customer portal.
  5. 5Who inside the carrier’s organization owns PortPro admin access and can authorize API credentials.
  6. 6Any integrations already connected to the PortPro account (telematics/ELD providers, accounting sync, etc.).
  7. 7What status, document, and billing data the carrier’s customers or brokers expect to receive, and how often.
  8. 8Any security or data-handling requirements the carrier or its customers require of a connected system.

Dependencies

Required permissions and dependencies

None of these are things Doublefast can supply on its own — each depends on what the carrier's PortPro account, EDI relationships, and internal admin access already look like.

Required permissions and dependencies for a PortPro integration
DependencyWhat it means
API access enabled on the PortPro accountPortPro publishes its own API reference at documentation.app.portpro.io, confirming an API surface exists — but whether it is enabled and what scopes are available depends on the specific account and plan.
EDI trading-partner setupIf the handoff is EDI rather than API, this means confirmed ISA/GS identifiers and a working relationship with the carrier’s VAN or EDI provider.
Written authorization from the account ownerDoublefast does not self-provision access to a carrier’s PortPro account. Credentials and scope are issued by the carrier’s own admin.
Defined user roles for review dashboardsAnyone doing manual review needs an assigned role and login, scoped to only what that review step requires.
Agreement on which fields are read vs. writtenA specific, written list of what Doublefast is authorized to read from PortPro and what, if anything, it is authorized to write back.

Integration availability and scope must be confirmed for each customer. Nothing on this page should be read as a promise of a turnkey, pre-certified PortPro integration — what's possible depends on the specific account.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Related Reading

PortPro is a trademark of its respective owner. Profit Tools, CargoWise, and related names are trademarks of their respective owners. Doublefast is not affiliated with or endorsed by these companies. Product information is based on publicly available sources and may change.

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