In early April the latest version of our Retailer API was launched. Given the importance of the API for almost 15.000 partners this was again a major step. Over the years the retailer API became the heart and soul of our ecosystem.

What this episode covers

But this path wasn't always that obvious. It took vision, decisiveness and perseverance to get this far. In this episode, we explore this journey.

The importance of the Retailer API

API’s are considered a major part of a serious platform. They enable growth and stability. The 80/20 rule applies when it comes to the usage of the partners of their interaction with bol.com. 80 per cent of the sellers use the seller dashboard, 20 per cent the Retailer API. But when it comes to the number of orders, it’s the other way around. 80 per cent via the API and 20 per cent via the dashboard. And if you imagine that over 50% of the goods being bought at bol.com are goods from our partners, it shows the importance of this API.

What we discussed about the Retailer API (Application Programming Interface)

• What is an API in simple terms?
• Why is API used?
• How did we start the API?
• What functionality is in the API?
• What is API and types of API?
• What is API to API integration?
• What is API example?
• How does the API interact in the Landscape?
• How do we balance "adding new functionality" vs. "maintenance"
• Why became the Retailer API the heart and soul of the ecosystem?

Guests

• Maarten Roosendaal – Business Architect / Product Owner for our Retailer API;
• Jarno Walgemoed - Owner at Sourcelabs; Software engineer with a strong focus on partner API’s at bol.com and host of the sourcelabs podcast

Notes

• In an earlier episode, we talked about API development for bol.com and we also touched upon the Open API. The API is used for customer interactions. https://techlab.bol.com/api-development-for-the-retail-platform/
• API Developers can find more information here: https://developers.bol.com/