[How-to] Enable and Use API Integration in EZOfficeInventory for GPS Asset Tracking 

For businesses experiencing rapid growth, tracking the live location of thousands of assets can be difficult. GPS asset tracking allows them to track the location of their assets in real-time through GPS tags. 

EZOfficeInventory now offers integration with third-party GPS providers via API to track assets’ location coordinates. With the API integration, you can access your assets’ location in EZOfficeInventory – eliminating the need to switch between platforms. You can streamline your location management processes with enhanced visibility into your asset movement at all times. 

Users can simply link their assets using a middleware – a third-party-provided software – to their EZOfficeInventory account so that the location coordinates can be reflected in the system. All they need to do is: ideally match the asset identification numbers in EZOfficeInventory with the asset IDs in the middleware, install the API integration, and add location coordinates to the system. 

Benefits of GPS tracking via API Integration 

GPS tracking is widely used in all industries that require moveable assets. GPS tracking in EZOfficeInventory is designed to provide live location data of those assets. It can help you in some notable ways, such as: 

1. Maximize asset safety: It can be a real struggle to ensure the safety of your assets on the go. For instance, one or two critical assets can get lost in a myriad of assets being moved, or be subject to theft. Real-time tracking can help detect anomalies and protect these assets. 

2. Seamless asset tracking: Check the location of your critical assets at all times. Ensure your asset has left for its destination at the right time to ensure speedy execution of operations. This helps in giving an accurate asset delivery date. 

3. Data insights: Users can push coordinates to EZOfficeInventory from their system directly, enabling them to update the exact location. The coordinates are updated on their map in EZOfficeInventory along with the time stamp of the last update – making it clear where an asset is precisely.

Let’s take you through the necessary steps to enable the API integration for GPS tracking. 

1.Enable API Integration 

Enabling this setting will provide you with a ‘Secret Key’ to successfully integrate your GPS data with your account. 

To enable the GPS tracking, you are required to enable the APl integration first. To do so, go to Settings → Integrations → API Integration → Click on ‘Enabled’. 

Next, enable the ‘Location for Assets Tracking via API’. This option allows you to reflect your device coordinates on EZOfficeInventory for real-time tracking. 

2. Setting up API 

To set up the API integration on your device and push the location coordinates from your system to your EZOfficeInventory account, use this developer’s code. 

curl  -H "token:<COMPANY_TOKEN>" -X PATCH \
      -d "gps_asset_id=<GPS_ASSET_ID>" \
      -d "latitude=<LATITUDE_VALUE>" \
      -d "longitude=<LONGITUDE_VALUE>" \
      https://<SUBDOMAIN>.ezofficeinventory.com/assets/<ASSET#>/gps_coordinates.api

Follow the below-mentioned steps to show the exact location coordinates:

1. Copy and paste the above code into your system.
2. Change the ‘COMPANY_TOKEN’ with your secret key.
3. Mention the GPS Asset ID in your code to specify the code. You can add an ID or even leave the field empty.
4. Enter the latitude and longitude of your asset’s location in ‘LATITUDE_VALUE’ AND ‘LONGITUDE_VALUE’. These are the location coordinates of the place your asset is at. You can change these values from the code if your asset’s location changes. The location coordinates can be upto 12 decimal places to account for precision in location tracking. 
5. Put your subdomain before ‘.ezofficeinventory.com’ in the above code and your asset number in your account as ‘ASSET#’. 

Note: It is ideal but not necessary that the ‘Asset#’ in your EZOfficeInventory account is the same as the asset ID you are using in the API call for pushing the Location Coordinates. 

3. GPS Coordinates in EZOfficeInventory

Here’s an example of an Air Conditioner’s location being pushed to the front-end of an account. The location coordinates and GPS Asset ID have been assigned. 

A new field for the GPS Asset ID will be created and the longitude and latitude will appear on the Asset Details Page. See the example below: 

When you click on the GPS location coordinates, you will be redirected to the following window where you can see your asset on the map. Once you click on ‘Refresh Location’, the most recent asset location will be updated if you have changed the location coordinates from the backend. The last updated date will also appear here. 

You can zoom in/zoom out the map and adjust it as per your requirements. 

4. Location Map

Another way to see your asset’s location is by checking the location map. Go to Locations → Select ‘GPS Location(s)’ from the dropdown → Click on the map icon. 

Once you select these options, your map will start showing your assets on the map. The following image shows the location of two assets in Ontario and Quebec.

You can check the details of your asset’s coordinates and last updated date by clicking on the location icon. 

By following these simple and easy steps you can integrate your GPS tracking system with EZOfficeInventory for faster asset management and tracking. 

About EZOfficeInventory

EZOfficeInventory is the leading asset management software. It allows you to track, maintain, and report on equipment from anywhere, at any time. We offer a free 15-day trial – no credit card required!