Dock Optimizer + Power BI — your dock and freight data in the dashboards leadership already uses.
Dock Optimizer issues a scoped API key. Power BI — or Tableau, Looker, or any BI tool — pulls appointment, load, and inventory data on its own refresh schedule. No middleware. No CSV exports. No custom ETL.
A live pull API designed for BI refresh jobs. Your dock utilization, dwell time, detention data, and carrier compliance numbers — in the reports your leadership already reads.
How it works
The Dock Optimizer export API is a REST endpoint that your BI tool calls directly. There's no middleware layer, no scheduled export job, and no CSV files sitting in a shared drive. Power BI controls the refresh cadence on its own schedule — hourly, daily, or on demand — and Dock Optimizer responds with the current data.
Setup is a one-time step: generate a scoped API key in Dock Optimizer, add it to your Power BI data source as a REST API connection, and configure the data model. After that, the dashboard refreshes automatically on whatever schedule Power BI is set to run.
Available data sets
What you can build
- Dock utilization dashboards — which doors are busy, which are idle, and when
- Dwell time and detention analysis — carrier and lane benchmarks for procurement conversations
- Carrier compliance scorecards — on-time rate, detention frequency, reschedule rate by carrier
- Throughput trending — appointment volume by day, week, and facility over time
- Inbound receipt correlation — dock appointments matched to inventory receipt records
Works with any BI tool
The export API is a standard REST endpoint. Any BI or analytics tool that can pull from a REST data source — Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Excel Power Query, Google Looker Studio — connects the same way Power BI does. One API key, any tool.
Setup outline
One-time setup. No professional services. No middleware to maintain.
Navigate to Integration Hub → API Keys and create a new key. Scope it to the data sets your dashboard needs — appointments only, or appointments + loads + inventory.
In Power BI Desktop, add a new data source using 'Web' or the REST connector. Enter the Dock Optimizer API endpoint URL and paste your API key into the authentication header.
Map the API response fields to your Power BI data model. Dock Optimizer's response schema is documented in the API docs.
Configure Power BI to refresh on your preferred cadence — hourly for near-real-time ops dashboards, daily for executive reports. Dock Optimizer's API responds to each pull with current data.
Publish to the Power BI service and share with the teams that need it. No ongoing Dock Optimizer configuration required — the API key handles authentication automatically.
Security
API keys are scoped at the time of creation — a key issued for appointments does not have access to configuration or admin data. Keys can be revoked at any time from the Integration Hub. Outbound API calls from the BI tool are received over HTTPS. Every key issuance and revocation is logged in the Integration Hub audit trail.
FAQ
How does Dock Optimizer connect to Power BI?
Dock Optimizer issues a scoped API key. You add that key to a Power BI data source (or any other BI tool) as a REST API connection. Power BI pulls appointment, load, and inventory data on its own refresh schedule — no middleware, no CSV exports, no custom ETL.
What data can Power BI pull from Dock Optimizer?
The export API covers appointments, loads, and inventory data — the core operational records in Dock Optimizer. Scope is controlled by the API key: you can issue a narrowly scoped key that covers only the data sets your BI dashboard needs.
Does this work with Tableau or other BI tools?
Yes. The export API is a standard REST endpoint. Any BI tool that can pull from a REST API — Tableau, Looker, Metabase, Excel Power Query — can connect the same way Power BI does.
How often does Power BI refresh data from Dock Optimizer?
Power BI controls the refresh schedule on its own — hourly, daily, or on demand. Dock Optimizer's API responds to each pull with the current data. There is no server-side push; Power BI fetches when it wants to.