Supply chain visibility requires data from hundreds of supplier portals, logistics platforms, and inventory systems. Many of these protect their data behind CAPTCHAs. CaptchaAI handles these challenges so monitoring pipelines run uninterrupted.
Where CAPTCHAs Block Supply Chain Data
| Source Type | CAPTCHA Type | Data | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supplier portals | reCAPTCHA v2 | Inventory, pricing, lead times | Daily |
| Shipping carriers | Cloudflare Turnstile | Tracking, rates, delivery ETAs | Hourly |
| Manufacturer catalogs | Image CAPTCHA | Product specs, MOQs | Weekly |
| Customs portals | reCAPTCHA v2 | Duty rates, tariff codes | Daily |
| Port authorities | Image CAPTCHA | Vessel schedules, port congestion | Every 6 hours |
| Commodity exchanges | reCAPTCHA v3 | Spot prices, futures | Real-time |
Multi-Supplier Monitor
import requests
import time
import re
import json
import base64
from datetime import datetime
CAPTCHAAI_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
CAPTCHAAI_URL = "https://ocr.captchaai.com"
def solve_recaptcha(sitekey, pageurl):
resp = requests.post(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/in.php", data={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "method": "userrecaptcha",
"googlekey": sitekey, "pageurl": pageurl, "json": 1,
})
task_id = resp.json()["request"]
for _ in range(60):
time.sleep(5)
result = requests.get(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/res.php", params={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "action": "get",
"id": task_id, "json": 1,
})
data = result.json()
if data["request"] != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
return data["request"]
raise TimeoutError("Timeout")
def solve_turnstile(sitekey, pageurl):
resp = requests.post(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/in.php", data={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "method": "turnstile",
"sitekey": sitekey, "pageurl": pageurl, "json": 1,
})
task_id = resp.json()["request"]
for _ in range(60):
time.sleep(5)
result = requests.get(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/res.php", params={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "action": "get",
"id": task_id, "json": 1,
})
data = result.json()
if data["request"] != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
return data["request"]
raise TimeoutError("Timeout")
def solve_image(image_bytes):
img_b64 = base64.b64encode(image_bytes).decode()
resp = requests.post(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/in.php", data={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "method": "base64",
"body": img_b64, "json": 1,
})
task_id = resp.json()["request"]
for _ in range(20):
time.sleep(3)
result = requests.get(f"{CAPTCHAAI_URL}/res.php", params={
"key": CAPTCHAAI_KEY, "action": "get",
"id": task_id, "json": 1,
})
data = result.json()
if data["request"] != "CAPCHA_NOT_READY":
return data["request"]
raise TimeoutError("Timeout")
class SupplyChainMonitor:
def __init__(self, suppliers, proxy=None):
self.suppliers = suppliers
self.session = requests.Session()
if proxy:
self.session.proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}
self.session.headers.update({
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) "
"AppleWebKit/537.36 Chrome/126.0.0.0 Safari/537.36",
})
def check_all(self):
"""Check inventory and pricing across all suppliers."""
report = {
"timestamp": datetime.now().isoformat(),
"suppliers": {},
}
for supplier in self.suppliers:
try:
data = self._check_supplier(supplier)
report["suppliers"][supplier["name"]] = {
"status": "success",
"data": data,
}
except Exception as e:
report["suppliers"][supplier["name"]] = {
"status": "error",
"error": str(e),
}
time.sleep(3)
return report
def _check_supplier(self, supplier):
url = supplier["url"]
resp = self.session.get(url, timeout=30)
# Handle CAPTCHA based on type
captcha_type = supplier.get("captcha_type")
if captcha_type and self._has_captcha(resp.text):
resp = self._solve_captcha(resp, url, supplier)
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
soup = BeautifulSoup(resp.text, "html.parser")
return {
"products": self._extract_inventory(soup),
"last_updated": self._extract_date(soup),
}
def _has_captcha(self, html):
return any(tag in html.lower() for tag in [
'data-sitekey', 'g-recaptcha', 'cf-turnstile', 'captcha',
])
def _solve_captcha(self, resp, url, supplier):
captcha_type = supplier.get("captcha_type", "recaptcha")
sitekey = supplier.get("sitekey", "")
if not sitekey:
match = re.search(r'data-sitekey="([^"]+)"', resp.text)
sitekey = match.group(1) if match else ""
if captcha_type == "turnstile":
token = solve_turnstile(sitekey, url)
return self.session.post(url, data={"cf-turnstile-response": token})
elif captcha_type == "image":
match = re.search(r'src="(/captcha[^"]+)"', resp.text)
if match:
img_resp = self.session.get(url.rstrip("/") + match.group(1))
answer = solve_image(img_resp.content)
return self.session.post(url, data={"captcha": answer})
else:
token = solve_recaptcha(sitekey, url)
return self.session.post(url, data={"g-recaptcha-response": token})
return resp
def _extract_inventory(self, soup):
items = []
for row in soup.select("table.inventory tr, .product-row"):
cols = row.select("td, .col")
if len(cols) >= 3:
items.append({
"sku": cols[0].get_text(strip=True),
"stock": cols[1].get_text(strip=True),
"price": cols[2].get_text(strip=True),
})
return items
def _extract_date(self, soup):
date_el = soup.select_one(".last-updated, .update-time")
return date_el.get_text(strip=True) if date_el else ""
# Configure suppliers
suppliers = [
{
"name": "Supplier A",
"url": "https://supplier-a.example.com/inventory",
"captcha_type": "recaptcha",
"sitekey": "6Lc_xxxxxxx",
},
{
"name": "Carrier B",
"url": "https://carrier-b.example.com/rates",
"captcha_type": "turnstile",
"sitekey": "0x4AAAAAAA_xxx",
},
{
"name": "Manufacturer C",
"url": "https://manufacturer-c.example.com/catalog",
"captcha_type": "image",
},
]
monitor = SupplyChainMonitor(
suppliers=suppliers,
proxy="http://user:pass@residential.proxy.com:5000",
)
report = monitor.check_all()
print(json.dumps(report, indent=2))
Shipping Rate Monitoring
class ShippingRateTracker:
def __init__(self, proxy=None):
self.session = requests.Session()
if proxy:
self.session.proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}
self.session.headers.update({
"User-Agent": "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64) "
"AppleWebKit/537.36 Chrome/126.0.0.0 Safari/537.36",
})
def get_rates(self, carrier_url, origin, destination, weight):
"""Fetch shipping rates, handling Turnstile CAPTCHA."""
resp = self.session.get(carrier_url, timeout=30)
sitekey_match = re.search(r'data-sitekey="([^"]+)"', resp.text)
if sitekey_match:
token = solve_turnstile(sitekey_match.group(1), carrier_url)
resp = self.session.post(carrier_url, data={
"origin": origin,
"destination": destination,
"weight": weight,
"cf-turnstile-response": token,
})
if resp.status_code == 200:
return resp.json().get("rates", [])
return []
Alerting on Stock Changes
def monitor_with_alerts(monitor, alert_thresholds, check_interval=3600):
"""Continuously monitor and alert on inventory changes."""
previous_data = {}
while True:
report = monitor.check_all()
for supplier, info in report["suppliers"].items():
if info["status"] != "success":
continue
for product in info["data"].get("products", []):
sku = product["sku"]
stock = product.get("stock", "")
# Parse stock level
try:
stock_qty = int(re.sub(r'\D', '', stock))
except ValueError:
continue
key = f"{supplier}:{sku}"
prev_qty = previous_data.get(key, stock_qty)
threshold = alert_thresholds.get(sku, 10)
if stock_qty < threshold and prev_qty >= threshold:
print(f"ALERT: {supplier} - {sku} dropped to {stock_qty}")
previous_data[key] = stock_qty
time.sleep(check_interval)
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier page layout changed | Site redesign | Update CSS selectors |
| CAPTCHA on every check | Checking too frequently | Increase interval between checks |
| Session expires mid-check | Portal timeout | Use sticky session, check faster |
| Rate data missing | Login required | Add authentication step |
| Wrong prices displayed | Geo-based pricing | Match proxy location to market |
FAQ
How often should I check supplier inventory?
Daily for most suppliers. Hourly for critical components during supply shortages. Too-frequent checks trigger CAPTCHAs faster.
Can I monitor hundreds of suppliers?
Yes. Rotate across suppliers with delays between each. Use rotating proxies to distribute the load across IPs.
Which CAPTCHA type is most common on supply chain sites?
reCAPTCHA v2 on supplier portals, Cloudflare Turnstile on logistics/carrier sites. Older manufacturer sites often use image CAPTCHAs.
Related Guides
Keep your supply chain visible — get your CaptchaAI key and automate data collection across all supplier portals.
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