Our platform and your ERP
Purpose and scope
The Digital Commerce Platform provides you with a suite of eCommerce, Mobile Apps, and Multi-channel that integrate in real time with your ERP and back office systems. Additionally, it provides connectivity to various digital marketplaces on one secure and robust platform.
Our platform integrates seamlessly with your Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP), allowing you to use and extend your business data online without compromising its quality and integrity. As standard, Experlogix Digital Commerce can integrate with
SAP Business One
SAP ERP
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations
Intact (xLine/vLine and iQ)
Sage 200
Others via API and file integration
Data is requested and sent through a standard data interface using a web service. The web service used is dependent on what ERP you use.
This overview introduces some terms and concepts, explains how the data interface operates between our platform and your ERP at a high level, and defines what web service is used for each ERP.
Experlogix Digital Commerce is a SaaS product
Experlogix Digital Commerce is a SaaS product.
This means that it includes all of the support, regular feature updates, and security monitoring required so that no customer is left behind on older, insecure software and you can concentrate on your core business function.
Of course you can still opt for additional professional services to help you with extensions, migration and roll-out.
Introducing some concepts and terms used in this article
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Enterprise resource platform | (ERP), a collection of your critical business operating systems, such as product, stock levels, financial, customers, suppliers and so on that run on the same platform. |
Application Programming Interface | (API), which is an interface that allows two different computer systems interact with each other. It consists of a number of rules (also known as endpoints) that request data from the other system and receive and process responses from that system. |
JavaScript Object Notation | (JSON), a open standard text format that defines data elements in a structured way that is both human- and machine- readable. |
Representational State Transfer | (REST), and is a protocol used to send and receive data using standard web service calls. |
SDK | Software development kit |
SOAP | stands for Simple Object Access Protocol, and is a protocol used to send and receive structured data in XML using standard web service calls. |
Web service | service that allows two disparate systems communicate with each other via a standard messaging system. |
Extensible Markup Language | (XML), a language used to store and transport data which is human- and machine- readable. |
How it fits together
Think of your ERP as the beating heart of your company. It consists of a number of modules that manage your day to day operations in a coordinated, real-time, often automated way. Each module performs a specific business task, such as inventory control, financial accounting, order processing, manufacturing and/or supply chain management. It manages the business processes for each of these different parts of your business through the use of a set of dashboards and a consistent look and feel across each module.1 Another way of thinking about your ERP is that it is your business operating system - it supports and manages the flow of data and processes through the many different departments and functions of your business.2
Digital Commerce Platform extends your ERP online via a web service between the two systems. The web service allows two disparate systems communicate via a standard messaging system.3 Typically, web services are run as a service over HTTP using internet protocols such as REST and SOAP.
REST is a lightweight protocol designed to allow loosely-coupled systems communicate with each other through a simple uniform interface.4 Resources (such as an order, a product or a customer) are moved from state to state through the use of GET or POST requests.4 For example, Digital Commerce Platform could send a GET product request to an ERP, which would return the product details requested. Typically, when REST is used, the messaging language used to communicate between Digital Commerce Platform and your ERP is JSON. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a human and machine readable lightweight data exchange format.5
SOAP is a protocol that allows for data sharing in distributed environments.6 Each SOAP message consists of three parts: an envelope that indicates who the message is for, what it contains and whether it is optional or mandatory, a set of encoding rules that define the data types included (such as string, number and so on) and a representation of how the requests and responses between Digital Commerce Platform and your ERP are handled. Typically when SOAP is used, the messaging language used to communicate between our two systems is XML. XML (eXtended Markup Language) is another human and machine readable data exchange format.
More information [SAP Business One]
More information [Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central]
More information [Intact]
References
1 Enterprise Resource Planning. Enterprise resource planning
2 ERP Technology Demonstration ERP 101 - What is Enterprise Resource Planning Software & How Can Small Businesses Benefit From It.
3 Web service What is a Web Service? - Definition from Techopedia
4 REST Representational state transfer
5 JSON JSON
6 Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1 Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) 1.1