subject: Dynamics Gp Integration Alternatives To Ecommerce Module, Doing The Job In Integration Manager [print this page] When you are implementing ecommerce extension for your Corporate ERP application, probably the first idea is to have it integrated in real time, where ecommerce shopping cart (Magento, ASP.Net Storefront, etc.) comes directly into Sales Invoice with customer deposit in the form of the credit card prepayment in B2C scenario or without it if you are selling on account in B2B scenario. But there is more rational and cheaper budget wise approach, where you are implementing integration in quasi real time by scheduling Integration Manager to fire the integration every, say half an hour. Most of the shopping cart platforms allow you to expose their tables via ODBC connection, or even export them into the text files, CSV or Tab Delimited format, which makes IM even more natural approach:
1.Quasi Real Time Trade Offs, if Any. Let take a look at it from practical stand point. If you are integrating your ecommerce shopping cart in the same minute, this fact is obviously great, but lets say, if you are calling credit or debit card processing network in real time directly from your ecommerce web application, and then send the shopping cart into the Sales Invoice every twenty minutes, customer probably would not see the difference, as the delivery is expected to take couple of business days anyway. Even large ecommerce wholesalers and retailers with USA, Canada and International delivery use quasi real time ecommerce integration, so why should you pay for real time one?
2.How integration could be designed and scheduled? Modern GP versions, such as 2010 or 10.0 have two technology options eConnect connectors and traditional OLE based one. eConnect doesnt consume additional user license, comparing to the OLE one, where GP workstation should be always running while you are initiating the integration. If you are small ecommerce merchant, in your case you might be OK with somebody to launch integration every morning to bring the nightly and last day shopping carts. If you are larger organization, we recommend you to consider freeware or shareware Windows macro tools, where IM could be called with parameters. If you prefer luxury solution, you may purchase special module directly from Microsoft
3.Real Time ecommerce integration. Here we recommend you to design it directly in eConnect SDK. This tool was specially introduced around 2003 for ecommerce programmers to enable GP transaction and master records for ecommerce web site MS Visual Studio project. You should be able to do the same job as in IM, but you can trigger in real time, when shopping cart is placed or paid
4.Text file Integration or Advanced ODBC. The answer depends on your shopping cart DB platform it is always easy and clean approach to export newly placed orders into the text file. Especially when you are on Linux, MySQL, Oracle, IBM, Lotus or another non Microsoft database. But, IM is ready to pull the data directly from the ODBC compliant DB, including all the ones mentioned above
5.XML. This is very good and elegant alternative to the text file shopping cart export. We recommend you to consider XML format for data interchange, it is supported in IM
6.For further information, please call us 1-866-304-3265 or email help@efaru.com
