Preparations
Checklist for planning the project
- Identify API Key
- It must be possible to specify one API Key per client in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system (alternatively at user level)
- Get to know the ITscope API, this can be done interactively
- Use prepared API clients and create a data model
- Set user agent
- Take note of API limitations
- set data and output format
- Configure price list eServices with partners that offer this service. It is not enough to configure only the real-time eService. Without the price list eService, there are no prices in the export or via the API
- Try to create data exports if more than 5000 products are involved. We recommend using exports. If a product selection is not possible via export, then the products can be added/updated via the API batch (up to 50 IDs)
- If data exports are used, then the specification of one or more ExportIDs or ExportUrls must be possible
- Clarify whether price list line products are of interest (i.e. products that are not in the ITscope catalogue)
- Clarify whether a re-import of an ITscope product should update the product data in the ERP system, i.e. overwrite any potential changes that were made yourself
- The installation of the integration should be as simple as possible
Metadata
For an integration to take place at all, master data may have to be loaded. Changes in the master data are very rare, therefore we recommend matching the master data once a day or even only once a week.
- Distributors – mapping of creditors, suppliers and distributors in the ERP system onto ITscope supplier IDs
- Manufacturers – mapping of manufacturers in the ERP system onto ITscope manufacturer IDs
- Product categories – mapping the ERP categories onto ITscope categories
Adding and updating products
- Adding products via API methods directly via IDs or product searches or data exports
- Updating products via API methods directly via IDs or product searches or data exports
- Adding products in the ERP system directly from the ITscope online platform. Use the ‘Share’ function to send to your own system
- Updating products in the ERP system directly from the ITscope online platform. Use the ‘Share’ function to send to your own system
- Evaluate product descriptions and extended texts
- Integrate product datasheets
- Integrate product images
- Product sources of supply (‘supplierItems’)
- Take note of product condition codes
- Product prices and stock levels: perhaps retrieve prices, stock levels and availability status codes via realtime when adding quotes or orders
- Product accessories
Orders
- Load order metadata via the order API
- Automatically send order from ERP system to the corresponding distributor via ITscope
- Import ITscope order documents into the ERP system as OpenTrans 2.1 documents
Quotes
- Load quote metadata via the quote API
- Import ITscope quotes into the ERP system as OpenTrans 2.1 documents
Development of a middleware application
Not every ERP system has a direct way to import or manipulate data via the database. There may also be no way to execute program code that you have written yourself. Therefore, it may be necessary to write your own application that encapsulates access to the database or the ERP API. This plugin or middleware application is used to communicate with the ERP system.
The application must then be installed on each workstation in order to allow the ‘Share’ function to be used on the ITscope platform.
More details can be found in the ‘Send product data directly from the online platform ITscope.com to your own application‘ support article.
For cloud applications, the control of a product or quote API can be accomplished through ITscope and credentials can be deposited (e.g. using oauth).