Note: This is a highly technical guide webpage. Therefore, we recommend involving your IT department when reading this. Should you have any inquiries or requests, please contact us through support@azumuta.com - we'd be happy to assist you.
Integrating Azumuta With an ERP System #
It’s possible to integrate Azumuta with an external ERP system. Most often, this integration is used for automatic product order creation in Azumuta – based on product order data fed by the ERP system.
The advantage? Your product orders can be automatically made in a flash in Azumuta (including its parameters, variants, and any other important data) – without any manual input.
The integration between Azumuta and an ERP system typically uses REST API and involves several steps. Keep in mind that the specifics may vary depending on your needs and the ERP system that you’re using.
Here is a general outline of the process:
- Understanding the requirements: Identify the specific data and processes that need to be integrated between Azumuta and the ERP system. A basic example is the automatic creation of product orders based on information coming from the ERP system.
- Authentication and authorization: Ensure that you have the necessary credentials and permissions to access the REST API of both Azumuta and the ERP system. Authentication with Azumuta is done via API keys.
- Check the API documentation: Obtain and review the API documentation for both Azumuta and the ERP system. This documentation will provide details on the available endpoints, request/response formats, and any authentication requirements.
- Agree on the data mapping: Map the data fields and structures between Azumuta and the ERP system. Ensure that there is a common understanding of how data will be represented and exchanged. For the basic example of creating product orders, it boils down to the following questions: How is the product order number determined? Based on which articles are the product orders created? What parameters or variants are sent along with the freshly created product order?
- Development: Develop the middleware, or connectors to facilitate the communication between Azumuta and the ERP system. Typically, we call this the integration layer, which acts as a “glue layer” between Azumuta and the ERP system.
Below is a schematic representation of creating product orders based on information from the ERP system.
Using Triggers to Retrieve Data from Azumuta #
There are two options for extracting data from Azumuta. On one hand, it is possible to automatically execute triggers. A trigger is an event that happens as a consequence of another event. For example, a webhook will be called after a product order has been completed by an operator. We prefer this method because only the necessary data is exchanged at the desired moment.
On the other hand, it is possible to retrieve data periodically through our REST API. This method is strongly discouraged because it creates more unnecessary load on our systems.
We will show you the first option, as it’s the recommended method. Triggers can be configured for an article category to be executed when a specific event occurs.
In the example below, a webhook is called when a product order linked to a specific article category is completed.
To make sure the webhook works, the Azumuta servers need access to the configured endpoint. The product order number and, if applicable, the work instruction and recording ID’s are included as query parameters (for a GET request) or as JSON (in case of a POST request) in the webhook.
Note: A webhook is a way for one system to notify another system about events or updates in real-time. It's a method of communication between two applications, where one application sends data to a specific URL endpoint when a particular event occurs. Webhooks are commonly used to integrate different systems and automate processes. The source system usually sends an HTTP POST request to a URL specified by the destination system. This URL is often referred to as the "webhook endpoint". The POST request includes data related to the event in the form of a payload. This payload contains information about the event that occurred, and it is usually in a format like JSON.
To employ triggers for transmitting data to the ERP system, an integration layer must be placed first. The integration layer is configured as the designated endpoint for the webhook trigger. This middleware component is capable of interpreting triggered events from Azumuta. If necessary, the integration layer fetches additional data through the REST API to ensure the proper information exists for transmission to the ERP system.
