Before you get your ERP and online store talking

When people hear "ERP e-commerce integration," most companies think of one sentence: "stock levels should update on the website automatically." That is a good start, but it is incomplete. How will an order from the website turn into an invoice in the ERP? Will a newly registered customer be opened as a current account? In which system will the campaign price be defined? If the answers to these questions aren't written down up front, the integration will work but it won't make your life easier; sometimes it does the opposite and you end up fixing two systems by hand.

Having built this connection across different industries over the years, here is what we have seen: what successful projects have in common is not good code but a well-written data flow plan. Below we explain how to put that plan together.

Inventory first, then connection

Start by listing which data needs to move. For a typical B2C or hybrid store, the list looks roughly like this:

• Product card (name, code, barcode, unit, VAT rate)
• Stock quantity, by warehouse or in total
• Sales price, list price, dealer price
• Orders and order lines
• Customer and address details
• Payment and collection records
• Invoice details and status
• Shipment tracking number

Next to each line, write two things: where this information is first created and who can change it. This simple table heads off most future arguments of the "it says one thing on the site and another in the ERP" kind. You can also take a look at our single source of truth article, where we discuss in detail which system should own which data.

Clarifying the direction of data flow

For each type of data, you choose a direction: ERP to site, site to ERP, or two-way. Two-way flow sounds flexible, but it is the option that causes the most problems; if changes happen on both sides at the same time, you have to decide which one wins.

In practice, the healthiest setup is usually this:

This table won't be identical at every company. For example, some companies manage prices entirely on the site and only send the sales results to the ERP. What matters is that the decision is written down and everyone is looking at the same table.

How often should data sync?

Wanting everything "real-time" is understandable, but not every piece of data needs it. Choose the frequency according to business risk:

• Stock: Every few minutes, or at the moment of change, for fast-moving products. Hourly may be enough for slow movers.
• Price: Once or twice a day is enough for most businesses; more often in industries where prices change frequently.
• Orders: As soon as possible. The later an order reaches the ERP, the later it ships.
• Product cards: When a new product is created, or once a day.

We explain the difference between a method that notifies you the moment something changes and one that checks at fixed intervals in plain language in our article on what a webhook is.

Matching rules: small details, big difference

The most time-consuming part of an integration is matching. Which stock code in the ERP does the "Red, size 42" variant on the site correspond to? Is shipping a separate service line in the ERP, or added to the invoice as a footer total? Where is the cash-on-delivery fee recorded?

Make sure these matching decisions are made in advance:

• The stock code structure for products with variants
• Extra line items such as shipping, gift wrapping and payment fees
• Whether discounts are recorded per line or per document
• The rule for opening accounts for individual and corporate customers
• Which ERP document handles returns and cancellations

Don't underestimate returns. Pushing sales into the ERP automatically while processing returns by hand is the most common reason accounting and warehouse figures don't match at month end.

Testing and go-live

Test with real scenarios before going live. A simple order isn't enough; also try orders with campaigns, multiple lines, different VAT rates, partial returns and corporate invoices. Using the ERP's test environment or a separate fiscal period during testing keeps your live data clean.

The first week after go-live needs close monitoring. Every day, compare the number of orders on the site with the number that reached the ERP. If there is a gap, the connection is quietly skipping something. It is best to turn this comparison into an automatic check after a few days.

Planning checklist

• The data inventory is complete, and every piece of data has an owner
• Direction and frequency are written down for each type of data
• Variant and extra line item mappings are approved
• Return, cancellation and partial shipment scenarios are defined
• The test environment is ready and test scenarios are listed
• Someone is responsible for the daily comparison in the first week
• It is clear who gets notified if the connection breaks

How we do it at Globya

First we listen to how your business works: which ERP you use, how orders get to the warehouse, what accounting needs. Then we prepare a data flow document similar to the table above and approve it together with you. The coding is done on the basis of that document. Our own e-commerce platform, IMFLEXI, comes with ready-made ERP, marketplace, payment and shipping connections; if you use a different platform, we connect to your existing system as part of our integration service. Because the site, the integration and ongoing support stay with the same team, you never have to wait while someone says "that's the other side's job" when a problem comes up.

Frequently asked questions