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The common roadblock in ERP integration
Starting an integration project with complex ERPs like SAP or Microsoft Dynamics 365 often leads to a familiar problem: the lack of necessary data points or web services to build robust e-commerce connections. Despite their capabilities, these ERPs frequently fall short in providing the required web services for smooth integration.
Typically, smaller ERP systems or accounting software offer numerous data entities as well-documented web services—such as customers, products, stock, prices, and orders—that are essential for B2B e-commerce. However, with large ERPs like SAP and Dynamics 365, these web services are often unavailable or insufficiently developed, making them appear "empty" for the specific needs of e-commerce integration.
Do you really need ERP consultants?
To achieve a seamless omnichannel experience, businesses often find themselves relying on ERP consultants to create the necessary web services. This process involves configuring the ERP to provide the required data for your digital environment, allowing for seamless data exchange between the ERP and your e-commerce platform. However, this approach has significant downsides.
For instance, Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (FO) may provide some data for B2C e-commerce but lacks the necessary performance and customization for B2B operations. Microsoft consultants may suggest workarounds like configuring push files to avoid performance issues, but this approach still falls short. Key data for B2B e-commerce—such as customer-specific pricing, real-time order simulations, and dynamic custom fields—remains unavailable or poorly supported.
The hidden costs of ERP integration
Going down the traditional ERP integration route often results in:
- Complex projects: The absence of pre-built web services in SAP and Dynamics leads to complicated projects.
- High costs: Custom web service configuration by ERP consultants can cost thousands, with each web service taking days to develop.
- Extended timelines: These projects often take 3 to 6 months before meaningful progress is made.
- Unreliable outcomes: The trial-and-error nature of these integrations can lead to inconsistent results and additional costs.
To illustrate, configuring 20 web services, each taking 3 days, results in a 60-day project costing around €120,000—without even considering the potential for delays and errors. ERP consultants, while experts in their domain, are not always the best choice for managing digital processes, especially when more efficient solutions are available.
The solution: Alumio's seamless ERP integration
Fortunately, there’s a smarter way to connect SAP and Dynamics to your e-commerce platform—without the need for costly ERP consultants.
Alumio has over 20 years of experience connecting SAP and Microsoft ERPs to various digital environments. We've developed unique, native software that can be installed directly within these ERPs, enabling the configuration of essential data objects within days. In just three days, you can have 21 well-documented web services and push data points ready to connect to your e-commerce platform.
How Alumio simplifies e-commerce integration
With Alumio, you can connect your ERP data to your e-commerce platform using either custom code or our integration platform. The latter is a faster, more future-proof option, as it comes with pre-built integration templates that can be customized to meet your specific needs. Junior developers can easily manage these integrations, and the platform offers automatic logging and monitoring features to ensure everything runs smoothly.
Cost-effective API Plugins
Alumio’s API Plugins are an affordable solution to kick-start your integration project. For a fully-fledged version that includes 21 web services, you’ll pay slightly more than for the basic B2C e-commerce setup, which requires only 8 data routes. We also offer specialized options for E-Invoicing, EDI, and Message Broker integrations.
The installation and configuration of the SAP API Plugin are cost-effective, with a fixed price that makes it a fraction of the cost of custom-built solutions from ERP consultants. Most importantly, you'll have a working integration within three days, reducing the total cost of ownership over a 3-year project.
Conclusion: Don’t reinvent the wheel—revolutionize it
Why start from scratch when you can streamline your integration process with Alumio? Our low-code platform simplifies the connection between SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, and your e-commerce platform, turning complex projects into manageable, cost-effective solutions. Let Alumio help you bring your e-commerce vision to life—faster, smarter, and more efficiently.
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