ERP integration: how to connect your systems.

What exactly is an ERP integration?

An ERP integration is a technical connection between your ERP system (think of AFAS, Exact, SAP or Microsoft Dynamics) and other applications in your landscape. Once that connection is in place, data flows automatically: orders from your webshop to your accounting, stock changes from your warehouse to your product pages, customer data from your CRM to your customer portal. No retyping, no missed lines, no duplicate entries.

Enterprise Resource Planning.

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning: software that brings together the core processes of your organization. Finance, procurement, inventory management, production, HR. It is the backbone of your operation. An ERP integration builds a bridge between that backbone and the outside world. Technically, this almost always happens via an API (Application Programming Interface), a standardized way for two systems to communicate with each other. Sometimes this happens directly from system to system. Sometimes there is an intermediate layer that manages the traffic: middleware. The result is the same: your systems work together as if they are one whole, while each system does what it is good at.

Why manual transfer no longer works.

At ten orders per day, manual entry is annoying. At a hundred, it becomes a full-day task. At a thousand, it is simply impossible. And the problem is not just in the volume. Every manual action is an opportunity for error. An incorrect item number, a missed stock update, an invoice sent to the wrong address.

But the real costs are less visible. The employee who spends an hour and a half each day copying data. The manager who postpones a decision because the numbers in two systems don’t match. The customer who is given a delivery time that is already outdated. Those are the costs that no Excel export makes visible.

The three types of ERP integrations.

Not every integration works in the same way. Which type fits depends on your systems, your data volume, and how up-to-date the information needs to be.

1. Direct API integration

The most straightforward approach. System A calls system B via an API, or vice versa. Quick to set up, easy to maintain, and efficient if both systems offer a well-documented API. This works very well for two systems that exchange data regularly. But as soon as you add a third, fourth, or fifth system, the landscape quickly becomes complex. Three systems mean six possible connections, and all six need to be maintained whenever something changes.

2. File exchange via EDI, CSV or XML.

The most proven approach, and still widely used in logistics and retail. Systems exchange structured files via FTP or email. EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) is the most well-known standard here. The advantage: this method also works with legacy systems that do not have a modern API. The downside: data is never truly real-time, and error handling requires more attention. For organizations where daily synchronization is sufficient, this can be a pragmatic and cost-efficient choice.

3. Middleware and integration platform

Middleware is an intermediate layer that manages the data traffic between all your systems. Instead of each system communicating directly with every other system, they all communicate with the middleware. This greatly simplifies management once you have more than two systems. Think of a telephone exchange: instead of everyone calling everyone, every call goes through one central point. That may sound like a detour, but it gives you three things. First, visibility: you can see exactly which calls are happening, which ones failed, and when. Second, manageability: if someone gets a new number, you update it in one place instead of for everyone who ever called them. And third, scalability: adding a new colleague means one connection to the exchange, not ten new lines to ten existing colleagues.

This is how middleware works as well. If your ERP changes a field name or your WMS is replaced, you update it in one place. Not in every individual integration. At Cube, this intermediate layer is often built as a Data Management Platform (DMP), which not only allows you to exchange data but also gives you insight into what is moving between your systems. This is the approach most often applied in complex e-commerce environments and in organizations with an extensive system landscape.

Begin with doubt. End with a plan.

When do you choose which type?

The choice between a direct integration, middleware, or file exchange comes down to three questions.

Real-time, batch or event-driven: a decision tree

Do you need real-time data? In a webshop, you want stock changes to be immediately visible on your product pages. A customer who orders something that is no longer in stock costs you more than just a cancellation. Here, a direct API integration or an event-driven setup is appropriate: an action in system A (for example, an order) automatically triggers an action in system B (stock update), without it being actively requested.

Is a daily synchronization sufficient? Financial reporting, invoicing, or purchase orders do not need to be up-to-date every second. In that case, a file exchange or a scheduled batch integration is sufficient.

Do you have more than two systems? Then middleware is almost always the smartest investment in the long term. It may feel like overhead, but it saves you significantly on maintenance as soon as systems change, are replaced, or expanded.

Connecting your ERP to your webshop.

The most requested integration is between an ERP system and an e-commerce environment. That makes sense: orders, stock, prices and customer data all need to stay in sync. If they don’t, none of your numbers are reliable. The most common data flows in an e-commerce integration are:

Order synchronization from webshop to ERP: Every order is processed immediately without manual intervention.

Stock updates from ERP or WMS to webshop: Your customer always sees real-time availability.

Product data and pricing via ERP or a PIM system: One source for product information, consistent everywhere.

Invoice processing back to the portal or webshop: Customers get direct insight into their payments.

At Cube, we work with platforms like Shopware, Commercetools and Magento. Whether you are building a B2B ordering environment with complex pricing logic or a B2C shop with thousands of SKUs: the integration with your ERP is the foundation that holds everything together.

More than just e-commerce.

An ERP integration is not exclusive to webshops. Everywhere data from your ERP is needed elsewhere (or the other way around), an integration adds value. Think of a customer portal that shows invoices and order status, a configurator that calculates prices based on ERP data, or an LMS that automatically manages licenses and access after purchase. The common thread? Any system that benefits from up-to-date business data is a candidate for an ERP integration.