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Znode Storefront has been architected from the ground up to not just be fully customizable but also to make it easier to integrate with virtually any 3rd party application. There are several ways to integrate Znode Storefront with back-office applications such as accounting systems, ERP, Oracle, CRM systems, etc
1. Integration using Middleware Web Services API
| • | Znode Storefront Middleware (Enterprise Edition Only) exposes the storefront API using WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) web services |
| • | The Znode Storefront Middleware is a separate component that needs to be installed on the server - This component requires .NET 3.5 and WCF to be enabled on the server |
| • | The Znode Middleware Service allows access to key storefront functionality such as Order Management, Inventory, Catalog, Content Management and more using a highly structured API that can be easily extended to your specific requirements. |
| • | The Middleware services can be hosted on load balanced web servers for scalability - this will reduce the resource requirements on the web servers hosting the storefront UI. |
| • | WCF has the advantage of being able to expose the services using different types of standards including SOAP, .NET Binary, ATOM, or any future specification. These services also implement security using best practices and allow for a wide range of configurations. |
2. Integration using the Znode Admin Data Manager
| • | The Znode Storefront includes utilities under the Data Manager section of the Admin. These functions allow you to download and upload files to your storefront in CSV format. |
| • | Most downloads files can be updated manually and then re-uploaded to the storefront directly. For instance, you can use the Download Inventory function to get the current inventory of your storefront. Next you can update the Quantity on Hand in the CSV file that you downloaded and then re-upload the file using the Update Inventory function. |
| • | For uploads to work you must use the correct file format. Either get the file format from the corresponding download function or from one of the example files in the Maintenance\Sample Data Manager Files directory of your installation. Be aware that most of these files will use Product Num and or SKU as unique identifiers for products and must not be repeated in your upload file. |
| • | The logic of the upload and download utilities can be modified to suite your needs in the Admin\Secure\Data Manager section of the Znode Storefront solution. |
3. Integration using SQL Server
| • | Since all the Storefront data is stored in the SQL Server 2005 database, you can create custom integrations that directly connect to this data using tools such as Microsoft SSIS |
See Also:
Znode Storefront Architecture
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