ERP and WMS integration for continuous data
ERP stands for enterprise resource planning, the central business software. WMS stands for warehouse management system, the software used to control warehouse operations. We examine how both can work together with our processes.
The video explains schematically which data is exchanged between your ERP or WMS system and our processes, and how an integration is reviewed and set up. The video is only loaded once you click. No external content is requested beforehand.
Duration: 0:30Data exchange instead of spreadsheet maintenance
When orders travel by email and stock levels by spreadsheet, delays and errors follow. A technical integration resolves this: order data arrives in a structured form, stock levels and shipment status are reported back. Which routes are available depends on your systems – we clarify that before the project starts.
Scope of services
- Review of integration options for existing ERP systems
- Integration via interfaces (API)
- Review of integration options for WMS systems
- Existing or possible integration with JTL and Pulpo
- Automated data exchange for order, item and stock data
- Stock and status reporting to your system
- Scalable technical interfaces for growing data volumes
- Agreement on data formats, handover points and intervals
The specific scope of an integration depends on the system in use and the interfaces it offers. We do not promise an integration that has not been examined in the individual case – feasibility is clarified before the project starts.
How is a WMS connected to an ERP system?
Both systems hold part of the same reality. The ERP knows the commercial side: items, prices, customer orders, invoices. The WMS knows the physical one: which item sits in which location, what is reserved, what has been picked. As long as the two do not talk to each other, someone has to record the same transaction twice – and the discrepancy only shows up at the annual stocktake.
An integration defines which data flows in which direction. From the ERP into the WMS typically go item master data, customer orders and inbound delivery notes. Back into the ERP go stock movements, picking and dispatch confirmations, tracking numbers and returns. What matters most is deciding which system is the leading source for which value – without that decision, the two overwrite each other.
There are three common ways to build the connection:
- File exchange: both sides place files in an agreed format on a server and collect them at fixed intervals. Robust and simple, but not in real time.
- Direct interface: the systems call each other and exchange data immediately. More current, but more work to set up.
- Middleware: an intermediate layer translates between the two sides. Worth it when several systems come together or the formats are far apart.
Which route fits depends less on the technology than on two questions: how many orders come in, and how current does the stock figure in the online shop have to be? A handful of orders a day is served well by an hourly reconciliation. Anyone receiving hundreds of orders an hour while working with tight stock needs the direct interface.
The most common stumbling block is not the interface but the item number. If the same goods are called something different in the ERP than in the warehouse, every transfer fails at the same point. So an integration always starts with cleaning up master data and a full stock reconciliation. After that the connection runs in parallel for a while before anyone switches over.
Your benefits
Less manual transfer
Order and stock data are handed over rather than retyped.
Current data
Stock levels and shipment status can be reported back at agreed intervals.
Fits your system landscape
We work with what you use – not the other way round.
Defined handover points
Formats, fields and timings are set out in writing.
Typical process
System review
We record which systems you use and which interfaces they provide.
Feasibility check
We examine which data can be exchanged, in which direction and in which format.
Set-up and testing
The integration is configured and verified with test data before going live.
Operation and adjustment
The integration runs in day-to-day operation; changes to range or processes are reflected.
Suitable applications
- Companies with an existing ERP system
- Businesses using or introducing a WMS
- Online retailers with a connected shop system
- Companies with high manual transfer effort
- Projects with several data sources
- Companies wanting stock visibility within their own system
Frequently asked questions
ERP stands for enterprise resource planning – the central business software for orders, items and stock. WMS stands for warehouse management system, the software used to control warehouse processes.
Integration with JTL and Pulpo is envisaged or possible in principle. What can be implemented in a specific project is examined against your system version and the interfaces available.
Typically item and order data in your direction and stock and status data back. The exact scope is defined jointly.
We then examine alternative routes, such as structured file transfers at defined intervals. That also reduces manual effort considerably.
Before you decide
Two answers from our guide that belong to this service – no sales pitch, just explained.
Changing fulfilment provider
How to tell a change is due, how the transfer runs and which contract clauses to check beforehand.
What does fulfilment cost?
What a quotation is made of, what each item depends on and which figures you need in order to compare offers.
Our services at a glance
Looking to make your processes more efficient?
Tell us where you stand – product range, volumes, systems in use. You will receive a quotation within a maximum of 24 hours.