Third-Party Integration

Third-Party Integration Overview

BRC Retail Extension provides robust integration capabilities for connecting with external systems, e-commerce platforms, and third-party applications. This section details the available integration methods, API capabilities, and best practices for external system connectivity.

Web Service Integration

Real-Time Inventory Integration

Item Inventory Update Web Service

BRC Retail Item Inv. Upd WS provides comprehensive external system integration:

Service Capabilities:

Real-time inventory updates by specific variant combinations
Batch processing for large inventory adjustments
Error handling with detailed logging
Asynchronous processing for performance optimization

API Endpoints:

Inventory Update Endpoint:

POST /api/v1/inventory/variant/update
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "itemNo": "ITEM001",
  "variantCode": "M-BLK", 
  "locationCode": "MAIN",
  "quantity": 150,
  "adjustmentType": "absolute|positive|negative",
  "reasonCode": "PHYSICAL",
  "documentNo": "EXT-ADJ-001"
}

Inventory Query Endpoint:

GET /api/v1/inventory/variant/{itemNo}/{variantCode}?location={locationCode}

Response:
{
  "itemNo": "ITEM001",
  "variantCode": "M-BLK",
  "availableInventory": 150,
  "onHandInventory": 175,
  "reservedQuantity": 25,
  "locationCode": "MAIN",
  "lastUpdated": "2025-11-28T10:30:00Z"
}

Batch Update Endpoint:

POST /api/v1/inventory/variant/batch
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "updates": [
    {
      "itemNo": "ITEM001",
      "variantCode": "M-BLK",
      "locationCode": "MAIN", 
      "quantity": 150
    },
    {
      "itemNo": "ITEM001", 
      "variantCode": "L-BLK",
      "locationCode": "MAIN",
      "quantity": 200
    }
  ],
  "adjustmentType": "absolute",
  "reasonCode": "SYSTEM_SYNC"
}

Authentication and Security

API Security Framework

Authentication Methods:

OAuth 2.0 integration with BC authentication
API key management for service-to-service communication
Token-based authentication with refresh capabilities
Role-based API access control

Security Configuration:

{
  "authentication": {
    "type": "oauth2",
    "tokenEndpoint": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenantId}/oauth2/v2.0/token",
    "scope": "https://api.businesscentral.dynamics.com/.default",
    "clientId": "{clientId}",
    "clientSecret": "{clientSecret}"
  },
  "apiPermissions": {
    "inventory.read": true,
    "inventory.write": true,
    "variants.read": true,
    "variants.write": false
  }
}

E-Commerce Platform Integration

Product Catalog Synchronization

Variant Export for E-Commerce

Product Data Export Capabilities:

Comprehensive Product Information:

Base item information with variant structure
Variant-specific descriptions and attributes
Pricing information by variant combination
Inventory levels for each variant
Product images and media integration

Export Format Example:

{
  "baseItem": {
    "itemNo": "TSHIRT-001",
    "description": "Cotton T-Shirt", 
    "brand": "BRC Apparel",
    "season": "SS25",
    "imageUrl": "https://images.example.com/tshirt-001.jpg"
  },
  "variantStructure": {
    "dimension1": {
      "code": "SIZE",
      "name": "Size",
      "type": "Size"
    },
    "dimension2": {
      "code": "COLOR", 
      "name": "Color",
      "type": "Colour"
    }
  },
  "variants": [
    {
      "variantCode": "M-BLK",
      "dimension1Value": {"code": "M", "name": "Medium", "sorting": 30},
      "dimension2Value": {"code": "BLK", "name": "Black", "sorting": 10},
      "sku": "TSHIRT-001-M-BLK",
      "eanCode": "1234567890123",
      "unitPrice": 29.99,
      "inventory": {
        "available": 150,
        "onHand": 175,
        "reserved": 25
      }
    }
  ]
}

Price Export Integration

BRC Retail Export Price Report provides specialized e-commerce integration:

Export Features:

Variant-specific pricing with tier support
Customer group pricing integration
Currency conversion for multi-market operations
Promotional pricing and discount integration

Price Export Format:

ItemNo,VariantCode,CustomerGroup,Currency,UnitPrice,MinQuantity,ValidFrom,ValidTo
TSHIRT-001,M-BLK,RETAIL,USD,29.99,1,2025-01-01,2025-12-31
TSHIRT-001,M-BLK,WHOLESALE,USD,24.99,10,2025-01-01,2025-12-31
TSHIRT-001,L-BLK,RETAIL,USD,29.99,1,2025-01-01,2025-12-31

E-Commerce Platform Connectors

Popular Platform Integration

Shopify Integration:

Automated product sync with variant support
Real-time inventory updates
Order import with variant specifications
Customer pricing tier integration

Magento/Adobe Commerce Integration:

Configurable product setup with BRC variants
Multi-store inventory management
Advanced pricing rules integration
Custom attribute mapping for variant dimensions

BigCommerce Integration:

Variant option sets synchronization
Inventory tracking by variant
Custom field mapping for brand and season
Automated product updates

Custom E-Commerce Integration

RESTful API Framework:

# Product Sync Endpoint
GET /api/v1/products/export?lastModified=2025-11-28T00:00:00Z

# Inventory Sync Endpoint  
GET /api/v1/inventory/variants?location=MAIN

# Order Import Endpoint
POST /api/v1/orders/import
{
  "orderNo": "WEB-001",
  "customerNo": "CUST001", 
  "lines": [
    {
      "itemNo": "TSHIRT-001",
      "variantCode": "M-BLK", 
      "quantity": 2,
      "unitPrice": 29.99
    }
  ]
}

ERP System Integration

Multi-ERP Connectivity

SAP Integration

SAP Material Master Synchronization:

Variant hierarchy mapping to SAP characteristics
Material variant import/export
BOM integration for variant-specific configurations
Cost center allocation by variant

Integration Configuration:

<SAPIntegration>
  <MaterialMaster>
    <VariantMapping>
      <BRCVariant1 sapCharacteristic="SIZE"/>
      <BRCVariant2 sapCharacteristic="COLOR"/>
    </VariantMapping>
    <MaterialType>FERT</MaterialType>
    <Plant>1000</Plant>
  </MaterialMaster>
</SAPIntegration>

Oracle ERP Integration

Oracle Item Master Synchronization:

Flexfield mapping for variant dimensions
Multi-org inventory synchronization
Price list integration with variant pricing
Planning integration for variant demand

Legacy System Integration

File-Based Integration

CSV Export/Import Capabilities:

Item Export Format:

ItemNo,Description,Brand,Season,VariantTemplate,Status
ITEM001,"Cotton T-Shirt","BRC","SS25","APPAREL","Active"
ITEM002,"Denim Jeans","BRC","FW25","APPAREL","Active"

Variant Export Format:

ItemNo,VariantCode,Variant1Code,Variant1Value,Variant2Code,Variant2Value,Description,EANCode
ITEM001,"M-BLK","SIZE","M","COLOR","BLK","Medium Black","1234567890123"
ITEM001,"L-BLK","SIZE","L","COLOR","BLK","Large Black","1234567890124"

Inventory Export Format:

ItemNo,VariantCode,LocationCode,OnHand,Available,Reserved,LastUpdated
ITEM001,"M-BLK","MAIN",175,150,25,"2025-11-28 10:30:00"
ITEM001,"L-BLK","MAIN",200,180,20,"2025-11-28 10:30:00"

EDI Integration

Electronic Data Interchange Support:

ANSI X12 850 Purchase Orders with variant specifications
ANSI X12 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgments
ANSI X12 856 Advanced Ship Notices with variant tracking
EDIFACT ORDERS and ORDRSP for international trade

Warehouse Management System Integration

WMS Connectivity

Barcode System Integration

Barcode Data Exchange:

Real-time barcode generation for variants
Integration with handheld scanning devices
Warehouse activity reports with variant barcodes
Pick/pack verification with variant validation

Barcode Integration Format:

{
  "itemNo": "ITEM001",
  "variantCode": "M-BLK", 
  "barcode": {
    "eanCode": "1234567890123",
    "code128": "ITEM001-M-BLK",
    "qrCode": "encoded_variant_data"
  },
  "warehouse": {
    "locationCode": "MAIN",
    "binCode": "A-01-01",
    "quantity": 150
  }
}

Picking and Packing Integration

WMS Integration Points:

Variant-specific picking lists
Matrix-style pick tickets for efficiency
Pack verification with variant validation
Shipping documentation with variant details

RFID Integration

Radio Frequency Identification Support:

RFID tag encoding with variant information
Real-time inventory tracking by variant
Automated receiving with variant verification
Cycle counting integration with variant specificity

Business Intelligence Integration

Analytics Platform Connectivity

Microsoft Power BI Integration

Power BI Data Sources:

Real-time variant sales analytics
Inventory performance by variant dimensions
Seasonal trend analysis across variants
Profitability reporting by variant combinations

Power BI Data Model:

{
  "tables": [
    {
      "name": "VariantSales",
      "columns": [
        "Date", "ItemNo", "VariantCode", 
        "Variant1Code", "Variant1Value",
        "Variant2Code", "Variant2Value", 
        "Quantity", "SalesAmount", "Brand", "Season"
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "VariantInventory", 
      "columns": [
        "Date", "ItemNo", "VariantCode",
        "LocationCode", "OnHand", "Available"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Tableau Integration

Tableau Data Extracts:

Variant performance dashboards
Cross-variant analysis capabilities
Seasonal trending and forecasting
Multi-dimensional variant analysis

Data Warehouse Integration

ETL Process Support

Extract, Transform, Load Capabilities:

Automated data extraction from BC with variant details
Transformation rules for variant dimension mapping
Load processes maintaining variant relationships
Data quality validation for variant integrity

ETL Configuration Example:

extraction:
  source: BusinessCentral
  tables:
    - BRCRetailVariant
    - BRCRetailVariantValue
    - ItemVariant
    - SalesLine
  filters:
    - dateRange: last30days
    - variants: all

transformation:
  variantMapping:
    dimension1: size
    dimension2: color
  aggregations:
    - salesByVariant
    - inventoryByLocation

loading:
  destination: DataWarehouse
  schedule: hourly
  validation: enabled

CRM System Integration

Customer Relationship Management

Salesforce Integration

Salesforce Product Catalog Integration:

Variant product families in Salesforce
Customer preference tracking by variant
Sales opportunity integration with variant specifications
Quote generation with variant-specific pricing

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Integration

Unified Customer Experience:

Seamless product catalog synchronization
Variant-aware opportunity management
Customer order history with variant details
Integrated pricing and availability checking

Integration Best Practices

Performance Optimization

Efficient Data Exchange

Best Practices for Integration Performance:

Implement delta synchronization for large datasets
Use batch processing for bulk operations
Implement proper error handling and retry logic
Monitor integration performance and optimize accordingly

Batch Processing Example:

{
  "batchConfig": {
    "maxBatchSize": 1000,
    "retryAttempts": 3,
    "timeoutSeconds": 300,
    "errorHandling": "continue",
    "logging": "detailed"
  },
  "syncRules": {
    "inventorySync": "realtime",
    "productSync": "hourly", 
    "orderSync": "immediate"
  }
}

Error Handling and Monitoring

Integration Health Monitoring

Monitoring Framework:

Real-time integration status dashboard
Error logging with variant context
Performance metrics tracking
Automated alert system for integration failures

Health Check Configuration:

{
  "healthChecks": [
    {
      "name": "InventoryAPI",
      "endpoint": "/api/v1/health",
      "interval": "5m",
      "timeout": "30s"
    },
    {
      "name": "VariantSync",
      "schedule": "0 */6 * * *",
      "validations": [
        "dataIntegrity",
        "variantConsistency"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Security and Compliance

Data Protection

Integration Security Framework:

End-to-end encryption for data transmission
API rate limiting and throttling
Audit logging for all integration activities
Compliance with data protection regulations

Security Configuration:

{
  "security": {
    "encryption": "TLS1.3",
    "authentication": "OAuth2",
    "rateLimiting": {
      "requestsPerMinute": 1000,
      "burstLimit": 100
    },
    "auditLogging": {
      "enabled": true,
      "level": "detailed",
      "retention": "7years"
    }
  }
}

Integration Support

Implementation Services

Professional Integration Services:

Custom connector development
Integration architecture design
Performance optimization consulting
Ongoing integration support and maintenance

Support Channels:

Technical integration documentation
API reference and SDK availability
Integration partner network
24/7 support for critical integrations

This comprehensive third-party integration capability ensures that BRC Retail Extension can seamlessly connect with your existing technology ecosystem while providing robust variant management across all connected systems.