Overview
Modern Retail's Inventory CSV/XML Updater is useful when POS and ERP systems do not have an application programming interface (API). In place of an API, this CSV/XML Updater allows POS and ERP systems to update products on the website. It can also be configured to receive customer and order information so the POS or ERP system can be updated.
Depending upon the capabilities of the POS or ERP system, Modern Retail has two methods to accomplish this integration:
- Inventory Report Upload
- FTP Updater
Inventory Report Upload
Seems like every POS or ERP system on the planet has the ability to export the inventory in some sort of report. These systems commonly have a report generation tool that allows many kinds of reports to be created and often customized to your needs. Modern Retail's Integrator can take that report, usually in a CSV or XML format, and use it to update popular e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Bigcommerce, WooCommerce and Magento.
Modern Retail calls this a "one-way integration" because it uses this report to update your online product catalog but does not send completed orders down to your POS system. In order to have a full "two-way integration" where orders are sent down to the POS or ERP system, we need to use our FTP Updater or API.
Arguably, keeping your website in-sync with your store's inventory is 90% of the work in keeping your website up to date. In these cases, this Inventory Report Upload can be a life-saver, especially when your POS or ERP system doesn't have an API and can't export and import files automatically using FTP.
FTP Updater
Many systems we've worked with over the years do not have an API and instead, have some very sophisticated import and export capabilities. Please talk with your POS or ERP vendor to see if they have such capabilities and can automatically send and receive data files using FTP. If your system has these capabilities, then Modern Retail can automate the receiving of product updates and sending orders to your POS or ERP system. Modern Retail supports many different file formats including CSV and XML, so please talk to your vendor to see what's possible.
Feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions regarding how we might be able to automate this process for you POS system. Thank you.