I connect systems that do not talk to each other today

Q: What if our software has no API?

That is common and can usually be worked around. Data is then exchanged through files in an agreed format, through the database, or through an export the software can already produce. Worse than having no API is something else: an integration that quietly does the wrong thing, so I give every such exchange checks and an alert when data stops arriving.

Q: Can an integration damage data in the parent system?

That is why I start by agreeing which system is the source of truth for each type of data, and I write nothing back without explicit consent. By default the integration reads from the parent system, and writing to it is a separate decision, protected by checks and a change log.

Q: How will I know an integration has stopped working?

From an alert, not by chance. Every automatic data exchange records its run: when it started, how many records went through and whether it ended with an error. A missing run is treated as an error, because in integrations silence is more dangerous than an error message.

The sales system, the shop floor, scales, label printers, carriers and email. Data entered once and available everywhere, instead of retyped three times by three people.

The most expensive place in a company is retyping

An order arrives in the sales system, someone copies it onto a sheet for the shop floor, someone else copies the result from the sheet into a spreadsheet, and finally a third person copies the spreadsheet into the settlement. Every retyping costs time, introduces typos and delays the information by a day.

Integration is not a technical topic here but an organisational one: the point is for each number to exist in the company only once.

What I connect

Sales and inventory systems and ERP

Orders, customers, item codes and stock levels pulled automatically, with no manual export. At the start we agree which system is the source of truth for which type of data, because that one decision saves months of arguing later about where the number is right.

Devices on the shop floor

Industrial scales sending the reading straight into the form, label printers printing from the system instead of a separate program, barcode scanners and mobile terminals for picking. The operator stops copying digits from a display, which means they stop getting them wrong.

Carriers

Creating shipments and fetching their status without logging into the carrier's portal. The delivery status comes back into the system and is shown next to the order, so customer service can answer without searching three websites.

Email and document flows

Automatic messages to customers and to the office, sent when a specific thing happens rather than when someone remembers. Together with an alert when a message did not go out, because an unsent email is worse than no automation at all.

Reports and statements

Recurring statements calculated automatically and delivered where they need to go: by email, as a file or as a printable document. The description in a report is generated from the rows it counted, so it says what is actually in them.

What I make sure of in every integration

A single source of truth. For each type of data, one system is designated as the master. Without that, two programs start contradicting each other, and the company believes whichever happens to be open.
Safe to repeat. The same message processed twice must not create a duplicate record. This is the most common silent cause of data drifting apart.
Visible runs. Every run leaves a trace: when, how many records, with what result. A missing run is treated as an error, because in integrations silence is more dangerous than an error message.
A queue for outages. When the other side does not respond, the data waits and arrives later instead of getting lost.
A change log. You know who changed what, even when the change was made by an automated process.

What already runs

In the system I maintain in production, data exchange with the parent system has so far handled 105 513 order lines. On top of that come shipment statuses fetched automatically, scale readings going straight into a form on the shop floor, label printing from the operator panel and daily statements sent out by email.

Frequently asked questions

What if our software has no API?

That is common and can usually be worked around: files in an agreed format, the database, or an export the software can already produce. Worse than having no API is an integration that quietly does the wrong thing, so every exchange gets checks and an alert.

Can an integration damage data in the parent system?

By default the integration only reads. Writing to the parent system is a separate decision, protected by checks and a change log.

How will I know an integration has stopped working?

From an alert, not by chance. Every exchange records its run, and a missing run is treated as an error.

Do I have to replace my current system?

No. The sales system stays where it is good: invoices, stock levels and accounts. A production system is neither its successor nor its competitor, but a layer it does not have, because it was not built for it. Between them you set up data exchange, so that each number exists in the company only once.

What gets retyped by hand in your company?

Tell me between which systems the same data travels today. That is usually the cheapest first stage of working together.

Send a message

Production systems · Excise stamp records · HR and scheduling