ERP System Integration with CobbleStone Software

ERP Integrations 

ERP systems are systems that have the most diverse array of functions.  Some examples of popular ERP systems are Oracle ERP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Sage100cloud, and JobBOSS. 

Common Use Case Scenarios

Typically, these ERP systems are integrated with the CobbleStone® platform to provide a myriad of functions.  Some of the typical use case scenarios are: (diagrams below) 

• Syncing Customer/Vendor Metadata between systems 
• Syncing Contract/Contract Requests between systems 
• Syncing Employee Metadata between systems 
• Syncing Purchase Order/Invoicing between systems 
• Automating workflow between systems 
  • Ex: Signed Contract in CobbleStone® triggers a Purchase Order in NetSuite 
  • Ex: A terminated employee in Microsoft SQL server triggers a deactivation in CobbleStone® 

Setup

Once connections are established linking the CobbleStone® platform with the client’s ERP system, the integration setup can commence. 

Each system has its records identified by an Internal key.  CobbleStone® will automatically auto-increment new records and assign them their own unique identifier (i.e. : new employee “Bob Smith” will have EmployeeID 1 when created.  No new employee records will have that EmployeeID).  The same process applies to the records created within ERP systems (i.e. : NetSuite creates an Internal Key for new records within the system).   

For the integration to properly function, a record sync must be performed.   The unique identifier for a record must be appended to the correct record between systems.  If a system cannot correctly identify existing records, the results are normally erroneous (i.e. : duplicate records, incorrect amendments, etc.). 

To ensure that these keys match up, there are actions that can be taken: 

• New fields must be created to store external record identifiers (Ex: NetSuite Employee ID created in CobbleStone® system/CobbleStone® Employee ID created in NetSuite) 
• CSV Files containing the unique identifiers for records from one system matched to records in the integrated system and imported to be stored on those records

Integration Maintenance 

To ensure ongoing automation and accuracy with these integrations, record syncing must remain constant.  Depending on the frequency of record changes in a system, the frequency of the sync of the records between the systems must match. 

Ex: Employee records are subject to change at any moment in a client’s NetSuite system.  To ensure that employee metadata stays current in CobbleStone®, an employee sync should be done using real-time triggers that detect that a record was changed in NetSuite. 

Ex: Vendor records in a client’s Dynamics system rarely change.  The sync of record metadata between that system and CobbleStone® system doesn’t need to happen as frequently. A daily or weekly sync may be all that is necessary. 

ERP Common Functionality Diagrams