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From an entry control system vendor you should require specifics about ERP integration: a list of the data available through the API, the exchange protocol, whether a connector to your ERP already exists and who will maintain it, and how the API is versioned. The answer ‘yes, we integrate’ comes up almost every time and is almost always true, but it covers everything from a ready-made connector to an assurance that something can be written if the customer pays for it.
Questions to ask the vendor about ERP integration
These questions turn a general ‘yes’ into information you can plan a project on:
- Which data is available programmatically, and which only on screen? A report visible in the interface does not mean it can be retrieved from outside, so ask for a list of resources rather than an assurance.
- Over which protocol? REST, a live event feed and file exchange mean different amounts of work on your side.
- Is there a ready-made connector for our ERP? This question settles the most. ‘We will write one’ is an honest answer, and ‘we have one’ calls for a follow-up: at how many customers does it run, and with which ERP version?
- Who writes the connector and who maintains it: your IT team, an integrator or the vendor? Maintenance matters more than writing it, because a version change on either side breaks the connector.
- Is the API versioned, and what is the transition period when it changes? Without that, every update is a risk.
- Is the integration account separate from user accounts? An integration running on an employee’s account stops working on the day that employee leaves.
Red flags in an ERP integration offer
The phrase ‘we integrate with everything’ usually means the vendor has an API and nothing more, because nobody integrates with everything.
Be wary, too, if there is no API documentation before the contract is signed. Your IT department is entitled to assess the work on its side before anyone signs anything.
An integration priced ‘as part of the implementation’, with no separate line item, comes back later as a change of scope, because an integration is a project and has a cost of its own.
A promise of two-way real-time synchronisation at the first meeting is a commitment to the hardest kind of integration, made without any analysis.
Integrations in TraxSystem: a REST API and an event feed
TraxSystem exposes a REST API covering entries, access control, barriers, cameras, weighing, bookings, parking and patrols, plus a live event feed. Reports export to XLSX and PDF, including automatically by email.
TraxSystem has no ready-made connectors for SAP or Oracle, so integration is always a separate project. Two production connectors run at customers’ sites and serve as a technical reference, but they were built for specific deployments and are not an off-the-shelf product. The details are on the integrations and API page.
What ERP integration will not fix
Integration will not reconcile data that means different things on each side. If a ‘supplier’ in the ERP is the invoiced party and in the entry system it is the haulage company, the connector will carry that discrepancy across without removing it.
Nor does integration replace the decision about which system is the source of truth for the records of business partners and vehicles. Without that decision, the integration produces duplicates.
Every integration needs an owner on both sides, because a project without a named person stops being maintained after the first update.
Questions and answers
Where should we start the conversation about integration?
With direction: what should go into the entry system and what should come out of it; the rest is technical detail.
Can we start without integration and add it later?
Yes, and that is often better, because the first few weeks show which data really needs to be exchanged.
Does importing bookings from a higher-level system count as integration?
Yes, and it is the most common direction. It is sometimes done by file exchange, without writing any code.
Does changing the scope of an integration require a new licence?
No. A new licence is needed only when a module is added to the functional scope, and that is planned into the schedule.
How much does it cost to write a connector?
That depends on the system on the other side, which is why integration is priced separately, outside the licence. The pricing configurator will show you the amount for the licence itself.
See also: An access control system contract: what to look out for · How to choose a dock scheduling system: seven questions to ask the supplier · How long does it take to implement a vehicle entry control system