Flowgear, the agile cloud integration platform, enables Core Group to integrate its ERP system with an international consumer electronics supplier.

In order to provide the required customer service for an international consumer electronics supplier, Core Group, a consumer technology retailer, needed to integrate its ERP system to its supplier’s APIs. Because this was going to be a complex integration project, Core Group turned to the Flowgear integration Platform-as-a-Service (iPaaS) to provide the integration platform and technical expertise.

To ensure that it could provide the customer service and support that both the supplier and its customers expect, it was critical that Core Group could integrate its enterprise software with the supplier’s systems. Due to the complexity of the integration requirements, Core Group’s CTO, Roey Saban, realized that an out-of-the box solution would not be suitable. Core Group uses the SYSPRO ERP system and initially considering a bespoke integration solution. But while the company was investigating middleware options, he was referred to the Flowgear integration platform.

The evaluation process

Core Group requested proposals from different vendors and system integrators. The final choice of Flowgear was made on the basis of several criteria.

1. By using Flowgear’s integration platform, Core Group could eliminate the need for a customized integration. In addition, Flowgear’s SYSPRO connector supports the SYSPRO e.net Solutions integration interface.
2. With its library of application connectors, and DropPoint technology to easily integrate on-premise systems, Flowgear’s cloud platform provided greater flexibility and agility than other vendors and customized solutions.
3. Because Flowgear is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application, Core Group could budget for the integration as an operational expense (opex).

When Flowgear provided a demonstration to the Core Group team, the Flowgear Console made a significant impact by displaying the visual and immediate nature of integration workflow development. According to Saban “it made Flowgear’s proposal more tangible in terms of what could be implemented.”

The integration project

The process of building, testing and deploying the integrations was a complex project as Core Group’s supplier had rigorous requirements for integrating with its systems. “We used Flowgear’s in-house expertise in integrating enterprise software, and that meant that the SYSPRO ERP issues were well understood and the project was properly scoped,” said Saban.

Integration benefits

The initial integration project has delivered on the first set of business priorities. “Flowgear has been an API enabler for Core Group, so that we are now successfully integrating with our international supplier,” commented Saban.

Core Group is now looking at a broadening its integration capability. According to Saban “There are other projects that had been discussed that we can now start working on.”