Technical Paper Connectivity between SugarCRM and Infor System 21 ERP Audience This paper is intended for people who understand the features and the respective capabilities of both SugarCRM and Infor System 21. This is a technical paper and therefore is aimed at people with a technical interest in how the two systems are linked. SugarCRM Jitterbit Infor System21
About this paper This paper describes how SugarCRM and System21 are connected and what data is transferred. Required Components Licensed copies of Infor System 21 and SugarCRM are necessary. Once these are in place we use the Jitterbit Enterprise data transformation solution to connect with both applications in order to perform the data transfer. System 21 Data System 21 data resides in an IBM DB2 database. All libraries and files can be accessed and transferred to SugarCRM however for the purpose of this paper we will describe how to transfer customer details purchase history and credit information. The following libraries and files are accessed: Library OSLSLF3 o File SLP05 Customer details o File SLP06 Customer credit information Library OSLD1F3 o File OEP40 Order header details o File OEP55 Order line details o File INP35 Product details o File INP40 Additional text lines for order line o File OEP55u Example bespoke customisation of order lines SugarCRM Data SugarCRM supports many database types but for the purpose of this paper we will use a MYSQL database. The following table describes where in SugarCRM the System 21 data will be added. 2 P a g e
Area System 21 File SugarCRM Module Customer details SLP05 Accounts Credit limits and balances SLP06 Accounts Order header details OEP40 Quotes Order lines OEP55 INP35 Products and Quote Bundles Additional text OEP55u INP40 Products The Quotes module within SugarCRM can categorise and show the Stage of the Order depending on the Status of the Order in System 21. For example if the order status in System 21 is Enquiry then the Stage in CRM will be Enquiry. Data Transformation & Mappings In order to link files and fields we use a Jitterbit Transformation. 3 P a g e
This is achieved if we set System 21 as the Source database using the IBM iseries ODBC Driver. Once we have provided all the required credentials such as the Server Name User ID and access password we re ready to pick the files we want to transform. To transform customer details and credit limits we would need to select two files from System 21. SLP05 and SLP06. These files are joined via two fields (CONOxx and CUSNxx). On the other side we need to create a Target data source for SugarCRM. In this example we re going to connect to SugarCRM using the MySQL JDBC driver. Once connected to SugarCRM we need to create or update records in two database tables. Accounts and Accounts_CSTM. These tables are joined via the ID field that exists in both tables. Inserts or Updates? This process is being designed so that it can run completely unattended and on a schedule. We need to ensure that any customer record that does not exist in the CRM is created as well as ensure existing records are updated when required. We want to update the equivalent CRM record if it has changed or create a new record in CRM if it does not exist. The update key in SugarCRM s database is based on the ID field. Since SugarCRM requires that each record is assigned a unique ID value based on a GUID we need to either create a new GUID if the record does not already exist or use the existing records ID if it does exist. $AccountID = DBLookup("<TAG>Targets/SugarCRM</TAG>" "SELECT id_c FROM accounts_cstm WHERE external_id_c =" + $ExternalID); If(LENGTH($AccountID)==0GUID() $AccountID) In the example above we store the System 21 company number in a SugarCRM custom field called ExternalID. We then run a query to look for this ExternalID and return the corresponding GUID into a variable (AccountID). If after looking up the External ID in CRM and returning the result to AccountID if it is empty then we create a new record with a new GUID. Scheduling When to Transfer Data Once set up we re ready to run this transformation on a schedule. In the following example we have set the schedule to run every 30 seconds Mon-Fri between 7AM and 9PM. Technical Challenges There are some challenges to overcome when sharing information between two different database systems. These include: 4 P a g e
Area System 21 File SugarCRM Module Jitterbit Solution Date formats Ex: 21 Dec 2013 8:30AM 16 Jan 1998 16:30 Status s Ownership 1YYMMDD?HMM 1131221830 9801161630 Status in S21 may contain a single character value Orders may be allocated to a S21 user login name YYYY-MM-DD- HH:MM:SS 2013-12-21 08:30:00 1998-01-16 16:30:00 Status s in SugarCRM may contain a word or phrase Sugar User IDs are GUID values that are not known to S21 CVTDate conversion used Determine if 20 th century. Then convert to Sugar format e.g. //check first char is 1 if(left($date1)=='1' //TRUE //FALSE CVTDate($date'$yymmdd''yyyymm-dd'); CVTDate($date'yymmdd''yyyymm-dd'); ); If S21 Order Status is empty then it s an order if(oep40.susp40)==0 "Order" Enquiry ) Lookup the System21 login name and search the SugarCRM users table for a match. Return the matching UserID Currencies Currency table in S21 Currency table in Sugar CacheLookup("<TAG>SugarCRM </TAG>""select id from users where last_name = " + quote(trim($userassigned))) Bespoke order lines An order line in S21 can be made up from either a standard part code or from a custom order line Product module needs to hold either option 5 P a g e
What Next? We ve briefly outlined how we get data out of System 21 and into SugarCRM. What next? Why do we need to do this in the first place? ERP systems are great at order fulfilment amongst other duties but they tend to fall short when it comes to marketing and customer engagement. Specialist CRM solutions help the sales team to build long term relationships with customers as well as find new opportunities for cross selling and upselling services. Hence the reason to hook up a CRM solution to ERP. The following example uses are just a handful of ways to boost your bottom-line. High volume enquiry handling Use historical data for profiling and targeting Combined customer & prospect marketing Marketing analytics linked to pro-active campaigns Drip campaigns to keep customers informed and engaged with your brand and products Activity management to keep track of who to contact when and by whom Communication history to show all customer and prospect touch points Case Study Hub Le Bas is the leading distributor of steel tube in the United Kingdom. It is a part of Caparo Steel Products a private and diversified group specialising principally in the manufacture and supply of steel and engineering products for industry. Hub Le Bas operates from four sites which are located in separate warehouses positioned throughout the UK in order to deliver best service to its customers. The company uses the Jitterbit data transformation solution to pull data from four AS400 servers into one cloud-based SugarCRM solution. The initiative complemented and supported the company s website developments at www.hublebas.co.uk and www.steeltubedirect.co.uk. Extending CRM SouthwestCRM works with customers to add value to their investment in CRM technology. For instance it does not stop at ERP. Connecting business intelligence and advanced marketing systems to SugarCRM complete the picture and creates a streamlined business with deeper insights into customer buying habits and greater margins. Contact Details: Marketing Department SouthwestCRM Telephone: +44 (0)845 686 2468 Email: marketing@southwestict.com Website: www.southwestict.com [END] 6 P a g e