KFA Connect helps French Connection to integrate Shopify POS with SAP ERP using BPA Platform.
French Connection designs, produces and distributes designer clothing, accessories and homeware for men, women, and children worldwide.
Having successfully launched four new eCommerce stores across the UK, Europe and the USA on Shopify Plus, French Connection turned their attention to their POS solution.
As the partner who had delivered the integration for the eCommerce launch so successfully, KFA Connect were asked to design an integration which would deliver again.
KFA Connect were delighted to assist French Connection with another integration project.
The Project
To replace a legacy Oracle Retail-J POS solution for French Connection stores and designer outlets with a new solution.
Because French Connection had moved their ecommerce stores to Shopify Plus, the decision to further utilise Shopify POS on that platform made good business sense. However, integrations into their SAP ERP solution would need to be replicated before this was feasible.
If a solution could be found then Shopify POS would yield many benefits including integrated reporting, the ability to integrate bricks and mortar and online sales, and a POS application that could run on diverse hardware — with French Connection favouring Apple iPads.
The Requirements
French Connection run a SAP ERP, featuring extensive integrations to forecasting, manufacturing, accounting, and critically for this project, inventory and financial integration with Oracle Retail-J
POS.
It was decided that in order to maintain compatibility with the SAP ERP and existing integrations that the integration from Shopify POS should appear to the existing software stack exactly as the Retail-J integration did.
As part of the design process, it was requested that provision of sales data in a format suitable for integrating with Microsoft Power BI be added to the brief.
The Solution
The existing ecommerce integration had been designed by KFA Connect to be extensible and open.
This meant that when designing the solution they were able to re-use and iterate on previously delivered code.
At the core of that integration was Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform — a low code automation platform.
Because the prime requirement was that Shopify POS needed to present itself to the SAP ERP system in the same way as Oracle Retail-J; KFA Connect wrote an integration using .NET Core and T-SQL, triggered from BPA Platform, which made it possible for the integration to succeed.
The Challenge
It was necessary to reverse-engineer the existing Oracle Retail-J integration so that it could be replicated.
The project needed to be delivered within a short timeframe.
The Outcome
The solution was delivered on time and to budget with French Connection launching into a pilot store a week in advance of launch.
Subsequently, Shopify POS was implemented across the European and UK French Connection stores and has been a success.
With data easily accessible for their Power BI platform, French Connection are able to dashboard their retail data, and the performance of stores relative to targets in a way that was not previously possible.
The new POS setup, based on commodity Apple iPad hardware reduces the cost of maintenance and presents a slick and modern image in-store; with new setups deployed quickly.
The project was delivered on time and to budget.
“Having made the decision to move our ecommerce stores to the Shopify Plus platform we sought a partner capable of integrating Shopify Plus with our existing systems and processes.
We engaged KFA Connect in 2020, with the requirement to integrate four new Shopify Plus stores with our existing online-fulfilment and customer service solutions.
From this initial engagement it became clear that KFA Connect were experienced at handling complex systems integrations, so much so that we have subsequently worked with them to implement Shopify
POS across our stores in the United Kingdom and in the EU integrating with our SAP platform.I have personally had the pleasure of working with KFA Connect’s team for the past two years, and they have consistently demonstrated their commitment to our success. The team’s expertise and dedication to providing first-class development and integration services have significantly improved our company’s
operations.What sets KFA Connect apart is their proactive approach.
They not only resolve issues promptly but also take the initiative to identify potential challenges before they become issues. This proactive mindset has saved us valuable time and resources while
ensuring that our IT environment remains operational.I highly recommend KFA Connect to any business. Their professionalism, technical proficiency, and exceptional customer support make them an invaluable partner for French Connection.”
Vim Juneja, IT Director – French Connection
The Future
The next planned project includes introducing the following functionality to the Shopify POS solution:
- Buy online, pick up in-store
- Buy in-store for delivery to customer’s home.
- Online returns in-store.
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