Leveraging Web Service Call and QXtend to Expose QAD EE Data in SAP
Posted on: September 24, 2019 | By: Tim Lovely | QAD Business Process, QAD Distribution, QAD Financials, ERP Selection
One of Logan Consulting’s long-standing clients is considering a strategy of standing up a hybrid ERP model for its US operations, leveraging its existing SAP footprint for financials and PLM, while migrating its US plants off of their existing ERP applications to QAD’s Enterprise Applications Enterprise Edition (QAD EE).
In order to support this long-term strategy, tight integration between SAP and QAD EE will be important for financial users who primarily work in SAP to manage Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, General Ledger, and Financial Reporting activity. This includes the ability to easily drill into and access QAD EE operational data in real-time from the SAP application.
Companies typically develop interfaces between the two ERP’s in a hybrid model, sending data from one ERP to another to be stored in the reporting or target ERP. Given that all detailed data is typically not interfaced, and in the absence of tight integration for companies running similar hybrid ERP solutions, users are often forced to operate in a “swivel chair” environment. This term refers to a common interface work-around that involves manually entering or accessing data into one system and then entering or viewing the same or similar data in another system. The term is derived from the practice of the user turning from one system to another using a swivel chair. Using two ERP applications in this mode is cumbersome at best.
Logan Consulting worked with its client’s in-house SAP developer and a third party Progress developer to prove out that drill-downs and access to data can be handled more easily without use of complex interfaces. The project deliverable was the development of a view in SAP of QAD EE posted invoice data via a Web Service call from SAP to QAD EE. The solution leverages QAD’s QXtend product to expose the source xml data being requested by the user. The SAP user simply enters or selects an invoice number and in near real time all invoice header, detail, and trailer detail is displayed.
The Web Service call approach will likely be used to support other areas of the business moving forward, without the development of complex interfaces of data, often prone to data integrity issues, file transfer issues, and other points of failure.
About Logan Consulting
Logan Consulting is a leading consulting firm with strengths in strategy, project management, business process design, ERP and CRM implementation, recruitment and training. Since 1992, our business process-based delivery techniques and tools have helped our clients build a solid business process and information technology foundation to support their business. Our clients count on us for objective, unbiased analysis, recommendations and project work. To learn more and hear what our customers are saying about us, please visit our website (www.logan-consulting.com).
Logan Consulting is headquartered in Chicago, IL with global services reach.