In today’s retail industry, the Point of Sale is not just a cash register but rather a generator of information. The challenge for a retailer lies in getting that information to the ERP, the financial core of the business. In the case of those using RMH and Microsoft BC for their retail operations. The role of the bridge is played by x2x RMH Integration with Business Central. So, what does the technical architecture look like from inside? It is time for a closer look into the details.
The Core Components
On the most basic level, there are three main components forming the foundation of the architecture – the RMH SQL database (on-premises or cloud based), the Business Central SaaS application, and x2x Integration middleware technology.
In most cases, RMH needs to use a well-performing SQL Server backend as an integral part of its database infrastructure for storing information about transactions, stock, and customers. On the other hand, Business Central is a cloud-based application that uses the Microsoft Azure framework. How do you integrate the two? That’s where the x2x solution comes in handy.
Middleware Layer: The x2x Engine
What makes the x2x product so smart is in its tiering structure. Rather than a mere copy-and-paste process, it converts the information. The x2x engine is basically a translator, existing between the RMH database and Business Central APIs.
For communication between x2x and Business Central, web services are used. x2x consumes web services provided by Business Central, which follow the OData/ SOAP format and ensures compliance with Microsoft’s stringent security measures. For the RMH database, the connector directly connects to the SQL database or the RMH HQ client for retrieving raw transactional information. The result is that both RMH and BC databases can be accessed at the same time. This makes the transfer of information like sales and receipt as Sales Invoices/GL Entries seamless.
Data Mapping and Transformation
The most complicated operation when dealing with architecture is data mapping. RMH has one kind of schema, but Business Central has another one. There are sophisticated mappings implemented in the x2x architecture.
Thus, when RMH sells “Shirt”, it will have such an item called Item_ID_101. But when we deal with the very same product in BC, we must write No. in Item table and attach a particular Posting Group. So, there is a mapping that will define these relations and make sure that when data hits BC, it will go straight into the proper accounts without accounting discrepancies or reconciliation needs.
The Scheduler and Resilience
Since the Internet will not always be present and at maximum speed at retail establishments, there should be no potential for lost sales due to a break in the connection. The x2x integration involves the use of a queueing and scheduling engine. In case of a connection loss between x2x and Business Central, the RMH functionality remains unaffected. All outgoing data is kept temporarily within the x2x engine until the connectivity is regained.
Conclusion
The architecture for x2x RMH Integration with Business Central Cloud is an elegant combination of interactions with SQL, web service usage, and smart data mapping. By separating the POS from the ERP while keeping a continuous connection, this architecture ensures that your money data is consistently and up to date.
