Seamless API Integrations: How Drake & Farrell Accelerates Logistics Innovation!
by Oscar Geurtsen
about Drake & Farrell
Drake & Farrell is a leading company focused on transforming how society deals with used electronics. With a clear mission to eliminate electronic waste, the company has been committed to achieving nearly 100% reuse of materials and components since 2006. With facilities in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands, and Jindřichův Hradec, Czech Republic, Drake & Farrell offers tailored solutions for a circular supply chain.
Drake & Farrell’s services range from reverse logistics, testing and repair to material recycling and spare parts sourcing. Their solutions help companies in sectors such as telecoms, consumer electronics, healthcare and eMobility to achieve a circular and compliant business model, delivering impactful environmental and economic results.
API integration by Fresh Dynamics: Efficiency in every link
To make their processes more efficient, Drake & Farrell needed to integrate their Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations (F&O) ERP system with various e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Adobe Commerce (Magento) and WooCommerce. The goal was to sync data such as orders, inventory levels and purchasing information in real time. To tackle this challenge, they partnered with Fresh Dynamics, experts in developing Dynamics 365 integrations.
Fresh Dynamics provided an API plug-in that installed key integration points within Dynamics 365 F&O. This plug-in enables fast and reliable connections with webshops, back-end systems and external applications. By combining this API solution with the Alumio integration platform (iPaaS), Drake & Farrell was able to realize scalable and efficient integrations. The API plug-in also simplified existing processes, such as processing orders in XML or CSV format via an FTP server.
“Our API plugin intelligently uses the business logic of Dynamics 365. As a Microsoft validated plugin, it stays updated with the latest versions of the application. It helped Drake & Farrell build a significantly faster, real-time integration via the Alumio integration platform for creating orders, retrieving inventory information from customer web shops and helping them create purchase orders directly in Dynamics 365 via the plugin. We continue to support them with customizations, improvements and adjustments”
Gert Geurtsen
general director at Fresh Dynamics
Improved logistics processes
This Alumio API Plugin for Microsoft Dynamics 365F&O is a product delivered through the Alumio Integration Platform (iPaaS). The API Plugin is a unique solution that directly installs key B2B and B2CP API points for the Dynamics 365 F&O ERP to successfully integrate with e-commerce apps and SaaS solutions. This helps to halve the Dynamics 365 integration time.
With the API plugin and Alumio as a central platform, Drake & Farrell has automated several tasks, including:
- Order processing: Orders from web shops are processed directly in Dynamics 365 F&O.
- Inventory Management: Real-time updates provide an accurate view of inventory levels.
- Purchasing optimization: Purchase orders are immediately synchronized and automated.
„We were surprised by the fast integration with Alumio. We signed a contract, got an Alumio production environment with training sessions on how the platform worked. Shortly after, we had the integrations delivered. We started testing the integrations and within just 3 months everything was live, which is quite fast considering the complexity of the integrations.” - Drake & Farrell
Collaboration for seamless integration
In addition to developing the API plugin, Fresh Dynamics provided extensive support for installation and configuration. The Alumio platform played a crucial role in simplifying the integration processes, while Inteqrate, an Alumio partner, helped solve challenges such as complex data mapping and additional data requirements.
Thanks to the API integration, Drake & Farrell can respond faster to customer needs and optimize processes. The collaboration with Fresh Dynamics and their API plug-in remains an essential pillar for further expansions, such as integrating more applications and webshops. This supports their ambition to remain leaders in digital and sustainable logistics solutions.
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