Integration Flow Overview

Welcome to the Spreetail Integration Flow documentation. This section provides comprehensive guidance on how to integrate your business systems with Spreetail's fulfillment platform.

What is Integration Flow?

Integration Flow refers to how your business systems connect and communicate with Spreetail's fulfillment infrastructure. Think of it as the digital highway that connects your sales channels, inventory systems, and order management tools directly to our fulfillment operations. The flow you choose determines how orders, inventory, and data move between your systems and ours, ensuring seamless operations and real-time visibility into every aspect of your fulfillment process.

Why Integration Flow Matters

Choosing the right integration flow isn't just a technical decision—it's a strategic one that impacts your entire operation. When you get it right, you'll experience streamlined data flow that dramatically reduces manual work and eliminates errors. You'll have real-time visibility into order and inventory status, giving you the confidence to make quick decisions. The right flow will scale with your business as you grow, whether that means adding new channels, expanding to new markets, or increasing order volumes. Perhaps most importantly, an efficient integration reduces operational costs while delivering faster processing times that lead to better customer satisfaction.

Integration Flow Types

Spreetail supports four main integration flow types, each carefully designed and optimized for different business scenarios. We understand that every business is unique, which is why we've created multiple pathways to connect with us.

Key Components of Integration Flow

1. Data Flow Direction

Understanding how data moves between your systems and ours is fundamental to choosing the right integration. Outbound flows handle orders moving from your sales channels—whether that's Amazon, eBay, Shopify, or any other platform—directly into our systems. This includes real-time order synchronization, automatic status updates, and comprehensive tracking information that keeps everyone informed.

Inbound flows work in the opposite direction, pushing inventory updates, purchase order tracking, and stock level synchronization back to your systems. This ensures your sales channels always reflect accurate inventory levels, preventing overselling and stockouts.

For more complex setups, bidirectional flows enable two-way data exchange with real-time synchronization and automated data transformation. This is particularly valuable when you need your systems and ours to stay perfectly in sync across multiple touchpoints.

2. Integration Points

Your integration connects three key points in your fulfillment ecosystem. Channels are your sales touchpoints—the e-commerce platforms like Amazon, eBay, and Shopify where customers place orders, as well as any other order sources and inventory sync points you're using.

When your setup requires it, middleware acts as the intelligent layer between your channels and our systems. This could be your existing WMS, an ERP system, or a custom integration hub that handles data transformation, routing logic, and system coordination.

Finally, Spreetail Systems—our Linnworks WMS, fulfillment operations, and customer portal—complete the connection, ensuring your orders are processed, fulfilled, and tracked efficiently.

3. Data Types

The integration handles three primary data types that keep your fulfillment operations running smoothly. Orders include everything from initial creation and updates to status tracking and cancellation handling. Inventory data covers stock levels, SKU information, and multi-location tracking across all your fulfillment centers. Purchase Orders manage inbound deliveries, track PO status, and handle stock reconciliation to ensure accurate inventory counts.

Choosing Your Integration Flow

Decision Factors

Choosing the right integration flow starts with understanding your current situation and future needs. Let's walk through the key considerations together.

Technical Considerations

First, let's look at your existing systems. Do you already have a WMS or middleware in place? What systems are you currently using to manage orders, inventory, and fulfillment? Understanding your technical capability and infrastructure is crucial—some flows require more technical sophistication than others, and we want to make sure you're set up for success.

Business Requirements

Next, consider your business model. Is Spreetail your only fulfillment provider, or do you work with multiple fulfillment partners? How many fulfillment partners are you managing? Your order volume matters too—are you processing hundreds of orders per day, or thousands? These factors will help determine whether you need a simple direct connection or a more sophisticated routing system.

Operational Needs

Finally, think about your operational preferences and growth plans. Do you need automated routing to send orders to different fulfillment providers based on rules you define? Or can you handle some manual order management? Perhaps most importantly, what does your growth trajectory look like? The integration flow you choose today should support not just where you are, but where you're going.

Quick Decision Guide

If you're looking for a quick answer, here's a simple guide: If you don't have a WMS and Spreetail is your only fulfillment provider, Direct Integration is your best bet. If you don't have a WMS but work with multiple providers, consider Direct Integration with Filtering. If you already have a WMS or middleware and work with multiple providers, Custom Integration will give you the flexibility you need. And if you're already using Linnworks as your WMS, Linnworks to Linnworks integration offers the smoothest experience.

Integration Flow Benefits

Real-Time Synchronization

All of our integration flows provide real-time synchronization that keeps your systems and ours perfectly aligned. You'll receive live inventory updates the moment stock levels change, real-time order status information so you always know where orders stand, instant tracking information as packages move through the fulfillment process, and up-to-date metrics that give you a clear picture of your operations.

Operational Visibility

With the right integration flow, you'll have complete visibility into your fulfillment operations. This means comprehensive order lifecycle tracking from the moment an order is placed until it's delivered, continuous inventory level monitoring across all locations, performance metrics that help you identify trends and opportunities, and delivery status updates that keep you and your customers informed.

Scalability

Perhaps one of the most important benefits is scalability. The integration flows we offer are designed to grow with you. They can handle increasing order volumes as your business expands, support multiple sales channels simultaneously, enable expansion into new markets without major system changes, and easily accommodate new fulfillment partners when needed.

Getting Started

Step 1: Assess Your Needs

The first step is taking an honest look at your current setup. Start by listing all your existing systems—your WMS, ERP, order management tools, and any middleware you're using. Identify all your fulfillment providers and understand how you're currently routing orders. Determine your technical capabilities and resources, and clearly define what you need from an integration. This assessment will guide you toward the right flow.

Step 2: Choose Your Flow

Once you understand your needs, use our Integration Flow Guide to dive deeper. You can compare integration types side-by-side, review detailed flowcharts that show exactly how data moves through each system, understand the specific requirements for each flow, and see real-world use cases that might match your situation.

Step 3: Contact Support

When you're ready to move forward, reach out to our integration team. Send an email to [email protected] with the subject line "Integration Flow Consultation" and include your business requirements and current setup. Our team will review your situation and provide personalized recommendations.

Step 4: Implementation

Once we've agreed on the right flow, we'll work together to set up your integration. This includes configuring your systems to connect with ours, testing the integration thoroughly to ensure everything works as expected, and going live with confidence. We'll be with you every step of the way.

Integration Flow Comparison

Here's a side-by-side comparison to help you understand the differences between each flow:

Common Integration Patterns

Pattern 1: Single Channel, Single Provider

If you're running a single e-commerce channel and Spreetail is your sole fulfillment provider, Direct Integration is perfect for you. This pattern offers the simplest, most streamlined setup with minimal complexity and maximum reliability.

Pattern 2: Multiple Channels, Single Provider

When you're selling across multiple channels—maybe Amazon, eBay, and your own Shopify store—but Spreetail handles all your fulfillment, Direct Integration still works beautifully. You'll benefit from centralized order management while maintaining the simplicity of a direct connection.

Pattern 3: Multiple Channels, Multiple Providers

If you're managing multiple sales channels and working with multiple fulfillment providers, you'll need either Custom Integration or Direct Integration with Filtering. The choice depends on whether you have existing middleware to handle routing logic, or if you prefer a simpler setup with manual order routing.

Pattern 4: Enterprise with Existing WMS

For large-scale operations with existing WMS or middleware and complex routing requirements, Custom Integration is the way to go. This pattern gives you the flexibility and sophistication needed for enterprise-level fulfillment operations.

Integration Flow Best Practices

1. Start Simple

Our best advice? Start with the simplest flow that meets your current needs. You can always upgrade to more complex flows as you grow. There's no need to over-engineer your initial setup—simplicity often leads to better reliability and easier maintenance.

2. Plan for Growth

While starting simple is important, you should also choose a flow that can scale with your business. Consider your future requirements—will you be adding channels? Expanding to new markets? Working with additional fulfillment partners? Build flexibility into your setup from the beginning.

3. Ensure Data Quality

Data quality is the foundation of a successful integration. Make sure you're validating data before sending it to us, implement robust error handling to catch and resolve issues quickly, and monitor data quality continuously to maintain accuracy over time.

4. Maintain Documentation

Keep detailed documentation of your integration setup. Track all your configurations, note any customizations or special handling, and update your documentation as systems change. This will save you time and headaches down the road.

5. Monitor Performance

Don't set it and forget it. Track your integration metrics regularly, monitor error rates to catch issues early, and use the data you collect to optimize your operations. The insights you gain will help you make better decisions and improve efficiency.

Support and Resources

Need Help?

Our integration team is here to assist you every step of the way. Whether you need help choosing the right flow, setting up your integration, troubleshooting issues, or optimizing your setup, we're available during business hours (CET) to provide the support you need.

You can reach us at [email protected] for integration setup, troubleshooting, and optimization assistance.

Documentation

We've created comprehensive documentation to help you succeed. Our Integration Flow Guide provides detailed flow documentation, while our Getting Started Guide will help you begin your integration journey. Learn about API authentication with our Authentication Guide, and get a high-level view of our architecture with the API Overview.

Related Guides

For more specific guidance, check out our guides on Creating Orders, Checking Inventory, Error Handling, and Best Practices. These resources will help you make the most of your integration.

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Ready to Choose Your Integration Flow? Explore the detailed guides for each integration type or contact [email protected] for personalized recommendations.