Skip to main content
Advantive

Why Your Existing ERP System Needs an API to Make Your Life Easier

By Grace Barton Updated
Why Your Existing ERP System Needs an API to Make Your Life Easier

The digital age has changed how we communicate. From emails to social media, the web connects us to one another. But that’s not all. The web connects our systems as well.

Application programming interface, or most commonly known as API, allows two applications to talk to each other. For example, you may have seen the log-in using Facebook, Twitter, or Google functionality when signing in to websites. Incredibly convenient, but how does it work? The way it works is simple. Every time the application loads, it will use an API to check whether you are already logged in by whatever means you chose. If not, a pop-up will open to confirm your login credentials. In this case, the API gives the application the necessary identification information so it knows who is logging in.

But you may be asking yourself, how does this apply to my organization? If you have third-party solutions to manage your warehouse, eCommerce, or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for example, it’s necessary to have an API to connect all your data sources. Your ERP system is responsible for a significant amount of your operations to improve efficiency, productivity, and visibility. However, for your ERP system to connect with other applications and third-party tools, an API is invariably required. If your organization uses a CRM system, you may want to integrate it into your ERP system to track critical customer data in your ERP and to share financial data contained within the ERP to your CRM. Another use case may involve your quote-to-order system enabling you to sync product data across your CRM and ERP.

When considering APIs, there is one API that excels over the rest for the industry. That is the REST (Representational State Transfer) API. Not only are they easily implemented into existing ERP systems, but also offer better flexible communication and display of information across the web while using less bandwidth so it doesn’t take up valuable resources. Choosing an ERP system that uses a REST API will allow your other applications to easily integrate with your ERP and vice versa. If your ERP system is missing an API, it’ll greatly reduce the scope of what can be done with your system. A REST API will allow you to use many HTTP functions, including GET to access and retrieve your data, PUT to update your data, POST to create a resource, and DELETE to remove a resource. Another added benefit is caching. REST API can cache frequent data requests to ensure you’re maximizing productivity by speeding up your processes even more.

Having the right tools to help your business will lessen the burden of maintaining and using technology. A powerful and simple REST API allows you to tap into the vast resources available to you to ensure that you’re making smarter, data-driven decisions to increase productivity and efficiency on your shop floor.

Modernize Your Processes With Advantzware

Designed to help you connect all your data sources, Advantzware’s robust integration features allow ease-of-deployment across your organization and support your business as it grows. The powerful REST API facilitates communication with other applications and third-party tools, enabling you to programmatically create, update, or read data in different modules. Reach out to us to learn how we can help you seamlessly implement API features to your existing ERP system to connect and transform your business.

Grace Barton

Marketing Specialist

About the Author Latest Posts

Grace Barton is a digital marketing and competitive intelligence professional who crafts strategic narratives by bridging marketing insights with analytical expertise. At Advantive, she creates engaging, data-driven content tailored to the distribution, manufacturing, packaging, and quality industries. Her goal is to deliver impactful messaging that drives engagement and growth based on specific gap closure needs, whether responding to sales organization requirements, pinpointing gaps in content, or meeting immediate market trends.
She thrives on transforming competitive intelligence into actionable insights for the sales organization. Grace manages Advantive’s competitive intelligence platform, Klue, to equip the sales team with the battlecards and market data they need to stay ahead of competitors. Since launch, she’s built 28+ battlecards across four lines of business, ensuring the GTM strategy stays sharp.
Grace has a passion for leveraging market insights with storytelling to guide strategic decision-making, empower sales organizations, and nurture organizational growth.

Areas of Expertise: Digital Marketing, Competitive Intelligence, Strategic Narratives, Marketing Insights, Analytical Expertise

LinkedIn

Editorial standards

Fact-checking & editorial guidelines

Every article on advantive.com is written and reviewed against an internal accuracy standard before publication. Here's what that means in practice.

  • Product claims are verified by the brand team that owns the platform.

    When an article references InfinityQS, WinSPC, PQ Systems, Pinpoint, ParityFactory, ProPlanner, KiwiPlan, DDI System, VeraCore, or any of Advantive's other specialty platforms, the relevant product team checks technical statements about features, deployment, and current capability before the article goes live.

  • External statistics cite their source inline.

    When an article references industry survey results, regulatory benchmarks, or third-party research, the source is linked at the point of citation. Statements without an inline source link are first-party observations drawn from Advantive's product teams or customer base.

  • Publication and revision dates stay visible.

    The original publication date and the most recent revision date are both shown on every article. Topics that change quickly — AI capabilities, regulatory rules, product roadmaps — are revisited on a tighter cadence than evergreen reference content.

  • Corrections are issued openly.

    If a factual error is reported, the article is updated, the revision date advances, and material corrections are noted at the bottom of the article so readers can see what changed and when.

Found something wrong, or have a citation to add? Get in touch with the editorial team and we'll review it.

Subject-matter review

Reviewed by subject-matter experts

Advantive is a portfolio of 14+ specialty software platforms — each one built and maintained by a product team that has spent years inside a specific manufacturing or distribution discipline. Articles in technical channels are reviewed by the relevant team before publication.

  • Quality & SPC content

    Reviewed by the InfinityQS, WinSPC, and PQ Systems product teams — the platforms behind statistical process control, capability analysis, and gage management deployments across food, automotive, pharma, and CPG manufacturers.

  • Manufacturing operations & MES content

    Reviewed by the PINpoint, ProPlanner, ParityFactory, and VIA Information Tools teams, whose platforms run production scheduling, traceability, and shop-floor execution for discrete, automotive, and food-and-beverage manufacturers.

  • Packaging & converter content

    Reviewed by the KiwiPlan, Abaca, and AdvantZware teams, who build software specifically for corrugated, folding-carton, and packaging-converter operations.

  • Distribution, ERP & B2B commerce content

    Reviewed by the DDI System (inFORM ERP), Distribution One, VeraCore, Pepperi, and Commerce Vision teams, whose platforms run wholesale ERP, fulfillment, field sales, and B2B portals for specialty distributors and 3PLs.

Are you a practitioner with domain expertise to contribute? Get in touch — we accept guest contributions from operators in the industries we serve.