CSM - Introduction

We have created CSM to be a feature-rich middle-ware solution that connects Business Central to the Marketplace/eCommerce platform of your choice.

We currently have integrations built to connect Business Central with: Amazon, Walmart, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Magento/Adobe.

Our core focus is Order Management and Listings Management to give your business the ability to leverage these powerful platforms. Some platforms have addon products to further leverage features.

General Terms

API

• The term API means Application Programming Interface. An API is a set of rules or protocols that enables software applications to communicate with each other to exchange data, features and functionality.

Endpoint

• When described alongside APIs, an Endpoint is a destination (usually a website URL) that a source set of API code connects to and passes data and instructions through that address.

Scopes

• Scopes in an API connection refers to types or categories of functions that are permitted to be used within the API connection.

Client ID, Client Secret and Token

• The combination of Client ID, Client Secret and Token are all permission based values that authorize your API call and allow the systems to permit. They are all progressively more private/critical than the prior.

CSM Specific Terms

API Sets

• Look at the API Set as a master container to hold a set of API Credentials

• You can access your API Sets by choose the Magnifying Glass button  at the top-right in Business Central, entering API Sets and selecting the related link
• API Sets have a unique identifier called an API Set Code
• You can have unlimited API Sets in CSM

API Credentials

• API Credentials live inside of a particular API Set

• API Credentials contain key items to connect to an endpoint, such as: Endpoints, Scopes, Client ID, Client Secret and Token
• You can access your API Credentials inside of the API Sets card by selecting your API Set and under the Related option, select API Credentials and then click the API Set Code
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Sales Channel

• We use the term Sales Channel to describe the core configuration that represents the connection between Business Central and your hosted Marketplace or eCommerce platform

• You can access your Sales Channels by choose the Magnifying Glass button  at the top-right in Business Central, entering CSM Sales Channels and selecting the related link
• Sales Channels contain unique configuration rules, customer mapping, item mapping -example: you could setup a Sales Channel for Amazon FBM, one for Shopify B2C and another one for BigCommerce B2B
• Your Sales Channel is linked to your API Set of API Credentials under the API Data section
• You can have unlimited Sales Channels in CSM

To summarize -- this is the relational architecture of CSM:

Next: Installation