New E-commerce Edge: SAP B1 Integration with Magento

Open source technologies have been disrupting software eco-systems for more than a decade. Linux came to challenge the monopoly of PC operating sytem first. Then, it became the de-facto standard of shared web hosting.

Now Open Source is challenging one of the most established income generating businesses online. Open Source is becoming the front end of choice for prestigious B2B e-commerce. SAP B1 has proven its excellence as an affordable ERP package for medium enterprises. It was also available on the web via an SAP SDK package that dominated that market for few years. However, this package is outdated and not able to keep up with the trendy whistles of Web 2.0.

Now, Magento is disrupting this eco-system and dominating this huge market though it is still in its early years. Magento has emerged suddenly in this market and jumped to high steps on its technology development ladder. Developers thought first that it will be another alternative for low end shopping cart (like the dying OsCommerce). However, Magento developers had a different vision. They wanted to lead and they were able to achieve that. They were acquired by eBay few months ago and now disrupting the whole commerce 2.0 market with their X.commerce platforme.

How to connect Magento with SAP B1?

There are various alternatives such as

1. SOB-e-Connect 
2. MAG-B1

However, each one of them is lacking some features that are extremely important for B2B suppliers. B2B market does not only need a shopping cart. They need:

1. a mirrored dynamic system that is able to categorize the clients, 
2. recognize their priviledges, 
3. guess their price levels 
4. and finally treat them WELL.

SAP B1 is a leader in its field. Magento on the other hand is another leader. However, the integration of both packages still need further work. I will be discussing some of these needs in future posts.