use Commerce Cloud HOT Folders for EDI and cXML orders

[shastrisapcom]

Hi,

Has anyone used the commerce hot folders to integrate EDI and cXML orders?

[adamreisberg]

_{shastrisapcom yes, I've done this, and I recommend you proceed with caution.}

For cXML coupled with a modern CCV2 / SAP Commerce (~2205), I recommend utilizing the b2bpunchoutocc Extension. This follows common integration patterns used by major procurement platforms.

For EDI, it depends (and where I recommend you proceed with caution). Here's some things to consider with the integration when looking to customize the Cloud Hot Folder process:

1. Which EDI standard are you using (EDIFACT vs. ANSI X12)?
2. Is it standard EDI or an XML variant?
3. What Commerce item type are you importing?

While the Cloud Hot Folder process can process almost any flat file import, the CCV2 Commerce Hot Folder workflow is optimized for CSV (Comma-Separated-Values) to Commerce Item type import.

In an ideal implementation, I would recommend a middleware that can transform the EDI data to a format that can be processed by the Inbound Integration API rather than the Cloud Hot Folder process. This keeps the Commerce platform focused on commerce-related activity, while allowing the middleware to correctly convert the data over to a format that the Commerce platform can process via configuration rather than customization.