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ERP integrationCustom and proprietary systems

Custom and proprietary ERP integrations for ecommerce.

Most complex operators run a mix of mainstream ERPs and bespoke or proprietary systems that grew alongside the business. iWeb integrates ecommerce with these systems using the same integration principles, without pretending every estate looks the same.
600+
Commerce projects
40+
Engineers · on staff
31
Years · ERP integration
1995
Founded
Contents · 6 sections
  1. 01Data flows iWeb integrates
  2. 02Selected case studies.
  3. 03How custom and proprietary ERPs fit the operational estate.
  4. 04Questions we get asked.
  5. 05Clients we build for.
  6. 06Where this fits in the wider estate.
01 · Data flows iWeb integrates

Data flows iWeb integrates

A system nobody else integrates with
Proprietary or in-house ERPs without a published API. iWeb scopes the boundary, picks a viable integration surface and writes the contract down.
Legacy systems that cannot move
Systems pinned to old runtimes, version-locked or dependent on internal tooling. The storefront integrates without forcing an ERP rebuild.
Mixed estates
A mainstream ERP plus several auxiliary operational systems (pricing engine, branch tool, depot system). iWeb maps the actual data ownership rather than the org chart.
Pricing and stock under load
Customer-specific pricing and live stock by location, cached at storefront read time so customers see availability without hammering the ERP.
Orders, invoices and statements
Bidirectional flow between storefront and ERP so account customers see the same numbers as the finance team.
Failure modes named upfront
Every integration has failure modes. iWeb names them, monitors them and writes the runbook before launch, not after.
Integration surface discovery
Scoping the actual integration surface (database views, message queues, exports, middleware adapters) when no public API exists.
Middleware ownership
iPaaS, message-bus or point-to-point patterns chosen against the operation, with named owners on both sides.
Real-time vs scheduled sync
Decide what is real-time, what is near-real-time and what is scheduled, and write it down so support can reason about it.
Takeover of inherited integrations
Audit and stabilise inherited custom integrations before any rebuild work - document first, then improve.
PIM and content handoff
Clean separation between custom ERP (commercial data) and PIM (enriched product data) so neither owns the other.
Hosting, monitoring and runbooks
Queues, retries, dead-letter handling, alerts and a written runbook the on-call team can act on, so failures in a bespoke surface are seen, not silently lost.
02 · Related work
03 · Custom ERP integration context

How custom and proprietary ERPs fit the operational estate.

Discovering the real integration surface
When no public API exists, iWeb scopes the surface that does: database views, exports, file drops, message queues, middleware adapters and internal services. The contract is written down before anything is built against it.
Boundary against a single-vendor build
Bespoke ERPs and in-house systems typically have a single team behind them. The integration is designed so the storefront does not absorb internal vendor risk if that team is unavailable.
Mixed estates
A mainstream ERP plus several auxiliary operational systems (pricing engine, branch tool, depot system). iWeb maps the actual data ownership rather than the org chart.
Customer-specific pricing under load
Account-level pricing and live stock cached at storefront read time so the bespoke system is not hammered by every product page load.
Orders, invoices, statements
Bidirectional flow between storefront and the custom ERP so account customers see the same numbers as the finance team and the operations team.
Real-time vs scheduled sync
Decide what is real-time, what is near-real-time and what is scheduled, and write it down so support and the on-call team can reason about it.
Middleware ownership
iPaaS, message-bus or point-to-point patterns chosen against the operation, with named owners on both sides and the integration contract versioned.
Failure modes named upfront
Every integration has failure modes. iWeb names them, monitors them and writes the runbook before launch, not after the first major incident.
PIM and content handoff
Clean separation between custom ERP (commercial data) and PIM (enriched product data) so neither owns the other and the model can evolve independently.
Compliance and audit trail
Order, invoice and credit note flow traceable across storefront, middleware and the custom system, with retention and audit hooks honoured against finance requirements.
Hosting, release and ownership
Release process tied to live trading, ownership written down across storefront, middleware and ERP, and a named senior owner on both sides of the boundary.
Takeover of inherited integrations
Inherited custom integrations audited, stabilised and documented before any larger change. The first month on support is deliberately conservative on change.
04 · Questions we get asked

Questions we get asked.

Does iWeb integrate with ERPs that are not on the main list?

Yes. The main ERP pages cover the systems iWeb sees most often. Custom and proprietary ERPs use the same integration principles, with scope and viability defined upfront.

What if the ERP has no public API?

iWeb works the integration surface that does exist: database views, exports, message queues or middleware adapters. The integration contract is written down and versioned so the storefront does not own ERP semantics.

Will iWeb force a replatform of the ERP?

No. The storefront integrates with the ERP that runs the business today. Any future ERP change is a separate decision, not a side effect of the ecommerce project.

How is a custom integration kept stable in support?

Integration is monitored as a first-class part of the platform: error budgets, retries, dead-letter queues, alerts and a written runbook the on-call team can act on.

Can you integrate multiple operational systems at once?

Yes. Mixed estates are common: a main ERP plus auxiliary systems for pricing, branch operations or depots. iWeb maps actual data ownership rather than the org chart and integrates each surface deliberately.

What data usually moves between a custom ERP and ecommerce?

The same shape as a mainstream ERP: pricing, stock, accounts, orders, dispatch confirmations, invoices and credit notes. The flows are named the same way; the connectors and contracts differ per system.

How does iWeb scope a custom ERP integration?

A short discovery on the integration surface: what API, database view, export or queue exists, what guarantees it gives, and who owns it. The integration contract is written down and versioned before code is committed.

Can a custom ERP connect to a PIM such as Akeneo?

Yes. The PIM keeps responsibility for attributes, media and channel rules. The custom ERP keeps pricing, stock and accounts. Both feed the commerce platform through governed connectors.

Can a custom ERP support B2B trade accounts online?

Yes. Account customers can see contracted pricing, credit position and account-only catalogues backed by the custom ERP, with credit limits honoured at checkout. The pattern is the same as on a mainstream ERP.

How is cost and risk handled when the ERP surface is unknown?

Discovery is contracted first as a fixed piece. The integration build is then bracketed against what the discovery actually found, not against a default assumption. iWeb will say if the surface cannot safely support the operational brief.

How is hosting and release governed around a bespoke ERP?

Release process tied to live trading, with monitoring across storefront, middleware and the custom system, and a named senior owner on both sides of the boundary so incidents have a route to resolution.

What happens if the team behind the bespoke ERP is unavailable?

The integration is designed so the storefront does not absorb internal vendor risk. The contract is versioned, fallbacks are written down, and the runbook covers operating without the ERP team for a defined window.

Accreditations & assurance
Gold Commerce Partner
Specialised in Commerce & AI
ISO certified
27001 · 9001 · 42001
Cyber Essentials Plus
Independently verified security
WCAG 2.2 AA
Accessibility embedded by design
Employee-owned
The same team, long term
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