If you retype every online order into a supplier portal or an email, you already know the cost: time, typos and customers asking where their order is. The fix is an integration that moves orders, stock levels and tracking between your store and your supplier automatically.
Which kind of integration you need depends mostly on how your supplier accepts orders. Here are the four common options.
Step one: how your store tells the world about new orders
Most modern storefronts can announce events, such as a new order, the moment they happen. Shopify, for example, uses webhooks to keep connected apps in sync with store data instead of having them check repeatedly for changes. WooCommerce, Square and others offer similar tools. This is the starting point for every option below.
Option 1: A direct API connection
If your supplier offers an API, orders can be sent to them directly and confirmations, stock levels and tracking numbers can be read back. This is usually the fastest and most reliable option.
Option 2: EDI
Larger suppliers and retailers often require EDI, a set of standard electronic documents. In North America these are the X12 transaction sets, including:
- 850: Purchase Order
- 855: Purchase Order Acknowledgment
- 856: Ship Notice/Manifest
- 810: Invoice
Option 3: CSV files over SFTP
Many suppliers without an API can still accept a spreadsheet-style file of orders on a schedule, and drop back a file of shipments and stock levels. It is less instant than an API, but very dependable when set up carefully.
Option 4: Formatted emails
When a supplier only takes orders by email, orders can still be sent automatically in a consistent format. A parser can then read the supplier's confirmation and tracking replies and update your store.
What to automate, whichever option you choose
- Routing each new order to the right supplier
- Syncing stock levels and prices back to your store
- Writing tracking numbers back to the order
- Sending tracking messages to the customer
- Alerting a person about backorders, failed payments and address problems
How to choose
Start by asking your supplier how they prefer to receive orders and what they can send back. Then map which fields each system holds, how often stock changes, and what should happen when something goes wrong. That mapping, written down before any build, is what makes an integration reliable.
Our integration picker shows the likely approach for your store, supplier and carrier in a few clicks, and every Andreon integration starts with an assessment that produces exactly that mapping.
Sources
Sources checked on October 17, 2026.
Related service: Ordering and shipping integration