Integrations

    ERP, EDI and Enterprise Integrations

    An invoice process is only as useful as its connection to the systems that hold the data. This page explains how Drelo.ai is integrated into enterprise landscapes — the ERP, EDI, API, file-based and middleware patterns involved, what each is suited to, and how the right combination is chosen for a specific environment.

    EDIAPIFile-basedMiddlewareSAP-first experience
    See AP Automation

    Integration architecture

    Integration architecture is the set of decisions about how data moves: which system is the source of truth for each object, which direction data flows, how often, through which channel, and what happens when a transfer fails. Those decisions matter more than the transport technology itself.

    In an invoice process, the data flows are usually narrow and well defined. Drelo.ai needs reference data to validate and match against, and the target system needs a prepared, validated invoice record back.

    Typical flows

    • ·Inbound reference data: vendor master data, purchase orders, receipts, items, tax and company codes
    • ·Inbound documents: PDF and image invoices, and structured EDI invoice messages
    • ·Outbound results: validated invoice records prepared for the target system
    • ·Outbound status: processing state, exceptions and their resolution

    Integration architecture depends on the landscape and implementation requirements. The same process can be delivered over very different plumbing depending on what your IT organisation already runs and governs.

    Source channels → Drelo.ai → enterprise systems
    Source channels
    • EDI messages
    • API delivery
    • Files
    • PDF and scanned documents
    Drelo.ai
    • Capture and extraction
    • Normalisation
    • Validation
    • Exception routing
    Enterprise systems
    • SAP ECC
    • SAP S/4HANA
    • Other ERP environments where supported

    SAP is the primary enterprise integration context. Other ERP environments are assessed per implementation; no native certified connectors are claimed for them.

    How an integration is established

    Assessment to operation
    STEP 01
    Assess

    Systems, versions, ownership and existing interfaces are reviewed.

    STEP 02
    Choose pattern

    The integration method is selected per data flow, not per project.

    STEP 03
    Map

    Fields, codes and identifiers are mapped between the systems.

    STEP 04
    Secure

    Credentials, transport and access scope are agreed with IT.

    STEP 05
    Test

    Real documents are run through in a non-production environment.

    STEP 06
    Operate

    Monitoring, error handling and change process are handed over.

    System map, summarised
    01
    Input channels

    EDI messages, API calls, file transfers and document invoices arriving from suppliers and internal systems.

    02
    Integration patterns

    API, middleware, EDI or file-based exchange, selected per landscape rather than presented as a fixed connector list.

    03
    Enterprise systems

    SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA and other enterprise ERP environments, assessed per landscape before anything is committed.

    No native connector is implied for any environment that has not been assessed.

    SAP environments first

    Drelo.ai is built by EDI & SAP Solutions SRL, and SAP-centric landscapes are where our experience is deepest. In practice that means familiarity with how purchase orders, receipts, vendor master data and financial documents actually behave in SAP, and with the ways SAP systems are integrated in real organisations — not only in principle.

    That expertise is the reason SAP takes priority on this page. It is not a certification claim: we do not state that Drelo.ai is SAP-certified, and integration architecture still depends on the specific SAP landscape and implementation requirements. The SAP AP automation page covers this in more detail.

    What varies between SAP landscapes

    • ·Whether the system is SAP ECC or SAP S/4HANA, and which release
    • ·Deployment model — on-premise, hosted or cloud — and how it is reached
    • ·Which integration technologies are already in use and governed internally
    • ·How company codes, plants and organisational structures are set up
    • ·Existing customisation around purchasing and invoice verification
    • ·Internal policy on what external systems may read and write

    Other enterprise ERP environments

    Drelo.ai can be integrated with other enterprise ERP environments where supported by the implementation. What that requires is unremarkable: a dependable way to read the reference data matching needs, and a dependable way to deliver validated invoice data back.

    We deliberately do not advertise native integrations for Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics or NetSuite. Saying so would suggest something pre-built and immediately available, and we would rather establish feasibility against your actual system and its available interfaces — a conversation that produces a real answer instead of a logo on a page.

    What we assess for a non-SAP environment

    • ·Which interfaces the system exposes, and which your licence and policy permit
    • ·How master data and purchasing documents can be read reliably
    • ·How prepared invoice data can be delivered, and what the system validates itself
    • ·Whether an integration platform or middleware already sits in front of it
    • ·Who owns the interface, and how changes to it are governed

    Integration patterns, conceptually

    Four patterns cover almost every enterprise integration. None is universally better; each suits different constraints, and a single project often uses more than one.

    API integration

    The systems call each other directly over defined service interfaces. Well suited to near-real-time reads and confirmations. Depends on suitable interfaces being exposed, reachable and permitted.

    EDI message exchange

    Structured business documents are exchanged in agreed formats over agreed transports. The natural route for supplier invoice intake at volume — see EDI invoice automation.

    File-based integration

    Data moves as files over a secure transfer mechanism on a schedule. Often the pragmatic option in restricted landscapes, and frequently the fastest way to get a first flow live.

    Middleware / integration platform

    An existing integration layer mediates between systems, handling routing, transformation and monitoring centrally. Where one exists and is governed, it is usually the right path to use.

    What is true of all of them

    • ·Field and code mapping has to be defined explicitly, not assumed
    • ·Failures must be visible and retryable, not silent
    • ·Identifiers must be stable enough to reconcile documents across systems
    • ·Access must be scoped to the data the process actually needs
    • ·Changes on either side need a change process, or the interface degrades over time
    Integration method matrix
    MethodWhat movesWhere it usually fits
    EDIStructured business documents in agreed formats over agreed transports.Supplier invoice intake at volume.
    APIDirect calls over defined service interfaces.Near-real-time reads and confirmations, where interfaces are exposed and permitted.
    File-basedStructured files over a secure transfer mechanism on a schedule.Restricted landscapes, and the fastest route to a first live flow.
    MiddlewareAn existing integration layer routes, transforms and monitors.Organisations that already centralise integration governance.

    Conceptual methods. Which apply — and in which combination — is determined during scoping.

    Describing these patterns conceptually is intentional. Listing every method as delivered out-of-the-box for every landscape would not be accurate; what is delivered is determined during scoping.

    Mapping and master data

    Most integration effort is not transport — it is agreeing what a value means on each side. Supplier identifiers, item references, units of measure, tax codes, currencies and company structures all have to line up before comparison logic can work.

    • ·Resolving the invoicing party to a single vendor record
    • ·Mapping supplier article references to your item or material numbers where needed
    • ·Normalising units of measure so quantities are comparable
    • ·Mapping tax codes and rates to your own tax configuration
    • ·Handling multiple currencies and conversion consistently
    • ·Routing by company code, entity or plant where the landscape requires it

    Gaps here surface as exceptions rather than as silent errors, which is the correct behaviour — but they are also the most common source of avoidable exception volume, so mapping deserves attention early.

    Supplier collaboration beyond AP and invoicing

    Drelo.ai is focused on invoice and accounts-payable processing. Organisations whose requirements extend further into supplier collaboration — WebEDI for suppliers without EDI capability, a supplier portal, ASN/DESADV and logistics messages, quality documents and supplier onboarding — can look at ESS Hub, a separate product developed by EDI & SAP Solutions SRL.

    The two products address different scopes: Drelo.ai handles AP and invoice automation, while wider supplier collaboration belongs to the other product. Mentioning it here is simply so that a broader requirement finds the right place to look.

    Security and governance of interfaces

    Integration touches financial and supplier data, so access, transport and separation of environments are part of the design rather than an afterthought. Access is scoped to the data the process needs, and interfaces are tested in non-production before production use.

    Specific security requirements — what your IT organisation needs documented, reviewed or assessed — are addressed per customer. See security and data handling for how we handle that, and what we will and will not claim without confirmation.

    Frequently asked questions

    Which ERP systems can Drelo.ai integrate with?

    Our practical depth is in SAP environments, which is where EDI & SAP Solutions SRL has worked for years. Drelo.ai can also be integrated with other enterprise ERP environments where the implementation supports it — which is a genuine statement about scope rather than a shortlist of pre-built connectors, and we would rather establish feasibility for your specific landscape than imply something is ready out of the box.

    Do you have native connectors for Oracle, Dynamics or NetSuite?

    We do not publish native-integration claims for those systems. Where a project involves them, integration is assessed against that specific environment and the interfaces available in it, using the general patterns described on this page.

    How long does integration take?

    That depends on how many systems are involved, the state of the master data, who owns the interfaces and how testing is organised. It is scoped during the assessment rather than quoted as a standard duration, because the variable that dominates is usually your landscape, not the software.

    Does Drelo.ai replace our middleware?

    No. Where middleware or an integration platform already exists and is governed, it is normally the right route to use rather than bypass. Drelo.ai fits into the integration landscape you already run.

    Can we start with file-based integration and change later?

    Yes, and it is a common sequence. A file-based flow can get a process live while a deeper interface is prepared. Because the internal invoice record is normalised, changing the transport does not mean redefining validation and process logic.

    Who owns the interface once it is live?

    That is agreed explicitly during implementation, including monitoring, error notification and the change process, so that responsibility is clear before anything runs in production.

    Discuss your landscape

    Tell us which systems are involved, who owns the interfaces and what integration technology you already run. We will set out which patterns fit and what would need to be confirmed.