Shop Integration for Braunschweig's Technology and Industrial Hub

The automotive cluster in the Braunschweig-Wolfsburg-Salzgitter triangle is among the densest in Europe. Suppliers across various tier levels are located in the direct catchment area and deliver on JIT/JIS principles. Their shop integrations must not only synchronize product master data but also process delivery schedules via EDI channels (EDIFACT, VDA 4913, ODETTE) and return order and shipping status in real time to customer systems. Errors in this chain cost not just money but jeopardize supplier qualifications.

At the same time, TU Braunschweig is an important driver of technology-minded start-ups and spin-offs. Companies from the university ecosystem often grow quickly and need scalable integration solutions that grow with the business. We have experience with both the complex legacy landscapes of established suppliers and the modern cloud ERP environments of growing technology companies. Both worlds demand different integration approaches, and we know both from our daily work.

Every integration project begins with an honest assessment: which systems are in use, how do data flows work today, and where do breaks occur? In the Braunschweig area, we encounter characteristic patterns that reflect the industrial character of the location and for which we bring proven approaches.

System integration in an industrial environment is not a remote service. Interface requirements do not emerge from specifications; they emerge on the shop floor, in warehouses and engineering offices. How is a drawing change notification mapped in the ERP? Why does the product master have three different units for the same component? How are serial numbers tracked across production, warehouse and shop dispatch? These questions can be resolved in an on-site workshop in a few hours. Via email correspondence, they cost weeks.

Our office is in Söhlde in the Hildesheim district, approximately 40 minutes by car from Braunschweig. For requirements workshops, system analyses and go-live support, we regularly visit clients in Braunschweig, Salzgitter, the Braunschweig-Süd motorway interchange area and the broader region. This proximity matters most during critical project phases: when an unexpected interface issue blocks production or dispatch after go-live, we can sit with your IT team in front of the system within 45 minutes.

We build shop integrations on a middleware architecture that operates as an independent layer between shop and ERP. Instead of wiring the shop directly to the ERP, all data flows pass through a controlled intermediary that handles transformations, validations and error handling. This sounds like added overhead but actually reduces overall complexity substantially: when the ERP changes, for example during an S/4HANA upgrade or a migration to Microsoft Dynamics, only the middleware needs adjustment, not the entire shop stack.

In automotive environments where suppliers typically receive orders from multiple OEMs with different EDI standards, the middleware architecture pays off especially well. Each customer-specific standard is mapped in the middleware as its own transformation profile. The ERP sees only a single, uniform interface and does not need to handle the diversity of external formats. The API development is modular and version-stable, ensuring later adaptations do not trigger cascading effects.

Braunschweig machine builders and automotive suppliers maintain product masters of exceptional depth: technical attributes per DIN standards, drawing numbers, material specifications, customs tariff numbers and hazardous material classifications are standard. When this data is incomplete or inconsistent in the ERP, the shop integration fails not because of the technology but because of the data foundation. In established Braunschweig company structures that have existed for decades, product master data quality is regularly the decisive hurdle on the path to successful online sales.

That is why every integration project begins with a structured data quality analysis: how complete is the product master data? Are there duplicate customer numbers from different system generations? Do units of measure match between ERP, warehouse and shop? Are all tax-relevant fields correctly maintained, especially customs tariff numbers for exports? Based on this analysis, we create a clean-up plan and support your team through data migration. This step requires time but prevents downstream costs that would be many times larger.

For companies in the Braunschweig economic region, the combination of technical integration depth and regional on-site service means: you have a partner who understands both the standards of the automotive cluster and the IT specifics of your organization. Whether SAP connectivity, DATEV integration or connection to customer EDI systems: we accompany your project from the initial analysis through to long-term support after go-live.