Case Study
Replacing a Manual ERP Process with a Real Integration
A specialty chemical manufacturer was exporting data from their ERP into Excel and manually importing it into Salesforce. We fixed that, with a health check that exposed the problem clearly and a custom API integration that eliminated it entirely.
The Challenge
The company runs Datacor as their ERP, a system purpose-built for chemical manufacturers that handles orders, products, and production tracking. Salesforce handled the sales side. The problem was that nothing moved between the two automatically.
Every order had to be exported from Datacor into Excel, then manually imported into Salesforce. Two systems, two data-entry cycles, and no guarantee they agreed with each other. The process was slow, error-prone, and entirely dependent on someone doing the work correctly every time.
There was another layer to it. The existing import process tied order lines to batch numbers — which meant that if batch data wasn't yet available, the order line couldn't come in at all. Sales users were either working with incomplete order information or wading through batch-level detail they had no use for. Either way, the picture they had of what was actually happening with an order wasn't accurate.
With the company expanding operations globally, the manual approach wasn't going to scale. Before building anything new, they needed an honest look at where the existing org stood.
The Solution
We approached this in two phases: first a health check to understand what we were working with, then a focused integration to replace the manual process with something that runs on its own.
Salesforce Health Check: Know What You're Working With
Before adding anything to an org, it's worth understanding what's already there. We evaluated the existing setup, profiles, permission sets, configuration patterns, and anything that looked like technical debt. The goal was to find the misconfigurations and shortcuts that accumulate over time and surface them before they became integration blockers.
The health check produced a clear findings report with prioritized recommendations. Some issues were addressed as part of the project. Others were documented for the client to work through over time. Either way, the integration was going into a cleaner, better-understood org than the one we found.
Custom API Integration: Datacor to Salesforce, Automated
The company's Datacor implementation is managed by a separate external consultant. Rather than rebuild what they already owned, we built the Salesforce side of the connection: a set of API endpoints using the Salesforce Composite API that the Datacor consultant could call to push data in on an hourly schedule.
The batch number dependency was removed entirely. Order lines now sync based on their own unique identifiers, meaning data moves into Salesforce as soon as it exists in Datacor, regardless of batch status. Sales users see complete order information without waiting for production to catch up.
The integration handles orders, order lines, and products in a single composite call — creating or updating records as needed using shared external IDs to keep both systems in sync. Accounts and contacts are matched using legacy IDs from Datacor, so the data lands on the right records without manual reconciliation.
We also built a custom error-logging object so that when something doesn't sync correctly, it's visible and actionable rather than silently missing. The team knows immediately when something needs attention, and they have the context to fix it.
The Results
What replaced a fragile, manual, twice-a-day export process is a lightweight integration that runs on its own, feeds clean data into a cleaner org, and gives the sales team a complete picture of every order without asking them to do anything extra.
Manual Exports Eliminated
Data moves from Datacor to Salesforce automatically on an hourly schedule. No spreadsheets, no imports, no one manually bridging two systems.
Complete Order Data, Without the Wait
Removing the batch number dependency means order lines arrive as soon as they exist, no more partial visibility while production catches up.
Client Profile
Industry:
Specialty Chemical Manufacturing
Size:
100 - 150 Employees
Solutions Implemented:
Custom Integration
Engagement Type:
SOW Implementation