Integration of Business Central and Field Service
Client Overview:
The client is a top-tier coach and bus manufacturer from France, dedicated to designing solutions that prioritize both people and the environment, while shaping the future of smart mobility.
The Challenge:
The challenge was to integrate data between Business Central and Field Service, handling a vast amount of data daily. Sending all the data, including metadata, to the field service would take an excessive amount of time, which was not feasible for the client. Therefore, we were tasked with creating a two-way integration that was fast, efficient, and capable of handling immense amounts of data seamlessly.
The Solution:
To overcome the challenge, we followed the following steps:
- Developed a custom API on both sides to retrieve only the necessary data, excluding excessive data and metadata.
- Created a Power Automate flow to trigger every 5 minutes, bringing only the data that had been modified on the respective day.
- Replaced the out-of-the-box Business Central connector with the HTTP request connector for faster data retrieval.
- The HTTP request connector reduced the time required to call the API and bring in the data.
- Updated data in Field Service after retrieving it from Business Central.
- Implemented the same integration process for data transfer from Field Service to Business Central.
Other features:
- Custom Data Filtering: The integration focuses on fetching only the relevant data, avoiding unnecessary data and metadata, which helps optimize performance.
- Real-time Updates: The system updates data in near real-time with a 5-minute interval for triggering data flows, ensuring timely synchronization.
- Optimized Data Retrieval: By using the HTTP request connector instead of the standard Business Central connector, the system ensures faster data calls, enhancing overall efficiency.
- Bidirectional Integration: The solution supports two-way data transfer, ensuring smooth communication between Business Central and Field Service.
- Efficient Data Handling: By limiting the scope to modified data only, the integration reduces the load, making it scalable and more manageable.
- Seamless Data Synchronization: Data is consistently updated in both systems (Business Central and Field Service), ensuring accuracy and consistency across platforms.
Result:
The integration improved the client’s business by streamlining operations, reducing delays, and cutting data handling costs. Real-time updates enhanced decision-making and field service response times. By keeping systems synchronized, it minimized errors and manual work, boosting productivity. The scalable solution handled growing data volumes, improving service delivery and overall efficiency while enhancing customer satisfaction.
