Business Scenarios for Using the BizTalk Adapters
In order to effectively use the BizTalk adapters provided with Commerce Server 2009 R2, you need to understand the types of scenarios for which they are intended. These adapters allow you to take advantage of the functionality of BizTalk Server to design a system that automates the exchange of Commerce Server 2009 R2 data with other applications. The possibilities are boundless, limited only by your imagination, understanding, and of course, development resources.
Some scenarios where the use of the BizTalk adapters may be helpful include the following:
Line-of-business (LOB) application integration, such as connecting a Commerce Server 2009 R2 Web application sending orders directly to an LOB warehouse application.
Data exchange between multiple trading partners, such as between a supplier and one or more vendors, or between a supplier and a shipping company.
Data exchange between the Orders, Catalog, Inventory, and/or Profiles Systems within different Commerce Server 2009 R2 Web applications, such as between kiosk applications.
The topics in this section will provide a high-level explanation of three such scenarios, one involving the Orders System, another involving the Catalog System, and a third involving the Inventory System. These scenarios are examples only, and are presented here to get you thinking about how you might use these adapters to solve your particular business challenges.