Enhancing Logistics Through RESTful API Integration of ERP and WMS: A Practical Implementation and Performance Evaluation

This thesis delves into the integration of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) through the use of RESTful APIs. The main objective is to tackle the challenges of linking legacy ERP systems with modern WMS, ensuring seamless and real-time data synchronization, which is vital for optimizing logistics and supply chain operations. The study kicks off with a thorough review of existing literature on ERP and WMS systems, shedding light on the limitations of current integration methods. It then proceeds with an in-depth analysis of RESTful API technology, comparing it with other API technologies like SOAP and GraphQL to justify its selection for this integration. The proposed solution involves designing an integration architecture that uses RESTful APIs to enable communication between ERP and WMS systems. This architecture is elaborated with data flow diagrams, UML class and sequence diagrams, and a comprehensive discussion on RESTful API design principles. The implementation section covers the necessary hardware and software requirements, database design, and a step-by-step guide to setting up the development environment, coding the API interfaces, and integrating them with the existing systems. Challenges faced during the implementation, such as data consistency, performance optimization, and error handling, are thoroughly discussed. The results section assesses the success of the integration through functional and performance testing, user acceptance testing, and a comparison with the initial objectives. The thesis wraps up with a summary of findings, contributions to the field, and recommendations for future research, pointing out potential enhancements that could further improve the integration process.