E-commerce integrations,
even where there’s no API
We connect wholesalers, suppliers and marketplaces to your store, ERP and CRM. That includes the sources off-the-shelf connectors can’t handle: no API, a non-standard XML feed, or data that only lives in a B2B portal.
When a standard integration isn’t enough
If your supplier is on a connector’s list of ready-made integrations, a plugin from the app store will do the job in a day and there’s no point overcomplicating it. The trouble starts when your supplier isn’t on that list.
The supplier has no API
All you get is a file to download or a B2B portal you have to log in to.
There's a file, but you can't rely on it
The XML structure changes without warning, the encoding breaks, and some products come with empty fields.
Categories and attributes don't match
The supplier's category tree has nothing in common with yours, and attributes have to be mapped by hand.
Several suppliers, same product
Offers have to be merged, one source has to win on price, and the catalog can't end up with duplicates.
You need data the supplier doesn't have
Competitor prices for the same products, for example.
The data is in a portal, not a file
Prices and stock show up once you log in to the B2B system, but nobody exposes them through any interface.
Data from sources nobody built for integration
Off-the-shelf connectors are built on the supplier’s API, which works well as long as that API exists. At multiscrape.com, we’ve spent years pulling data from sources nobody designed with integration in mind: portals where you have to click through to get a price list, XML files with no documentation, websites where stock levels appear on the product page and nowhere else.
So a missing API on the supplier’s side doesn’t mean the integration can’t be done.
Supplier source
undocumented XML file
Acquisition layer
fetching and parsing
Normalization
category and attribute mapping
Your store
prices and stock updated
Acquisition
Data acquisition layer
If a supplier doesn’t offer an API, we build a layer that pulls data from whatever is available: a file, a portal or a web page. Your store then gets a single feed with a fixed structure, no matter what the supplier changes on their end. It runs on the same technology as our custom web scraping projects.
Quality
Normalization and validation
Raw supplier data is rarely ready to upload as is. We standardize price and unit formats, map categories and attributes to your own taxonomy, and catch duplicates and gaps. A record that fails validation goes into a report instead of into your store.
Continuity
Price and stock sync
Importing the catalog is a one-time job. After that comes the ongoing work of updating prices and stock levels, on a schedule that matches how fast your inventory turns over, from a few times a day to every hour.
Edge
Data your supplier doesn't have
We can plug data your supplier doesn’t provide into the same pipeline: what competitors charge for the same products, availability on marketplaces, rankings on price comparison sites. This is everyday work for us, and we cover it in more detail under competitor price monitoring.
What we connect
On one side there’s a data source, on the other the system where that data needs to work. Integration means moving it from one to the other, reliably and on repeat.
From
Data sources
- Wholesalers and distributors: API, XML, CSV, B2B portals
- Manufacturers and importers: price lists, catalogs, product documentation
- Marketplaces: Amazon, eBay, Etsy
- Price comparison sites and competitor stores: prices and availability
- Any other source: if the data is visible, it can be collected
To
Destination systems
- Online stores: Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop
- Multichannel tools: listing and order management platforms
- ERP and inventory systems: catalog, prices and stock levels
- CRM: Pipedrive, HubSpot, Bitrix24
- Custom systems: via API, webhook, database or file
Running Magento, BigCommerce or another system that isn’t listed? If it has an API, a database or even a file import, we can integrate it.
Common scenarios
The same service looks different depending on where you sit in the supply chain.
A store adds a new supplier
A store wants to expand its range with another wholesaler's catalog, but the supplier only provides an XML file with a non-standard structure. We build the import with category and attribute mapping to the store's structure, then set up a recurring price and stock sync.
Dropshipping from several wholesalers
A seller works with catalogs from several suppliers at once, and their ranges partly overlap. We merge the offers, pick the price and availability source based on agreed rules, and make sure the same product doesn't show up in the store more than once.
A manufacturer feeds its resellers
A manufacturer wants its partner stores to always have up-to-date descriptions, images and prices. We build one outgoing feed and set up how each partner receives it, whatever platform they run on.
Marketplaces alongside your own store
A seller runs an online store plus marketplace accounts, and stock levels drift apart between channels. We tie the channels together with a shared stock sync, so a sold item disappears from every channel at once.
Off-the-shelf connector vs. custom integration
Ready-made connectors are cheaper and faster, as long as your supplier is in their catalog. Below are the differences that only show up when it isn’t.
| Off-the-shelf connector | Custom integration | |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier on the list | Set up in a day, low cost | Possible, but usually not worth it |
| Supplier not on the list | No support, or priced like a new project | The standard case we work with |
| Source with no API | Usually out of scope | We build a data acquisition layer |
| Non-standard XML/CSV | You have to adapt the file on your side | We adapt the import to the file you get |
| Category mapping | Usually simplified or manual | Mapping rules set up for your taxonomy |
| Data beyond the supplier's system | Not available | Possible in the same pipeline |
| Change on the supplier's side | You wait for a plugin update | We fix it as part of maintenance |
This isn’t an argument against ready-made integrations. If an off-the-shelf tool supports your supplier, use it. Come to us when there’s no such tool.
Example project
The situation
A furniture retailer wanted to add a supplier's 7,000-product catalog to its online store. The supplier only provided the data as an XML file with no documentation. An earlier attempt with an off-the-shelf tool never got the integration running: it couldn't pull the product descriptions, bring the file into the required format or import the catalog into the store.
What we did
We built a data acquisition and normalization layer, mapped categories and attributes to the store platform's structure, and set up a recurring price and stock sync. Incomplete or suspicious records are rejected and logged in a report instead of being uploaded to the store.
The result
Catalog live in 3 days. The sync now runs continuously under a maintenance plan.
How an integration goes live
Before anything reaches your live store, you see the result on a sample of the data. Only then do we switch the sync on.
Step 1
Source audit
We check how the supplier makes its data available and what can realistically be extracted from it.
Step 2
Sample and mapping rules
We pull part of the catalog and agree on how categories and attributes should translate to your taxonomy.
Step 3
Test import
We run the import in a test environment and check the data before it touches your live store.
Step 4
Sync and maintenance
We switch on recurring price and stock updates, monitoring, safety thresholds and discrepancy reports.
Maintenance, monitoring and safeguards
An integration isn’t a project that ends on launch day. Suppliers change their file structure, marketplaces change their APIs, and a faulty sync can put your entire catalog up at the wrong price in a matter of minutes.
- Run monitoring: we log every sync cycle, and if data doesn’t arrive when expected, an alert goes out.
- Safety thresholds: if a price or stock level changes by more than an agreed threshold, the sync stops and waits for a human decision.
- Empty-file protection: an empty or corrupted supplier file never wipes out the stock levels in your store.
- Supplier changes handled: changes to the source structure are covered by your subscription, with no separate project needed.
- Discrepancy report: a regular summary of rejected records and records that need attention.
Sync log
Sync completed
7,214 records · 38 rejected
Sync completed
7,209 records · 41 rejected
Paused: threshold exceeded
62% price drop on 340 records · awaiting review
Empty file rejected
stock levels left unchanged
A paused sync waits for a person to confirm it and never overwrites data in your store.
What an integration costs
We don’t have a fixed price list, because two integrations with the same name can differ tenfold in the work involved. Pricing has two parts: a one-time setup fee and a subscription for maintenance and sync.
What drives the setup cost
- Source type: an API, a file or a portal that requires a login.
- Data quality: the more gaps and inconsistencies, the more validation rules.
- Number of products and catalog depth.
- Mapping scope: just prices and stock, or full product pages with images.
- Destination system and how the data gets uploaded.
What drives the subscription
Sync frequency
Once a day, several times a day or every hour
Number of sources
Each additional supplier is another set of rules to keep an eye on
Monitoring and reporting scope
Alerts, discrepancy reports, summaries for your team
We put together a quote after a short call about scope, with no commitment.
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