Big-box retailers require vendors to use an EDI (electronic data interchange) if they want to do business with them. SPS Commerce provides just such an EDI. Fishbowl integrates with SPS Commerce to allow vendors to not only work with retailers but also handle their inventory management and order management at the same time.
Benefits of Fishbowl's Integration SPS Commerce
With the SPS Commerce integration, Fishbowl users are able to automatically export inventory quantities and invoices from Fishbowl to SPS Commerce. These invoices and inventory data are then sent to your designated trading partners. The plugin connects to SPS Commerce via SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol).
In Fishbowl, SPS Commerce is shortened to just SPS. Once installed, the SPS module automates the export and import of inventory data between Fishbowl and SPS Commerce via a shared file server. To facilitate this automated data entry, Fishbowl users are asked to map their vendors and customers to trading partners in SPS Commerce.
The actual import/export process is easy after that. Simply schedule CSV file uploads of inventory counts and purchase orders to the file server in the SPS module. And download incoming orders from the file server so they can be pre-received into Fishbowl. Please keep in mind that the SPS module is not the same as the SPS adapter for Fishbowl.
Make sure you’re an admin in Fishbowl so that you will have adequate access rights to perform the following steps. Installing SPS Commerce is a simple process. Just click the Install button next to SPS in the Plugin module. Then restart the Fishbowl Server and add the SPS-View access right to every user group that you want to see it.
Then go to the Trading Partners, Inventory, and Invoice tabs in the SPS module to set up various aspects of the connection. In the Trading Partners tab, you’ll need to know your SPS Commerce FTP URL, username, and password to set up the integration. Then you can add multiple trading partners that you want to connect to Fishbowl. Once everything is in place, change the Target SPS Directory toggle from Test to Production.
Be sure to enable inventory exports in the Inventory tab. And enable invoices to be imported on a set schedule and with specific settings in the Invoice tab. All of these settings allow Fishbowl to send the right inventory items, kits, quantities, and locations to trading partners via SPS Commerce’s EDI. The integration also facilitates the import of invoices, chargebacks, and other financial data from trading partners in the right format for Fishbowl to process and send to QuickBooks.
Fishbowl & SPS Commerce Integration for Inventory Management FAQs
Fishbowl certainly does have an API. And you can use it to create all kinds of seamless integrations that sync your inventory data with other business solutions, vendors, and eCommerce marketplaces.
To gain access to Fishbowl’s API documentation, first change the Fishbowl Server’s Web Port to 2456. Then click this link to access the documentation on the Fishbowl Server computer. On a Fishbowl Client computer, you will need to follow some additional steps to access the API documentation. Click the link at the top of this paragraph to see how to do that.
By itself, Fishbowl is not a full ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. However, by integrating Fishbowl with POS (point of sale) software, accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, CRMs like Salesforce, and shipping solutions like ShipStation, it approximates an ERP at a much lower price than ERPs charge. Because of this, Fishbowl is an excellent ERP alternative for small and medium-sized businesses seeking to stay with their accounting software and other solutions while saving money.
Fishbowl helps with purchase order management, sales order fulfillment, inventory management, multi-warehouse management, advanced manufacturing, and more. It acts as a central depository when it comes to inventory management data. Fishbowl’s integrations with other solutions (like QuickBooks, ShipStation, Shopify, and SPS Commerce) prevent double data entry and streamline order fulfillment and other aspects of running a business.
Yes. Like any good EDI, SPS Commerce offers a REST API that enables third parties to build integrations with it. You can learn more by visiting SPS Commerce’s Dev Center where they lay out the steps of building an integration with their EDI.
SPS is short for St. Paul Software, the original name of the EDI company when it was founded in 1987 in Minnesota. Its global headquarters is now right next door in Minneapolis, though it has many satellite offices in cities outside the United States. The name of the company was shortened to SPS Commerce after its sale to a Netherlands software company in 2001.
Fishbowl doesn’t just integrate with one CRM, it actually offers integrations with three: HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM. Fishbowl takes care of your inventory management and order fulfillment, and these CRMs help you to maintain strong relationships with your customers.
Fishbowl integrates with a number of accounting solutions. It’s famous for its seamless integration with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks Canada, as well as Xero and Reckon. It also makes it easy to ship products through its integrations with FedEx, UPS, USPS, and other major carriers and shipping solutions like ShipStation and StarShip. Plus, Fishbowl integrates with numerous eCommerce platforms, including Amazon, BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce. If you need a good POS solution, Fishbowl has integrations with a number of those as well.
To see a full list of Fishbowl’s integrations, check out our main Integrations page. You’ll find dozens of options there.
