Orders arrive by email, text and WhatsApp
Then someone re-keys every line into the green screen. One mistyped part number becomes a wrong shipment, and when that person is out sick, the order queue just grows.
AS400 / IBM i integration
Integrate your AS400 with modern CRMs, ERPs and apps. Stop re-typing orders.
You don't have to migrate or upgrade your AS400. We leave it exactly as it is and build secure REST APIs on top of it, using IBM's own Integrated Web Services, so your CRM, ERP, customer portal, drivers and warehouse can read from it and write back to it. No new ERP, no RPG rewrite.
ORDER ENTRYORD010
Customer . . . : 004417
Ship to . . . : 02
Item . . . . . : HX-2204
Quantity . . . : 12
F3=Exit F4=Prompt F12=Cancel
- Your CRM
- Your ERP or accounting system
- Your web store
- Customer ordering portal
- EDI trading partners
- Dispatch texts and scanners
Services
One API pipeline over your AS400. Everything else plugs into it.
Every service below runs on the same secure, documented REST layer we build over your DB2 for i data, using IBM's own Integrated Web Services. Build it once, and each new connection, whether it's a CRM, a web store, a trading partner or an app we build for you, is a smaller job than the last.
The core: your AS400 API pipeline
Secure, documented REST APIs over DB2 for i, built on IBM's Integrated Web Services. Everything below plugs into it.
Sell and take orders
Orders come in already typed, from every channel your customers use.
B2B customer ordering portal
Distributors log in, see live stock and their own pricing, and place orders that land directly in your AS400.
E-commerce and marketplace sync
Keep Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce or Amazon Business in sync with your AS400 stock, prices and orders.
EDI with your big customers
Purchase orders (850), ship notices (856) and invoices (810) flow in and out automatically instead of being re-keyed from a retailer portal.
Field sales app
Reps check live stock, price and credit limit on their phone and take the order in front of the customer.
Warehouse and delivery
Paper comes off the warehouse floor and out of the cab.
Mobile barcode scanning
A modern web interface on the warehouse tablets you already own. Scan to pick, receive or count, and inventory updates in the AS400 as you scan.
Automated dispatch texts
The moment a truck is loaded, the customer gets a text with what's on it. SMS by default, WhatsApp if your customers prefer it.
Proof-of-delivery capture
Drivers take a photo or signature on their phone, and it's attached to the order in your AS400, so nobody photographs paper slips again.
Finance and back office
The numbers in every system finally match the AS400.
CRM and ERP sync
Two-way sync between your AS400 and Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, NetSuite or QuickBooks, so customers, orders and invoices match everywhere.
Reports to PDF, email or text
Invoices, statements and pick lists that print to a spool file today become PDFs that are sent automatically.
Collections reminders
Overdue invoices trigger statements and payment reminders by email or text, straight from your AS400 ledger.
Live owner dashboards
Sales, stock and dispatch in Power BI or a web dashboard, fed from a snapshot copy so reporting never touches your live ledger.
Build and hand over
Whatever you need on top of the pipeline, and the paperwork to keep it running.
Custom web applications
Need more than an integration? We design and build full web apps for your customers, staff or suppliers, running on the same API.
Documentation and API catalog
Your critical files, programs and every API written down, so the system no longer lives in one person's head.
AI-ready data access
Secure, read-only APIs an AI assistant can query, so you can try AI on your own data without exposing the ledger.
Systems we connect your AS400 to
- CRM
- Salesforce · HubSpot · Microsoft Dynamics 365 · Zoho CRM
- ERP and accounting
- NetSuite · QuickBooks · Sage · SAP Business One
- E-commerce
- Shopify · BigCommerce · Adobe Commerce · WooCommerce · Amazon Business
- EDI
- X12 850 / 855 / 856 / 810 · EDIFACT · AS2 and SFTP
- Messaging
- SMS · WhatsApp Business · Email
- Shipping
- UPS · FedEx · ShipStation
- Reporting
- Power BI · Tableau · Excel
If it has an API, a file feed or EDI, we can usually connect it. Product names are trademarks of their owners and are listed to show what we connect to, not as partnerships.
Don't see yours? Tell us what you run →
Tech approach
Built so your ledger never notices us.
If you run IT, the question isn't whether this works. It's what happens to your system when it does. This is how we build for that.
SELECT ITEM_NO, DESCRIPTION, QTY_AVAILABLE
FROM ERPLIB.ITEMMST
WHERE WAREHOUSE = ? AND ITEM_NO = ?
FETCH FIRST 50 ROWS ONLY
FOR READ ONLY
WITH UR- Reads
Reads that never lock a record
Indexed, paginated SQL that returns a small page of rows, runs with no record locks, and has a query time limit. A bad request can't run away with your CPU.
- Writes
Writes go through one controlled door
New orders and status updates land in a data queue or staging table, get validated, then are applied by one controlled program that follows your existing business rules, under commitment control and journaled. Every change is traceable and reversible. Nothing writes straight into your ledger files.
- Isolation
Kept away from your green-screen users
The API runs in its own IWS server with its own memory pool, and every endpoint is rate-limited, so web traffic can't slow down the people working on the AS400.
- Native
IBM-native, nothing installed on top
Built on Integrated Web Services and QSYS2 SQL services that ship with IBM i. We don't put third-party middleware on your system.
- Access
Locked down by default
HTTPS only, token authentication, an IP allowlist, a least-privilege service profile, and an audit log of every call.
- Off switch
Switch it off and nothing else changes
Stop the API server and your AS400 carries on exactly as it did before we arrived.
How it works
Start with a plan, not a contract.
- 1
Free API architecture plan
Tell us your IBM i release, the files involved and the first thing you'd like to connect. We send back a written plan: how data is read, how it's written back, and what the risks are.
- 2
Build the first bridge
We build and test one integration against your real data structures, and hand over documentation with it.
- 3
Add the next app on the same pipeline
Web store sync, EDI, CRM, scanning, dashboards or a custom app. Each new project reuses the API layer, so it's a smaller job than the first.
FAQ
The questions IT directors ask first.
Do we have to migrate or upgrade our AS400?
No. We work on top of the system you already run, and we don't replace your ERP or rewrite your RPG. The free plan includes a check of your IBM i release so we can tell you what's supported before you commit to anything.
Will this slow down our system?
It's designed not to. Reads are indexed, paginated and run without record locks, the API runs in its own server and memory pool, and every endpoint is rate-limited. Dashboards read from a snapshot copy instead of the live files. Your green-screen users shouldn't notice it.
You write to our database. How do you keep that safe?
Nothing writes directly into your ledger files. Writes go into a data queue or staging table, are validated, and are applied by one controlled program that follows your existing business rules, under commitment control and journaled. Every change can be traced and reversed.
What happens when our AS400 person retires?
It's the most common worry we hear from IBM i shops. We don't depend on one person's memory: every API is documented, and you get a written handover, so anyone who inherits the system can see what talks to it and why.
Does our data leave the building?
Only the data a given app needs, and only over HTTPS with token authentication and an IP allowlist. We'll agree exactly which fields each integration exposes in the architecture plan, before anything is built.
Do we need new IBM licenses?
We build on Integrated Web Services and the SQL services that come with IBM i, and we don't install third-party middleware. We'll confirm the exact requirements for your release in the architecture plan.
Can you connect to a system that isn't listed?
Usually, yes. If it has an API, a file feed or EDI, we can connect it to your AS400. Tell us what it is and we'll confirm in the architecture plan.
Can you build us a full web application, not just an integration?
Yes. We design and build custom web apps for your customers, staff or suppliers, running on the same API pipeline, so the app reads and writes your AS400 data safely.
Who owns the code?
You do. Because it's built on standard REST APIs and documented, you aren't locked into us or into a vendor platform.
The daily grind
Your AS400 has the data. It just can't reach the people who need it.
Pickers work from paper printed this morning
By noon the printout is wrong. Stock moved, a customer called, a pallet was damaged. Short-picks get found at the dock, with the truck already waiting.
“Where's my truck?” is answered by phone
Dispatch photographs paper slips and texts them one at a time. Customer service chases drivers all afternoon to answer a question the system already knows.
None of this is an ERP problem. It's a connection problem, and it's fixable without touching the system that runs your business.
Free API architecture plan
See how your AS400 would connect, in writing, before you spend anything.
Tell us what you run and what you'd like to connect first. We'll reply within one business day with a short call to learn more, then send a written plan covering how data is read, how it's written back, and where the risks are.