Distributor integration messages

WebSphere Commerce uses XML message interfaces to integrate to external applications. These messages are  defined to allow WebSphere Commerce to integrate with distributors systems. In order to communicate with a distributor's  system, WebSphere Commerce uses a series of integration messages and commands:

Visual description of messages flowing between WebSphere Commerce and distributor's system.

Request and Response messages and commands

WebSphere Commerce sends out  request messages as part of the business process for Quotation, ShopCart transfer, and  inventory reports. The requests are sent to the distributor's  system via the messaging system adapters. When  the correlating response messages are sent back by the distributor's system, they are  processed by correlating commands. 

Request task commands are responsible for sending the request to the distributor's system through the WebSphere Commerce messaging system adapters. Response controller commands are responsible for processing the response message and correlating the response back to the originating request. 

The following table displays the request and response messages and commands:

Executed Request Command Request Message Response Message  Executed Response Command
RequestOrderQuotationPolicyCmd priceAndAvailabilityRequest priceAndAvailabilityReponse OrderQuotationCreate (OrderQuotationCreateCmd)
TransferShopCartPolicyCmd shoppingCartTransferRequest shoppingCartTransferResponse OrderTransferConfirm (OrderTransferConfirmCmd)
RequestBatchAvailabilityPolicyCmd  batchAvailabilityRequest batchAvailabilityResponse BatchAvailabilityResponse (BatchAvailabilityResponseCmd)

Notification messages and commands

Notification messages can be sent from distributors to WebSphere Commerce. Notification  messages are processed through the WebSphere Commerce messaging system by correlating commands. Notification controller commands are responsible for processing the messages.

Notification Inbound Message  Command Executed
Update_WCS_PriceAndAvailability OrderQuotationCreate (OrderQuotationCreateCmd)
Update_WCS_ShoppingCartTransfer OrderTransferConfirm (OrderTransferConfirmCmd)
Update_WCS_BatchAvailability BatchAvailabilityResponse (BatchAvailabilityResponseCmd)

For more information on the IBM CrossWorlds adapter, see  the WebSphere Commerce Administration Guide. For more information on the business models, see the WebSphere Commerce Store Development Guide.