Kazam WMS · warehouse platform
Dynamics 365 — Business Central for smaller companies, Finance & Operations for the enterprise — covers the management side well. But between the order recorded in the ERP and the pallet leaving the bay there is a physical world made of scanners, aisles, priorities that shift and, more and more often, automation. Kazam takes charge of that world and keeps it in step with Dynamics.
How the integration works
A two-way data exchange through the interfaces Dynamics exposes (APIs and services defined during the analysis phase, according to the version in use):
- From Dynamics to Kazam: item master data, purchase, sales and transfer orders to be fulfilled.
- From Kazam to Dynamics: confirmed receipts, picks and shipments, stock adjustments, full traceability (batch, serial number, expiry date).
The ERP keeps the accounting picture; Kazam keeps the operational one: where every load unit is, who is doing what, what is running late against the cut-offs.
Beyond the ERP: when you need more
An ERP's warehouse module only takes you so far; once real-time priorities and machines come into play, you need layers the ERP does not have: the WES, which balances the work between operators and automation, and the WCS, which drives shuttles, sorters and AGVs directly (OPC-UA, Modbus, FINS, VDA 5050). In Kazam they are modules of the same platform: you start with the WMS on the handhelds and switch on the rest when you need it.
And when you don't need it? If your ERP's warehouse module already covers your flows and there is no automation on the horizon, it is fine as it is: one more layer would have to be maintained without a benefit to justify it.
Where the data travels
With an ERP in the cloud, the first question is about the boundary: what goes out, what comes in and from where. Kazam stays inside the warehouse, on the plant network, because that is where it has to drive handhelds, printers and — where there is any — automation. Dynamics stays where it is.
Between the two sits an exchange area: a dedicated database in which the ERP deposits what the warehouse has to carry out, and from which it reads back the outcomes. A local service polls it at configurable intervals, in the order of seconds. It brings in item master records, customers, delivery addresses, work documents with their lines, and load units.
The value of that separation shows when connectivity is less than perfect. The warehouse does not depend on the cloud being reachable moment by moment: operators carry on receiving, putting away and picking, and the exchange resumes when the line comes back. A warehouse that stops because the connection to the ERP has dropped is a badly designed warehouse.
Environments, versions and checks
The integration is tied to the agreed data format, not to a specific ERP release. Cloud updates therefore do not mean redoing the work: the ERP underneath changes, the exchange contract stays.
Every record deposited carries a status: to be read, imported, or discarded because superseded by a more recent version, with the time and the reason. The service reads back only what it has not yet processed. It can therefore be stopped and restarted without producing duplicates — which is useful during acceptance testing, when the same test batch is run through several times.
In the return direction, Kazam's APIs are queried using the Dynamics keys. You ask for the status of a document quoting the number the ERP already knows, and you get back what was done in the warehouse. The same logic gives you stock by location for an item or a load unit. Access is authenticated with a token. In acceptance testing, that is how you show that the two sides tell the same story.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with Business Central in the cloud?
The integration works through the interfaces Dynamics exposes; coverage of the specific version in use is assessed in the initial technical analysis. Get in touch.
Who is in charge of stock?
Dynamics remains the accounting system of record; Kazam manages operational stock by location and reconciles it with confirmed movements.
Can we start with a single warehouse in the group?
Yes: Kazam is multi-warehouse and adoption can be gradual, site by site, while the ERP integration stays centralised.
Does the warehouse stop during the switch-over?
Go-live is planned in phases, with data migrated and parallel running where it is needed; the plan is settled in the analysis with the IT team.
Kazam is the source-available platform that covers WMS and WES and integrates with Sun Tech WCS. Talk to an engineer about integrating it with your Dynamics.