Using IBM® App Connect to interact with Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory is cloud-based inventory management software that assists businesses in creating and managing sales and purchase orders and tracking inventory.
Building a flow in IBM App Connect with Zoho Inventory
Use App Connect to build flows that integrate with Zoho Inventory and other applications. The connector is displayed as Zoho Inventory on the App Connect User Interface (UI).
To allow App Connect to connect to your Zoho Inventory account, you need to fill in the connection fields that you see in the App Connect Designer Catalog page or flow editor.
Supported authorization type:
BASIC OAUTH
OAUTH2 WEB
For detailed information about different authorization types, how to generate connection field values, and how to use the Templates gallery, see How to use IBM App Connect with Zoho Inventory on the IBM Documentation page.
Supported objects in Zoho Inventory
The following are the Zoho Inventory objects that can be run in App Connect.
| Object |
Description |
| Items |
An item refers to the products or services offered for sale. These can be either physical or digital goods, and the nature of the business will determine the types of items available. Each item can have a fixed price or be part of a subscription service, and may belong to a separate pricing category or have additional features associated with it. |
| Sales orders |
A sales order is a financial document that verifies an upcoming sale, outlining the precise quantity, price, and delivery details of the products or services being sold. |
| Contacts |
A contact can be either a customer or a vendor, and it can be either an individual or a business entity. |
| Packages |
Zoho Inventory offers the 'Packages' feature, which allows you to create and assign package slip numbers to line items in your sales orders, making it easier to track packages when they are shipped. |
| Contact persons |
A contact person is an individual who serves as a point of contact for an organization, facilitating communication and representation for the entity. This person could be a manager, a representative, or any other individual entrusted with the responsibility of communicating on behalf of the organization. |
| Taxes |
Taxes in Zoho Inventory help you manage your tax obligations and avoid penalties or fines. You can add multiple taxes and set their rates for accurate billing and compliance with tax regulations. |
| Currencies |
Currencies in Zoho Inventory help you manage inventory and sales across different regions and countries, ensuring compliance with local tax and financial regulations. You can add multiple currencies and set exchange rates for accurate pricing and billing. |
| Purchase orders |
A purchase order is a formal document that you issue to your vendors, detailing the desired products or services, quantity, and agreed price. |
| Warehouses |
You can add multiple warehouses to your inventory management system, which represent the physical storage buildings where you keep your stock. When creating orders, you can choose the warehouse from which you want to dispatch (sell) or receive (purchase) stock. Additionally, you can issue transfer orders to perform inventory transfers between warehouses. |
Scenario 1: Create a package in Zoho Inventory for new Shopify orders
Consider the scenario:
In this flow, when a new order is placed in Shopify, the flow retrieves the order details and customer information from Shopify and creates a sales order in Zoho Inventory. The flow also creates packages in Zoho Inventory according to the order placed in Shopify.
The following are the steps involved in the flow:
5. Using Zoho Inventory Retrieve items, the flow retrieves the ordered items in Zoho Inventory system.
6. The flow verifies if the items exist in Zoho Inventory. If they do not exist, the flow creates each of the items in Zoho Inventory using Create item operation.
7. Using Zoho Inventory Create Sales order, the flow creates a sales order in Zoho Inventory.
8. The flow checks if the weight of any line item is more than 5 kg. If it is, it creates a separate package for that item. This is important because it allows you to track the weight of each package and ensure that you are not exceeding the weight limits for your shipping carrier.
Scenario 2: Create a sales order in Zoho Inventory for each new Square payment
Consider the scenario:
In this flow, when a new payment is made in Square, the flow retrieves the payment details and customer information from Square and creates a sales order in Zoho Inventory.
The following are the steps involved in the flow:
1. In the event Scheduler node, specify a time schedule based on your requirement (choose how often you want to run the flow).
2. Using Square Retrieve payments, the flow retrieves the payments from Square based on the previous event time set in the Scheduler node.
3. Using Square Retrieve customers, the flow retrieves the paid customers in Square.
Resources
You can view this template and other useful templates in the Templates gallery of your App Connect Designer instance.
Get started with a free IBM App Connect Enterprise as a Service trial for 30 days to try out all our templates, visit https://ibm.biz/app-trial.
If you are running a containerized instance of IBM App Connect, use the following URL to directly access the template:
- Create a package in Zoho Inventory for new Shopify orders:
https://<your-instance-id>/templates/Create%20a%20package%20in%20Zoho%20Inventory%20for%20new%20Shopify%20orders
- Create a sales order in Zoho Inventory for each new Square payment:
https://<your-instance-id>/templates/Create%20a%20sales%20order%20in%20Zoho%20Inventory%20for%20each%20new%20Square%20payment
Note: Replace <your-instance-id> in the URL with your custom instance ID.
You must enable the Designer AI features in your containerized environment to access the App Connect templates. For more information, see The preloaded IBM App Connect templates.
You also have the option to import the .yaml file for this template directly into your App Connect Designer instance. These templates are available in a public GitHub repository.
