For virtually every organization, exchanging information with other parties is becoming increasingly important. Technological developments in recent decades have made this much easier. The use of Web services plays an important role in this. Communication between systems is thus fast and predictable, saving you time and preventing errors.
What is a web service?
A Web service is an application in which services are provided by a provider to a requester without human intervention via a question-and-answer model. A Web service thus allows a service to be requested remotely (via the Internet) from a client to a server. Examples include making a calculation, sending data or performing tasks.
Applications of web services
Web services are being used more and more. Often without us even being aware of it. For example, when booking a flight or a hotel room, or when adding complete address information to a zip code and house number. Even placing an online order at a supermarket works through an interface.
D2V interfaces
For companies, Web services are particularly interesting when developing Dealer-to-Vendor (D2V) interfaces. These are used to make data exchange between dealer and manufacturer/supplier faster and easier. This could include putting together your order on the manufacturer's site, after which this information can be fully automatically incorporated into your own system. But think also of requesting price and availability of an article or expected delivery times from the supplier and then placing the order from your own system. D2V interfaces can also be used to retrieve and read in packing slips and invoices.
Important to know
Creating an interface using Web services requires input and cooperation from both parties; thus, it is a two-way process. If both parties are willing to share data and collaborate on the interface, it can be designed and tested. The cost of this can quickly be recovered due to the lower error rate and time savings it provides.
Peter Conijn is a Developer at Dysel, turning modern technology into practical and useful applications for customers.
