ERP Integration 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which integration pattern uses a central hub to route messages between ERP modules, reducing point-to-point connections?
- Peer-to-peer mesh
- Hub-and-spoke (Correct answer)
- Flat-file batch transfer
- Direct API chaining
Correct answer: Hub-and-spoke
Hub-and-spoke routes all module communication through a central integration hub, minimizing the number of individual connections.
Question 2: When integrating ERP with a third-party CRM, what is the primary risk of using real-time synchronous calls?
- Data duplication across systems
- Increased latency and potential cascading failures (Correct answer)
- Loss of audit trail
- Incompatible data formats
Correct answer: Increased latency and potential cascading failures
Synchronous calls force the ERP to wait for the CRM response, so CRM slowness or failure directly stalls ERP transactions.
Question 3: What does 'idempotency' mean in the context of ERP integration message processing?
- Messages are encrypted end-to-end
- Processing the same message multiple times yields the same result (Correct answer)
- Messages are delivered in strict order
- Each message triggers exactly one downstream event
Correct answer: Processing the same message multiple times yields the same result
Idempotency ensures that duplicate or retried messages don't cause double-posting or data corruption in the ERP.
Question 4: An organization wants to integrate ERP procurement data with a supplier portal. Which approach best supports real-time inventory visibility without overloading the ERP database?
- Nightly batch exports to CSV
- Direct SQL queries from the supplier portal
- Event-driven API with a change-data-capture feed (Correct answer)
- Manual data entry reconciliation
Correct answer: Event-driven API with a change-data-capture feed
Change-data-capture (CDC) streams only changed records in real time, giving suppliers current data without burdening the ERP with ad-hoc queries.
Question 5: What is the role of an integration middleware (ESB) in a large ERP landscape?
- Store permanent business data as the system of record
- Translate, route, and orchestrate messages between disparate systems (Correct answer)
- Replace the ERP application server
- Perform end-user authentication
Correct answer: Translate, route, and orchestrate messages between disparate systems
An Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) acts as the integration layer handling message transformation, routing, and protocol mediation between systems.
Question 6: Which data format has become the dominant standard for modern ERP REST API integrations, replacing older XML-heavy approaches?
- EDIFACT
- JSON (Correct answer)
- COBOL copybooks
- Fixed-width flat files
Correct answer: JSON
JSON is lightweight, human-readable, and natively supported by modern REST APIs, making it the de facto standard for ERP integrations today.
Question 7: During ERP integration testing, a 'golden record' test confirms what?
- The integration runs faster than the SLA target
- All systems agree on the canonical, authoritative version of a data entity (Correct answer)
- Security certificates are valid
- No data was lost in transit
Correct answer: All systems agree on the canonical, authoritative version of a data entity
A golden record test validates that after synchronization, all integrated systems hold the same authoritative data for entities like customers or products.
ERP Integration 2
Which integration pattern uses a central hub to route messages between ERP modules, reducing point-to-point connections?