How to add Microsoft Teams to DELMIAworks (IQMS)
Short answer
Integrate Teams with DELMIAworks by turning ERP events into adaptive cards posted by a bot or workflow, and by routing button clicks back to a controlled approval step. Authentication runs through Entra ID, and the ERP data comes from the alert engine, REST API or a read-only Oracle view.
A lot of DELMIAworks customers have standardised on Microsoft 365 while the ERP itself stays on a plant server. Approvals therefore end up in email, and production alerts land in inboxes nobody reads between meetings. Teams is where planners, quality and maintenance already talk.
The goal is not a chat window pasted next to the ERP. It is to put the specific decision (approve this PO, acknowledge this quality hold, reschedule this job) in front of the right person, with enough context to answer in one tap.
This guide covers how to do that against the DELMIAworks integration surface, and where Entra ID, tenant policy and an on-prem ERP change the design.
What teams use it for
Purchase requisition and PO approvals
Post an adaptive card to the approver with vendor, amount, GL or project, and budget status. Approve or Reject routes into a review step that completes the ERP approval.
Quality hold notifications
When a lot is placed on hold or an inspection fails, post to a channel for quality and production with lot, item, work center and a link to the record.
Daily production and schedule digest
A scheduled post at shift start lists jobs due today, jobs behind schedule and open material shortages by work center, replacing a morning spreadsheet.
Maintenance request triage
Machine downtime or a PM work order due creates a card in the maintenance channel, with an Assign to me action recorded for follow-up.
Ask-the-ERP bot
A Teams bot that answers questions like on-hand for an item or the status of a sales order, limited to what the asking user's ERP role may see.
DELMIAworks (IQMS) integration surface
- DELMIAworks alert and workflow features: SQL-based conditions that can trigger an email or call out, useful as the event source (names and capabilities vary by version).
- The REST API, where licensed, for reading orders, jobs, inventory and for submitting transactions, usually with token-based authentication.
- Oracle schema access for read-only reporting views over tables like ORDERS, PO, WORKORDER and ARINVT (exact names vary by release).
- Approval objects inside the ERP (requisition and PO approval levels) that define who is allowed to approve what; mirror these, do not reinvent them.
- Email as a fallback transport: Teams channels can receive email, which is a stopgap if no better hook exists.
How it works
- 1
Register the app in Entra ID
Create an app registration for the bot with the minimum Graph and Bot Framework permissions. Decide whether it is single-tenant, which is the normal choice for an internal tool.
- 2
Map Teams users to ERP users
Keep a table linking Entra user principal names to DELMIAworks user ids and approval limits. Without it, anyone could approve anything.
- 3
Capture ERP events
Use alerts or an outbox table to emit events. Include a stable record id and a version marker so duplicate posts are avoidable.
- 4
Render adaptive cards
Build cards with key facts and action buttons. Use Action.Execute or Action.Submit and keep the payload to ids, not business data.
- 5
Handle the action callback
The bot endpoint validates the Teams token, re-reads current ERP state, checks the user's authority, and only then performs or queues the approval.
- 6
Update the card
After the action, refresh the card to show who approved and when, so a second approver cannot act on a stale message.
Example flows
PO approval card
Trigger: A PO moves to pending approval in DELMIAworks.
- Event is written with the PO id and required approver.
- Bot posts a card to the approver with vendor, total, buyer and lines.
- Approver taps Approve.
- Bot checks the approval limit, then calls the approval path or queues it.
- Card updates to show the decision.
Result: Approvals complete from a phone without opening the ERP client.
Shift-start shortage digest
Trigger: A scheduled job runs 30 minutes before first shift.
- Query lists jobs starting in the next 24 hours with component shortages.
- Results are grouped by work center and buyer.
- The bot posts one card per production area with an Open in ERP link.
Result: Planners start the shift with a prioritised shortage list instead of building one.
Keeping data on-prem
Teams is cloud, DELMIAworks is often on-prem, so the pattern is outbound-only from the plant. Host the bot service inside your network or in a small DMZ, and use a Teams-supported outbound mechanism (proactive messaging via the Bot Framework or Graph) so no inbound firewall hole into the ERP is needed. The bot only needs to be reachable by Microsoft's service for the action callback, which can be fronted by a reverse proxy that forwards a single path. If answers to free-text questions come from an AI model, run an open-weight model on local GPUs and send only the final answer to Teams. For GCC or sovereign tenants, confirm bot and Graph endpoints for that cloud before designing.
Security checklist
- Authenticate every action with the Teams-issued token and map to a named ERP user; never trust a display name.
- Re-check approval authority server-side at click time, not when the card was posted.
- Keep the card payload to ids and short facts; do not embed attachments or pricing in channels with wide membership.
- Restrict the bot app to specific teams and channels through Teams app permission policies.
- Log the Teams user, ERP user, action and ERP record for each decision.
Ways to get it done
Power Automate with a SQL or HTTP trigger
Effort: Days; limited for approvals needing server-side authority checks.
Quick for simple alerts if a gateway to the on-prem database or API is acceptable to IT.
Custom Teams bot
Effort: Three to eight weeks depending on flows.
Best for interactive approvals, role checks and an ask-the-ERP assistant.
Partner build such as Netray
Effort: Scoped pilot with one approval flow and one Q&A scenario.
When you want the bot to also answer ERP questions with a private model and keep data on-prem.
Pitfalls
- !Letting approvers act from a stale card after the PO was changed.
- !Skipping the user mapping and approving under a shared service account.
- !Posting too many low-value alerts, so channels get muted within a week.
- !Ignoring tenant app policies, which can block a custom bot until IT approves it.
- !Assuming Power Automate can reach the on-prem Oracle without a data gateway and a security review.
Frequently asked questions
Can DELMIAworks approvals really be completed from Teams?
Yes, if the approval is exposed through a supported path such as the API, or handled through a staged step that a controlled process completes. Check what your version and license expose before promising direct completion.
Do we need the ERP exposed to the internet?
No. The bot makes outbound calls, and only a single callback path needs to be reachable, usually through a reverse proxy. The ERP and Oracle stay on the internal network.
Is Power Automate enough?
For notifications, often yes. For interactive approvals with role checks, audit and stale-card protection, a custom bot or service is more reliable.
How do we handle multiple plants?
Route by plant or division code to different channels and approvers, and store the mapping in a table rather than in card logic.
Can the bot answer free-text questions?
Yes, with a retrieval layer over read-only ERP views and the asker's role applied. Use a local open-weight model if the data cannot go to a cloud API.
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