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Infor LN Integration Methods Reference

Every LN project reaches the same question: how does data get in and out? This table compares the usual options so you can choose a method before the design workshop.

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Method	Direction	Typical use	Strength	Caution
ION with BODs	Both	Application to application messaging, for example sales orders, items or partners with other Infor or third-party systems	Standard message format, monitored flow, decoupled systems	Needs ION set up and mapping work; check which documents your LN version supports
Exchange schemes	Both	File based import and export of LN data, and one-time migration loads	Built into LN, no extra platform needed	Field mapping is manual; error handling needs care for large loads
ASCII or CSV file transfer	Both	Batch interfaces with legacy systems, banks and partners	Simple, easy to test, works with anything	No built-in acknowledgment; needs file naming, archiving and reprocess rules
EDI (X12, EDIFACT)	Both	Orders, advance ship notices and invoices with customers and suppliers	Industry standard with trading partners	Partner specific mapping and testing take time
Web services	Both	Real time lookups and updates from portals and custom apps	Standard protocols and real time response	Check which services are exposed in your version and what load they can take
Business object interface	Inbound mostly	Programmatic creation or change of LN business objects from other programs	Runs business logic and validation	Needs developer skill and version checking
Read-only database access	Outbound	Reporting, data warehouse extracts and analytics	Fast to build for read cases	Never write directly; tables are version dependent and enumerates need translation
Reports and print to file	Outbound	Sending formatted documents to PDF or archive systems	Reuses existing print sessions	Layout changes break downstream parsing
Message queue or middleware	Both	Connecting LN to an enterprise bus with many systems	Central monitoring and retry	Another platform to run and secure
Shop floor or MES connector	Both	Production reporting, labor and machine data to and from LN	Near real time production data	Define master data ownership and posting rules first
Bank file formats	Both	Payments out and bank statements in	Automates reconciliation	Formats vary by bank and country and change over time
Data lake or analytics extract	Outbound	Feeding BI tools and AI projects with LN data	Keeps heavy queries off the transactional system	Plan incremental loads and data protection from the start

This is orientation, not a product specification. Exact capabilities depend on your LN version, licensed components and infrastructure, so confirm with your documentation or partner.

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How to use the reference

Search for your use case, such as bank, EDI or analytics, and read across to the strength and caution columns. Use the table as input to a design discussion: pick the simplest method that gives the timing and reliability you need. Export it to Excel or PDF to attach to your integration design or project charter.

Choosing between methods

Three questions settle most choices. How fast must data move: minutes, hours or overnight? Who owns the message format: a standard, a trading partner or your own team? And who monitors failures? Real time needs web services or ION. Trading partner traffic usually means EDI. Bulk and one-off loads fit exchange schemes. Reporting reads belong on a replica or an extract, not on the production tables.

Real time lookups: web services or ION
Partner traffic: EDI
Migration and bulk loads: exchange schemes
Analytics: extracts or replica, read only

Designing for failure

Every interface will fail sometimes. Decide up front how failures are detected, who is told and how a message is replayed without duplicating data. Give each message a unique reference, log what was sent and received, and agree what happens to messages that cannot be processed. File interfaces need archiving and naming rules; message based interfaces need monitoring of the queue.

Common mistakes

The common faults are writing directly to LN tables, mapping master data without naming an owner, ignoring time zones in date fields, and building a point to point web of file interfaces that nobody can map. Draw the full landscape on one page before building the next interface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I use ION or file interfaces?

ION suits structured, monitored application to application messaging, while file interfaces suit simple batch exchange with systems that cannot do more. Pick on timing needs, monitoring and the capabilities of the other system.

Can I read LN data directly from the database?

For reporting and extracts, yes, with a read-only account, ideally on a replica. Never write to the tables directly, since that skips business logic and can corrupt data.

Which method is best for data migration?

Exchange schemes or the business object interface are common choices because they run LN logic on the way in. Choose by volume, data quality and how much validation you want applied.

How do I avoid duplicate messages?

Give every message a unique reference, check it before processing, and record what has been processed. Replays then become safe because duplicates are recognized and skipped.

If you are replacing file interfaces or planning an LN data extract for analytics and AI, we can review the design with you.

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