IBX Connect - FTP protocol

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) can be seen as an easy, fast way to integrate your ERP or Accounts Payable solution to the IBX Platform. HTTP and SOAP webservices are still the recommended best practice method of integrated business document exchange between trading partners and markeplaces due to their nature of using synchronous handshakes and communicating via structured requests and responses between clients and servers. FTP however might be the first choice if the technical infrastructure or knowhow to set up an HTTP based integration is not available or if very large files are exchanged.


FTP and security

IBX Business Exchange via FTP requires secure FTP connections. Customer's FTP client must support secured file transfer via FTPs (FTP over TLS/SSL, port 990) or sFTP (Secure Shell (SSH) FTP, port 22).

Sending and receiving documents via the IBX FTP Service

Customers can choose to send and/or receive electronic Catalogues, Orders, OrderResponses, ChangeOrders, Invoices, CreditNotes or vendor masterdata via FTP upload and FTP polling. On request IBX Service Desk does the necessary configuration in the applications and provides URL, username and password to dedicated directories for upload respectively download of following documents:

  • IBX Connect - Supplier masterdata via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - CostObjectInformation, TradingPartnerUserInformation, G/L Mapping via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - Catalogues via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - Orders and ChangeOrders via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - OrderResponses via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - Invoices and CreditNotes via FTP upload
  • IBX Connect - Supplier masterdata via FTP polling
  • IBX Connect - Catalogues via FTP polling
  • IBX Connect - Orders and ChangeOrders via FTP polling
  • IBX Connect - OrderResponses via FTP polling
  • IBX Connect - Invoices and CreditNotes via FTP polling

FTP polling and Service Sevel Agreements (SLA)

With the delivery to the IBX FTP server the possibility to track the transport of a business document from one trading partner to the other ends. The SLA for successful document transfer between IBX and the customer therefore covers the transport only until the point that the document has been stored to the FTP folder which the customer has access to. It is the customer's responsibility to regularly check that folder for new messages. After successful download the directory shall be emptied by deleting the retrieved files from the IBX FTP area to avoid the processing of the same documents multiple times and to increase the transparency of which documents have been downloaded and which are new.