Choco ERP Integrations: Depth, Speed, and Real Flexibility

Built entirely by Choco’s in-house engineering team, our integrations are tailored to each distributor’s real workflow, not just the ERP’s default structure. Whether it’s splitting orders by warehouse or storage temperature zone, managing catch-weight products, or applying customer-specific contract pricing, Choco adapts to the distributor’s business logic, not the other way around.

Many distributors come to Choco after difficult or failed integration experiences elsewhere. They are often surprised by how smooth the process can be when a team is truly hands-on. Our dedicated Solutions Engineering and Customer Success teams based in the US in our Chicago office, stay involved from the first call to full production, ensuring constant communication, rapid adjustments, and transparent progress.
We take pride in delivering best-in-class integration and service, so our partners never feel left alone in the process, only supported, guided, and empowered to move faster than they thought possible.

1. Integration Tailored to Each Distributor

No two distributors use their ERP the same way. Even within a single ERP brand, each company structures products, pricing, and processes differently. Choco’s approach is to adapt to every ERP instance, not force distributors into a rigid template.

Our Solutions Engineering team studies each customer’s workflow to map exactly what matters:

• How orders are created and split (by product family, temperature, or delivery site)
   
• Whether invoices or delivery notes are generated separately
   
• How product hierarchies, price lists, or custom fields are used
   

The way we build integrations gives us complete flexibility to store, transform, and merge any data point coming from the ERP, even those not visible in the Choco interface. This flexibility allows us to automate complex logic such as multi-warehouse splits or packaging conversions with precision and reliability.

“We often bridge the gap between what the ERP can do and what the distributor expects Choco to handle. If a system doesn’t allow order splitting by temperature, we build it directly into our integration.”
 Marc Forman, Head of Integration

2. Connectivity Patterns: Whatever It Takes

Choco supports every major integration method, depending on what the ERP or IT environment allows.

API (REST)
Typical use: Used for real-time, modern ERPs.
Ideal for continuous sync and instant feedback.

SOAP / Web Services
Typical use: An older API model.
Still used by many established ERPs.

SFTP (File Exchange)
Typical use: Used for CSV, XML, or JSON transfers.
Requires an agreed schema and involves polling every few minutes.

Direct Database Read
Typical use: Compatible with any ERP.
Mainly used for master data and order history.

Hybrid Connections
Typical use: A common approach.
Example: Orders can be managed via API, while the catalog is updated via SFTP.

“API is the ideal scenario, but if the ERP doesn’t have one, we still find a way. We do whatever it takes.”
— Marc Forman, Head of Integration

3. Speed and Implementation Model

Integration speed is one of Choco’s biggest strengths.

• Fastest first order: 2 days
• Typical build time: 2 to 4 engineering days
• Median time to full parity: Around 2 weeks

The variables that influence timing are ERP access, data cleanliness, and customer responsiveness, not Choco’s development capacity.

We use a big-bang technical switch (the system is ready immediately), while the distributor’s rollout is usually phased, by customer groups or regions.
Our integrations are not just technically ready fast, they are operationally safe, because order flows are monitored from day one.

Historical data backfill:
 We import 12 months of order history and catalog data for training and AI accuracy. In some cases, we continue fetching this data daily to maintain a full view across systems.

4. Reliability and Observability

Reliability is engineered into every integration:

• Automatic retries: If an ERP endpoint is unavailable, we retry multiple times with short intervals
• Error notifications: Immediate alerts are sent to predefined contacts, including direct links to the order in Choco
• Status visibility: A new in-app Order Status Dashboard is rolling out, allowing customers to see in real time whether each order was exported successfully

This transparency means distributors never lose track of orders and can soon reprocess them instantly once the issue is resolved.

5. Security and Compliance

Security is handled jointly by Choco and the ERP.

Within Choco’s control:

• All traffic between Choco systems is encrypted in transit and at rest
• Access control follows strict internal role-based permissions
• Our Platform team has implemented SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 practices across all systems.

ERP side:

• We recommend encrypted channels (HTTPS/TLS, SFTP)
• If the ERP uses insecure protocols, we flag it and guide the distributor toward secure options

“Everything under our control is secure. When an ERP provides a weak connection, we tell them and we help them fix it.”
 Marc Forman, Head of Integration

6. Maintenance, Upgrades, and TCO

We are here to support and advise with ERP upgrades.
 Most version changes require no code modification, and at most a small mapping update.
 Only full ERP replacements require new builds, and even then, our framework speeds up migration.

• Customer upgrades: Some distributors upgrade silently; we detect the change and adapt fast
• Version coverage: We support multiple active versions for each ERP, from legacy on-prem to the latest cloud editions
• Ownership: In 90 to 95 percent of cases, Choco owns and monitors the entire integration layer. If the customer builds on our API instead, they own maintenance
• Preventive monitoring: Automatic checks and email alerts; issue resolution within one business day on average

“We don’t just build and disappear. We keep monitoring and adjusting, that’s part of the service.”
 Marc Forman, Head of Integration

7. Business Logic and Customization

The real power of Choco’s integration stack lies in how deeply it models each distributor’s business rules:

• Order splitting (by category, temperature, or among any customer logic)
• Packaging logic (“if multiples of 6 → 1 box; otherwise → each”)
• Multi-unit conversions and palletization
• Custom fields (for example temperature, product group, export notes)
• Dynamic promotions and contract pricing

All this happens invisibly within Choco’s integration framework, meaning distributors see only clean, correct data inside their ERP and in Choco.

8. Implementation Support and Service

Every integration is co-led by a Solution Engineer and Customer Success Manager who stay in close contact with the distributor’s IT and operations teams.

Our approach:

1. Discovery: Understand business process and ERP configuration
2. Solution Design: Translate requirements into a clear technical blueprint. The Choco team defines data flows, mapping logic, and automation rules to ensure the integration fits the distributor’s exact process — not just the ERP’s defaults.
3. Build: Configure and test (average 2 to 4 days)
4. Validation: Joint QA with distributor’s IT and CS
5. Cutover: Enable live flow and monitor closely during first days
6. Follow-up: Continuous checks, optimizations, and feature alignment

This hands-on model means no customer is left alone.
Distributors often describe the experience as “shockingly smooth” compared with previous vendors, a mix of technical skill and real partnership.

The Choco Advantage

Choco’s integration capability is not a single connector. It is a framework built to mirror the real-world complexity of food distribution.
 It combines engineering flexibility, process understanding, and direct collaboration with the people who run the business every day.

When distributors integrate with Choco, they don’t just connect systems, they connect teams, insights, and operations.
 The result is a solution that is faster to deploy, easier to maintain, and smart enough to adapt to any ERP, any workflow, anywhere.