Custom Skwirrel integration
Appfront builds integrations with Skwirrel, the PIM system for technical products. Manufacturers and wholesalers manage product data, images and ETIM features there. Skwirrel offers standard integrations and an API through which all data, or only the changes, can be retrieved. We connect Skwirrel to your own webshop, ERP, configurator or app, so product data is the same and up to date everywhere.
What is a Skwirrel integration?
Skwirrel is a PIM system, a product information management system, focused on technical products. Manufacturers and wholesalers manage descriptions, images, documents and technical features there according to ETIM, the classification widely used in the technical trade. Skwirrel has integrations with, among others, 2BA, Exact Online, AFAS and Magento, and an API through which all data, or only what has changed, can be retrieved.
If you have your own webshop, ERP, product configurator or app alongside Skwirrel, you want to see the same product data there. Without an integration, data is exported and imported by hand, and one channel falls behind. A new image is in Skwirrel but not on the webshop. ETIM features arrive as a long list that customers can't use as filters. And a discontinued product stays on sale somewhere.
We build custom solutions because every business is different: which systems you run alongside Skwirrel, which data you need where, and how often it must be updated. What the API makes possible for your situation is set out in Skwirrel's documentation; we review that together with you in the first step.
The same everywhere
Product data from Skwirrel in your webshop, ERP, configurator or app, without exports.
Attributes as filters
ETIM attributes converted into filters and properties that customers can use.
Changes only
Changed data is retrieved regularly, so every channel stays up to date.
How we build your Skwirrel integration
We start with your product data: which systems sit alongside Skwirrel, which data is needed where, how things work today, and where it falls behind. Much of the work is usually in translating attributes into filters that work in a webshop. We set those up per product group, so new products come in correctly by themselves. That way, nothing needs linking by hand after go-live.
Your systems alongside Skwirrel, data, channels and bottlenecks.
What Skwirrel's API offers for your situation.
Products, attributes and media to your systems, with control.
Go-live, monitoring, and managing changes to Skwirrel or ETIM.
What a Skwirrel integration actually does
The components below come up in almost every Skwirrel integration. Which ones you need depends on your channels.
Products
Descriptions and item data.
Media
Images and documents.
Attributes
ETIM converted into filters.
Changes
Only what has changed.
Discontinued
Products that are removed, including offline.
Audit log
Every synchronisation recorded.
Who we build Skwirrel integrations for
The integration is aimed at businesses that use Skwirrel alongside their own systems.
Technical wholesalers
Many items and a webshop. The attributes are the core.
Manufacturers
Product data for dealers. The media matter most.
Configurators
Assembling products. Up-to-date data is what is needed.
Software suppliers
A product with product data. The API is the core.
Technology and integrations
This page is about integrations with Skwirrel. For a custom PIM, see our page on a PIM portal; for configuration, our page on a product configurator; and for a custom webshop, our page on a custom webshop. You can read about how we work under building software.
Why choose Appfront for your Skwirrel integration?
A webshop that lags behind the PIM shows customers incorrect or outdated product information. We build on the opposite: product data identical everywhere, attributes as filters, and changes that flow through automatically.
Up to date
Every channel in step with Skwirrel.
Findable
Customers filter by attribute.
Less manual work
No exports and imports.
Security and privacy in a Skwirrel integration
The integration handles product data and sometimes pricing information. Access credentials are stored encrypted and used only by the integration, and every synchronisation is logged.
The integration runs in a European data centre or in your own environment, with encrypted storage and daily backups.
Frequently asked questions about a Skwirrel integration
Questions manufacturers and wholesalers ask before getting started.
Skwirrel is a PIM system for technical products. Manufacturers and wholesalers manage product data, images, documents and attributes in it according to ETIM, and publish them to their channels.
Yes, with, among others, 2BA, Exact Online, AFAS and Magento. If your system is among them, a custom integration is often unnecessary. A custom integration is for a webshop, ERP, configurator or app that isn't on that list, or if you want more than the standard integration offers, such as custom filters per product group or data that needs to flow back to Skwirrel.
Via the Skwirrel API, which allows all data or only changes to be retrieved. We'll look at what the API makes possible for your situation and how often updates occur in the first step. For an initial load, we retrieve everything; after that, only what has changed, so every channel stays up to date quickly.
Attributes are converted per product group into filters and properties, with units and values customers understand. This lets a customer filter on, for example, diameter or power, instead of scrolling through a long list. You choose which attributes count as filters for each group, and the integration applies that to every new product.
When a product is discontinued in Skwirrel, it is also taken offline or marked in the connected channels, so it can no longer be sold. If there is a successor, it can be shown, so a customer looking for the old product can still find what they need.
The integration reports the problem and records what went wrong. The synchronisation is retried or set aside for review, so no product is left behind. Products missing data that a channel requires are shown separately, so they can be completed in Skwirrel.
For manufacturers and wholesalers who use Skwirrel alongside their own webshop, ERP, configurator or app, and for software vendors who want to connect their product to Skwirrel.
Product data consistent everywhere?
Tell us which systems you use alongside Skwirrel and where product data is falling behind today. We'll show you what the integration would look like.