Integration with Other Applications > Introduction to Windchill ESI > Using ERP Connector
  
Using ERP Connector
ERP Connector is a product designed to leverage current Windchill ESI standard capabilities on the Windchill side, without using any third-party EAI software.
This uni-directional integration enables the publication of product information stored in Windchill PDMLink to distribution targets in XML format. ERP Connector enables the transfer and mapping of business objects, such as parts, Bills of Material (BOMs) Change Notices (CNs), documents and CAD document structures, and if Windchill MPMLink is installed manufacturing objects, from Windchill to the distribution targets, and also serves as the foundation for more advanced transaction-managed integrations.
ERP Connector interfaces with the ESI Services to produce output from Windchill PDMLink in a format that can be easily processed and mapped to a distribution target such as a file system, an FTP location or an e-mail address. The output from ERP Connector is in XML format.
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ERP Connector can be configured to work with closed loop transactions. With such a configuration in place, and with relevant customization, it is possible to achieve a two-way communication between Windchill and the distribution target. For more information on this topic, refer to the ERP Connector Customizer's Guide.
ERP Connector allows for the manual customization of all Windchill components in order to create business objects in a format that is acceptable for each individual distribution target.