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API, EDI & automation

API, EDI & automation: Practical basics for trading

Essentials for connecting systems, managing product feeds and order flows, and designing automation with clear error handling. Focus on practical steps and realistic limits.

Published 6 September 2026Neutral editorial guide

Interfaces, formats and what they do

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) connect systems and move business data. APIs usually serve real‑time requests over HTTP/HTTPS with JSON or XML. EDI is an established method for exchanging standardized business documents such as orders, delivery notes and invoices. For merchants, APIs work well for flexible, live integrations. EDI fits when standardized batch processing and formal document flow are needed. Product feeds are a third approach, typically used to share catalog data on a schedule rather than in real time.

Product feeds and catalog data: Product feeds group product attributes into defined fields: title, description, price, SKU, availability, images and categories. A consistent field layout is essential for automated processing. Decide which fields are mandatory and which are optional. Update frequency should match volatility: fast‑moving assortments may need hourly updates, stable catalogs can be updated daily or weekly. Use stable identifiers (GTIN or internal SKU) and clear rules for variants so variant items are handled consistently and not lost as separate products.

Order data, status updates and feedback: Reliable status updates are central to order flow. A useful order lifecycle includes at least: received, confirmed, picked, shipped and completed. Ensure systems provide clear feedback on errors such as payment failure, item out of stock or address problems. Status updates can be sent by push (webhook) or pulled via API calls. Webhooks are efficient for real‑time events but require a stable receiving endpoint and retry logic. Polling via API is simpler to implement but adds delay and more traffic.

Error handling and practical automation: Automation saves time but brings risk if error cases are ignored. Set clear rules for automatic actions and define thresholds that trigger human review. Examples: flag price changes beyond a set percentage for manual approval, and raise an alert on repeated transmission failures. Implement logging and monitoring: record timestamps, payload sizes and response codes so incidents can be investigated. Roll out integrations in stages in test environments and keep a manual fallback path in case automation fails.

This guide was created with AI assistance and published automatically. Binding product details are shown on the linked product pages.

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