Compare data flows and workflows
| Workflows | Data flows |
|---|---|
| Focus is on user tasks. Tasks are distributed to users through Infor Ming.le. | Focus is on routing of documents. Applications are integrated automatically without user intervention |
| The process is managed by ION. The workflow controls which tasks are created and monitors the task status. | ION only delivers the documents. The data flow is event-driven; ION is passive, waiting for the next event to be published by an application. The ION data flow does not trigger events or actions in applications. |
| The amount of data that is handled in the workflow is limited to the workflow parameters and structures. | The documents to be delivered can be complex. |
| Applications can trigger a workflow by sending a Process. Workflow BOD can receive an Acknowledge Workflow BOD. | Applications communicate with data flow using documents. |
For more information about modeling workflows that involve user tasks, see Workflow.
1. Business flow to handle requisitions
This diagram shows a flow to handle requisitions. A request for some goods is translated to a purchase order that is handled by a materials management application.
When the requisition application publishes a ProcessRequisition, ION delivers it to the ERP application. Because
ION Connect is event-driven, it does not
force the ERP system to create a purchase order. It delivers the request for a new
requisition and then waits for the next event to happen. When the ERP system
publishes a SyncPurchaseOrder, that document is
delivered to the MaterialsManagement application.
ION automatically handles reply BODs. In
this case, when the ERP system sends out an AcknowledgeRequisition
in reply to the ProcessRequisition, that document is delivered to
the Requisition application.
2. Business flow to load orders
The diagram shows a flow to retrieve new or changed sales orders
from a database and send them to an Infor ERP
application. If the structure of the sales orders in the database differs from the
standard SalesOrder BOD, a mapping activity is
added to translate the custom sales order data into a standard SalesOrder BOD.
ION is event-driven and a database connection point is passive. Therefore, a schedule is used in ION to regularly read the data from the database.