GSM Middleware Documentation

Welcome to the complete documentation for GSM Middleware - your centralized solution for managing multiple e-commerce platforms with Business Central integration.

What is GSM Middleware?

GSM Middleware is a WordPress plugin that connects your BigCommerce and WooCommerce stores to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, providing:

• 🎛️ Centralized Control Panel - Manage all sites and operations from one dashboard
• 🏪 Multi-Site Management - Handle unlimited BigCommerce and WooCommerce stores
• 🔄 Automated Synchronization - Hourly order imports, inventory updates, tracking sync
• 📦 Business Central Integration - Seamless ERP export and verification
• � Data Analytics - 10 interactive reports with KPI dashboard and CSV export
• ⭐ BazaarVoice Integration - Automated review sync and Schema.org markup generation
• 🔐 Flexible Configuration - Multiple database environments, API connections
• 🧪 Testing Tools - Safe order testing without affecting production
• 🏭 Order Generator - Create realistic test orders for pipeline testing
• ✅ Automated Quality - PHPUnit tests, PHPStan, PHPCS via CI/CD pipeline
• 🔍 Request Tracking - Standardized User-Agent headers for better API debugging and support

Complete System Overview

graph TB
    subgraph "Your E-Commerce Stores"
        BC1[BigCommerce Store 1]
        BC2[BigCommerce Store 2]
        WC1[WooCommerce Store 1]
        WC2[WooCommerce Store 2]
    end
    
    subgraph "GSM Middleware Plugin"
        CP[Control Panel<br/>Main Dashboard]
        SITES[Site Management<br/>Store Configuration]
        DBENV[DB Environments<br/>Database Config]
        APICONN[API Connections<br/>External APIs]
        TEST[Test Order<br/>Safe Testing]
        SETTINGS[Settings<br/>Global Config]
    end
    
    subgraph "Automated Operations"
        ORDERSYNC[Order Sync<br/>Hourly]
        INVSYNC[Inventory Sync<br/>Hourly]
        TRACKSYNC[Tracking Sync<br/>Nightly]
        BCINSERT[BC Insert<br/>Every 10 min]
        BCVERIFY[BC Verify<br/>Every 10 min]
    end
    
    subgraph "Middleware Database"
        RMORDER[(rm_order<br/>rm_lineitems<br/>rm_address)]
    end
    
    subgraph "Business Central ERP"
        BCSOAP[SOAP API<br/>Order Export]
        BCODATA[OData API<br/>Inventory]
    end
    
    BC1 --> ORDERSYNC
    BC2 --> ORDERSYNC
    WC1 --> ORDERSYNC
    WC2 --> ORDERSYNC
    
    ORDERSYNC --> RMORDER
    RMORDER --> BCINSERT
    BCINSERT --> BCSOAP
    BCSOAP --> BCVERIFY
    BCVERIFY --> RMORDER
    
    BCODATA --> ORDERSYNC
    
    CP -.-> SITES
    CP -.-> DBENV
    CP -.-> APICONN
    CP -.-> TEST
    
    SITES -.-> ORDERSYNC
    DBENV -.-> RMORDER
    APICONN -.-> BCSOAP
    APICONN -.-> BCODATA

Core Components

1. Control Panel

Your central dashboard for everything

• Monitor all site statuses
• View pending order counts
• Manually trigger any operation
• Access all configuration areas
• Real-time statistics
• Quick links to common tasks

2. Site Management

Configure your e-commerce stores

• Add BigCommerce sites
• Add WooCommerce sites
• Store API credentials securely
• Enable/disable sync per site
• Test connections
• View per-site activity

3. DB Environments

Manage database connections

• Multiple environment support (Live, Test, Dev)
• Store different database credentials
• Switch environments without code changes
• Test connections before activating
• Encrypted credential storage

4. API Connections

External API management

• SOAP connections (Business Central export)
• OData connections (Inventory queries)
• OAuth connections (Future use)
• Live/Test environment support
• Connection testing

5. Order Sync

Import orders from all platforms

• BigCommerce - Full REST API v3 integration
• WooCommerce - REST API with OAuth 1.0a
• Automated hourly synchronization
• Kit expansion and normalization
• SKU validation via Business Central
• Address formatting

6. Business Central Export

Push orders to your ERP

• Automated export every 10 minutes
• Insert orders via SOAP
• Verify processing status
• Retrieve Sales Order numbers
• Error tracking and retry logic

7. Test Order

Safe testing environment

• Import individual orders for testing
• Validate site connections
• Test without affecting live data
• Debug order import issues

8. Order Generator

Bulk test order creation

• Generate 1–100 realistic test orders per batch
• Uses real products from the site's inventory
• Multiple address modes (random, specific state, CSV upload)
• Configurable coupon, shipping, and tax line items

10. Settings

Global plugin configuration

• Sync intervals
• Timeout values
• Debug logging
• Email notifications
• Performance tuning

11. Data Analytics

Interactive e-commerce reporting

• KPI dashboard with date range selection
• 10 built-in reports (sales, shipping, chargebacks, geographic, queue health)
• Interactive Recharts visualizations (bar, line, pie, area)
• Sortable tables with CSV export
• Multi-site filtering
• Deep-linkable report URLs

12. BazaarVoice

Product review synchronization

• Authentic Discovery API integration
• SFTP Standard Client Feed import
• Schema.org JSON-LD markup generation
• Automated sync to BigCommerce custom fields
• Individual review storage with deduplication

Quick Navigation

🚀 Getting Started

• Installation
• Initial Configuration
• Add Your First Site
• Setup Cron Jobs
• Testing
• CI/CD Pipeline

📚 Core Features

• Control Panel
• Site Management
• Data Analytics
• BazaarVoice
• Order Generator
• DB Environments
• API Connections

⚙️ Operations

• Order Synchronization
• Business Central Export
• Inventory Sync
• Tracking Sync

🔧 Reference

• REST API
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ

How The System Works

Complete Data Flow

1. Order Placed → Customer orders on BigCommerce or WooCommerce
2. Order Sync → Hourly cron imports orders to middleware database
3. Data Storage → Orders stored in rm_order, rm_lineitems, rm_address tables
4. BC Insert → Every 10 minutes, pending orders pushed to Business Central
5. BC Processing → Business Central creates Sales Orders
6. BC Verify → Every 10 minutes, retrieves Sales Order numbers
7. Complete → Order fully processed, SO# stored in middleware

Typical Timeline

Time	Action	Location
00:00	Customer places order	E-Commerce Site
00:30	Order Sync runs	Middleware
00:40	BC Insert pushes order	Business Central
00:45	BC creates Sales Order	Business Central
00:50	BC Verify retrieves SO#	Middleware
00:50	✅ Complete	All Systems

Technology Stack

• Backend: PHP 8.2+ with strict types, PSR-4 autoloading
• Frontend: React 18 + TypeScript, shadcn/ui components
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• Database: MySQL/MariaDB
• APIs: REST, SOAP, OData
• Authentication: NTLM, OAuth 1.0a, OAuth 2.0
• Build: Webpack, Babel, PostCSS, Composer

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• WordPress 6.0+
• PHP 8.2+ with extensions: SOAP, cURL, OpenSSL, MySQLi
• MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+
• SSL/HTTPS recommended

Development Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Composer
• npm or yarn

What's New in v1.18.45

🔍 Standardized User-Agent Headers

All HTTP requests now include User-Agent: GSM Middleware/{version} for better:

• Request Tracking - API providers can identify and filter middleware requests in their logs
• Debugging Support - Support teams can quickly diagnose rate limiting, connection issues, and API changes
• Version Identification - External services know which version is making requests

Applies to all integrations:

• BigCommerce & WooCommerce APIs
• Business Central (SOAP & OData)
• External services (Signifyd, NMI, BazaarVoice)

Learn more about User-Agent debugging →

✅ Enhanced Test Coverage

• 37.4% code coverage (40/107 classes tested)
• 396 tests with 827+ assertions
• New test files for critical business logic components

View full changelog →

What's Next?

Choose your path:

🚀 Get Started📊 Explore Features🔧 Troubleshooting

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Need Help?

• 📧 Email: [email protected]
• 🌐 Website: rhinogroup.com
• 📚 Docs: You're here!

License

Proprietary - © 2026 Rhino Group. All rights reserved.