Integrating an online store with 1C and inventory
Without inventory integration, an online store eventually sells what it doesn't have. Here is how to connect a site to 1C and what it actually buys the business.
Why integration matters
Without stock sync, a manager updates availability manually, which becomes impossible to do accurately once the catalog passes a couple hundred SKUs. The result is orders placed for items already out of stock.
1C integration solves three problems: accurate stock on the site, unified pricing without manual duplication, and automatic order export back into the accounting system.
How the data exchange works technically
The common approach is 1C's native CommerceML exchange mechanism — scheduled XML file exports that the site processes to update the catalog. Reliable, though not instant.
For stores where stock changes fast, real-time exchange via REST API is used instead: an order on the site reserves the item in 1C immediately rather than on the next scheduled sync.
Cost and timeline of integration
A basic CommerceML export integration takes 5-10 development days. Real-time API integration takes from two weeks, depending on the 1C version and its configuration on the client side.
The main delay is usually not the site's code but the state of the 1C database: if products lack consistent SKUs or have duplicates, syncing has to start with cleaning up 1C itself.