BellHawk Systems Integration Tools

While many of our clients start out running their BellHawk tracking system on a stand-alone basis, it usually becomes apparent that time is being wasted and mistakes made in duplicate data entry. So many of our clients then want to implement automated data exchange interfaces to other systems.

To facilitate the rapid implementation of these interfaces, BellHawk Systems continues to make a major investment in tools to rapidly implement these interfaces. Some of the tools include:

The Bell-Connector SDK interface. This is a .Net DLL that can be used to read and write data objects in the BellHawk database without needing to know the structure of the database or write any SQL code. It is intended to be used by .Net managed code interface programs written in VB.net, C# or C++.

This SDK makes it very easy to write interfaces using high-level object-class abstractions. This Bell-Connector interface comes with a meta-database that defines how to access many of the objects within the BellHawk database. It also comes with an Excel-based tool that enables the meta database to be easily modified for specific interface requirements. This tool can also be used to define a meta-database describing objects in another database, so that a pair of SDK interfaces can be used back-to-back to implement automated data exchange interfaces.

This SDK can be used to implement automated data exchange interfaces to ERP, accounting and CRM systems. It can also be used to implement real-time data exchange interfaces to process control equipment and to test stands.
The BHSETUP program that is based on the Bell-Connector SDK interface. This enables data objects to be exchanged with BellHawk using Excel spreadsheets. Data, such as vendor purchase orders, can be exported from an ERP or accounting system into a spread sheet and then imported into BellHawk using BHSETUP. Also the resulting transactions, such as receipts of material from vendors, can be exported from BellHawk into an Excel spreadsheet and then imported into an accounting or ERP system.

The benefit of using BHSETUP is that the data can be examined, and edited if needed, after export from one system and import to the other. A number of our clients prefer this as their permanent solution, as it gives a great deal of control, whereas others use this as the starting point to a fully automated interface.

BHSETUP is an ideal tool for initially setting up a BellHawk system. It can be used, for example, to initially export an item master parts list from an existing system to BellHawk. It can also be much easier to do initial setup of data items, such a list of employees who will use the system, by first entering these into an Excel spreadsheet than it is to use BellHawk's interactive data screens.

With BHSETUP users can import and export only the parameters they need to exchange with BellHawk. Users can also specify the order of the parameters, thus making it easier to implement interfaces with applications that have rigid export and import formats.
The BellHawk DEX interface. This interface enables external programs to write data objects into an import tables in the BellHawk database and then call a stored procedure to have these objects imported into BellHawk. Similarly external programs can call a stored procedure within DEX to have BellHawk export selected records into an export table, from which they can be retrieved by the external program.

DEX also supports the manual import and export of data objects in comma delimited format. But it does not have the flexible formatting capabilities of BHSETUP.
The BellHawk TAG module provides an interface to a wide range of barcode printers, including those capable of producing barcode labels with embedded RFID tags. TAG provides an interface between the BellHawk database and the BarTender Enterprise software from Seagull Scientific. It enables named fields specified in label formats to be automatically filled from data objects in the BellHawk database. This enables labels to be automatically generated without the mistakes that arise from "fat fingering" data into a label before printing it.
BellHawk includes support for weighing scales, including such activities as performing such activities as count by weight and the automated inclusion of weights when performing data entry transactions. As standard BellHawk supports weighing scales with serial interfaces. It can be customized to support a wide variety of weighing scale protocols and communications mechanisms.
BellHawk includes code for interfacing with portals that automatically read RFID tags. Typically this code needs customization for the specific portals being used.

These tools have been used to implement interfaces to a wide range of ERP and accounting systems as well as a variety of process control and test equipment.