Leveraging service-oriented architecture to extend a legacy commerce system

Among the many challenges faced by businesses that maintain legacy software systems is the integration of those systems with external data sources, which are often other software systems developed and maintained by otherwise unrelated entities. Leveraging service oriented-architecture (SOA) provides a method by which the business value of a legacy system can be extended without the expensive alternative of reengineering or of complete replacement of the software. This paper describes a particular implementation that used a SOA approach to enhance and extend the functionality of a mature, complex multi-channel commerce enterprise system. The implementation linked the legacy enterprise system of a multi-channel merchant with that of an international shipping company that provides a service for electronic shipping label requests. The goal was to further automate the process of shipping and tracking of purchased products returned by customers of the merchant.