Microsoft Dynamics NAV and ShipStation integration

What moves between them

Shipment records flow from ShipStation into Microsoft Dynamics NAV. After an order is shipped in ShipStation, ml-connector reads the shipment event (polling for order modifications since SHIP_NOTIFY is push-only), extracts carrier, tracking number, and shipped date, and writes the shipment back into the corresponding NAV sales order. Tracking numbers and shipment status also update the posted shipment records in NAV so fulfillment is complete and current. The flow runs on a schedule tied to your shipping cycle, typically every 15 to 30 minutes.

How ml-connector handles it

ml-connector stores the ShipStation API Key encrypted and includes it on every request via the API-Key header. For Microsoft Dynamics NAV, it exchanges OAuth 2.0 client credentials for a bearer token and refreshes when a call returns 401 Unauthorized. Because ShipStation webhooks for SHIP_NOTIFY deliver only a pointer, ml-connector must follow up with an authenticated GET /orders/{orderId} call to retrieve the shipment details. Since ORDER_NOTIFY fires only on order creation and order edits require polling, ml-connector maintains a polling schedule on the modifyDate filter to catch updates that webhooks miss. NAV sales orders are identified by ShipStation's external order ID or by matching customer name and order date, and shipments are written to the matching sales order line. Both systems are eventually consistent - if ShipStation reports a shipment but NAV does not yet have the matching order, ml-connector queues the shipment for replay once the order is synced. Every record carries a full audit trail and can be replayed if a downstream call fails.

A real-world example

A small e-commerce business sells through its website and Amazon, using Microsoft Dynamics NAV for order management, invoicing, and GL accounting. Before the integration, the fulfillment team shipped orders through ShipStation, then manually entered tracking numbers back into NAV for customer service queries and printed packing slips. With ShipStation and NAV connected, each shipment event flows automatically into NAV, so tracking data is always current without re-entry. Customer service can pull tracking numbers directly from NAV, and the finance team has an accurate, current view of fulfillment status for reporting and month-end close.

What you can do

• •Read shipments from ShipStation and write tracking numbers and shipped dates back into Microsoft Dynamics NAV sales orders.
• •Authenticate ShipStation with API Key headers and Microsoft Dynamics NAV with OAuth 2.0 bearer tokens, refreshing as needed.
• •Poll ShipStation for order edits and shipment updates since webhooks alone do not capture all changes.
• •Match ShipStation orders to NAV sales orders by external ID, customer name, and date to handle both systems reliably.
• •Maintain an audit trail of every shipment record synced and replay shipments if a downstream write fails.

Questions

Does ShipStation push all order changes to ml-connector, or do you have to poll?

ShipStation webhooks fire ORDER_NOTIFY only when an order is created, and SHIP_NOTIFY when it ships. Order edits require polling. ml-connector uses modifyDate filtering to poll for changes that webhooks miss, ensuring no shipment event is lost.

How does ml-connector know which NAV sales order a ShipStation shipment belongs to?

ShipStation order IDs are stored in NAV sales orders as an external reference. ml-connector first tries to match by external ID. If that fails, it matches by customer name and order date across both systems to handle manual or legacy orders.

What happens if ShipStation reports a shipment but NAV does not yet have the corresponding sales order?

ml-connector queues the shipment record and retries periodically until the order appears in NAV. Once the order syncs, the queued shipment is replayed and written to the correct sales order line. This ensures no shipment data is lost even if order and shipment events arrive out of order.