Tutorial: Configure MerchLogix for automatic user provisioning

The objective of this tutorial is to demonstrate the steps to be performed in MerchLogix and Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to configure Azure AD to automatically provision and de-provision users and/or groups to MerchLogix.

Note

This tutorial describes a connector built on top of the Azure AD User Provisioning Service. For important details on what this service does, how it works, and frequently asked questions, see Automate user provisioning and deprovisioning to SaaS applications with Azure Active Directory.

Prerequisites

The scenario outlined in this tutorial assumes that you already have the following prerequisites:

  • An Azure AD tenant
  • A MerchLogix tenant
  • A technical contact at MerchLogix who can provide the SCIM endpoint URL and secret token required for user provisioning

Before configuring MerchLogix for automatic user provisioning with Azure AD, you need to add MerchLogix from the Azure AD application gallery to your list of managed SaaS applications.

To add MerchLogix from the Azure AD application gallery, perform the following steps:

  1. In the Azure portal, on the left navigation panel, click on the Azure Active Directory icon.

    The Azure Active Directory button

  2. Navigate to Enterprise applications > All applications.

    The Enterprise applications Section

  3. To add MerchLogix, click the New application button on the top of the dialog.

    The New application button

  4. In the search box, type MerchLogix.

  5. In the results panel, select MerchLogix, and then click the Add button to add MerchLogix to your list of SaaS applications.

    Screenshot of the Add from the galley section with the Enter a name text box called out.

Assigning users to MerchLogix

Azure Active Directory uses a concept called "assignments" to determine which users should receive access to selected apps. In the context of automatic user provisioning, only the users and/or groups that have been "assigned" to an application in Azure AD are synchronized.

Before configuring and enabling automatic user provisioning, you should decide which users and/or groups in Azure AD need access to MerchLogix. Once decided, you can assign these users and/or groups to MerchLogix by following the instructions here:

Important tips for assigning users to MerchLogix

  • It is recommended that a single Azure AD user is assigned to MerchLogix to test your initial automatic user provisioning configuration. Additional users and/or groups may be assigned later once the tests are successful.

  • When assigning a user to MerchLogix, you must select any valid application-specific role (if available) in the assignment dialog. Users with the Default Access role are excluded from provisioning.

Configuring automatic user provisioning to MerchLogix

This section guides you through the steps to configure the Azure AD provisioning service to create, update, and disable users and/or groups in MerchLogix based on user and/or group assignments in Azure AD.

Tip

You may also choose to enable SAML-based single sign-on for MerchLogix, following the instructions provided in the MerchLogix single sign-on tutorial. Single sign-on can be configured independently of automatic user provisioning, though these two features compliment each other.

To configure automatic user provisioning for MerchLogix in Azure AD:

  1. Sign in to the Azure portal and browse to Azure Active Directory > Enterprise applications > All applications.

  2. Select MerchLogix from your list of SaaS applications.

  3. Select the Provisioning tab.

  4. Set the Provisioning Mode to Automatic.

    Screenshot of the MerchLogix - Prisioning section with the Provisioning option called out, the Provisioning Mode set to Automatic, and the Test Connection option called out.

  5. Under the Admin Credentials section:

    • In the Tenant URL field, enter the SCIM endpoint URL provided by your MerchLogix technical contact.

    • In the Secret Token field, enter secret token provided by your MerchLogix technical contact.

  6. Upon populating the fields shown in Step 5, click Test Connection to ensure Azure AD can connect to MerchLogix. If the connection fails, ensure your MerchLogix account has Admin permissions and try again.

  7. In the Notification Email field, enter the email address of a person or group who should receive the provisioning error notifications and check the checkbox - Send an email notification when a failure occurs.

  8. Click Save.

  9. Under the Mappings section, select Synchronize Azure Active Directory Users to MerchLogix.

  10. Review the user attributes that are synchronized from Azure AD to MerchLogix in the Attribute Mapping section. The attributes selected as Matching properties are used to match the user accounts in MerchLogix for update operations. Select the Save button to commit any changes.

  11. Under the Mappings section, select Synchronize Azure Active Directory Groups to MerchLogix.

  12. Review the group attributes that are synchronized from Azure AD to MerchLogix in the Attribute Mapping section. The attributes selected as Matching properties are used to match the groups in MerchLogix for update operations. Select the Save button to commit any changes.

  13. To enable the Azure AD provisioning service for MerchLogix, change the Provisioning Status to On in the Settings section.

  14. When you are ready to provision, click Save.

This operation starts the initial synchronization of all users and/or groups defined in Scope in the Settings section. The initial sync takes longer to perform than subsequent syncs, which occur approximately every 40 minutes as long as the Azure AD provisioning service is running. You can use the Synchronization Details section to monitor progress and follow links to provisioning activity report, which describes all actions performed by the Azure AD provisioning service on MerchLogix.

For more information on how to read the Azure AD provisioning logs, see Reporting on automatic user account provisioning.

Additional resources

Next steps