Refreshing Vendors
Vendor Data Refresh Process
Overview
This document outlines the automated process for refreshing vendor data within our system. This specific workflow targets utilized vendors—meaning it only updates the data for vendors that are actively used inside a customer's tenant.
Architecture Pattern
The data refresh process is orchestrated using n8n workflows and follows a decoupled, asynchronous execution pattern: Scheduler > Message Queue > Trigger > Refresh Workflow
Execution Flow
The vendor refresh cycle operates automatically based on the following sequence of events:
- Scheduling: The
sheduleVendorRefreshV1.0workflow is configured to run automatically on the 15th day of every month at 10:00 PM. - Queuing: When executed, the scheduler retrieves a list of all utilized vendors. It then publishes a trigger message for each vendor to the Message Queue (MQ) topic:
dpe.internal.trigger.vendor.refresh. - Triggering: The
triggerVendorRefreshV1.0workflow acts as a consumer for the queue. It pulls and consumes one message at a time to ensure system stability and prevent rate-limiting issues. - Data Refresh: For each message consumed, the trigger activates the core
vendorRefreshV1.0workflow. This final workflow performs the actual data updates, which include:
- Updating the vendor logo.
- Updating the vendor operating status.
- Applying basic updates to the vendor Data Transfer Object (DTO).
System Components & Workflows
Below are the dedicated n8n workflows that manage this process.
| Workflow Name | Description | n8n Environment URL |
|---|---|---|
| sheduleVendorRefreshV1.0 | Cron-based scheduler that gathers utilized vendors and pushes messages to the MQ. | View Workflow |
| triggerVendorRefreshV1.0 | MQ consumer that processes messages one at a time to initiate the refresh. | View Workflow |
| vendorRefreshV1.0 | Core worker that executes the DTO, logo, and status updates for a given vendor. | View Workflow |
Future Enhancements: Product Portfolio Refresh
As the platform evolves, this vendor refresh architecture will be extended to synchronize the vendor's associated offerings.
In the future, we plan to link the vendor data refresh directly with a product portfolio refresh. When a vendor's profile is updated, the workflow will automatically evaluate their product catalog to:
- Add newly available products to our system.
- Deprecate or delete old, unsupported products. This will ensure that our customers always have access to the most accurate and up-to-date vendor portfolios within their tenants.