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Azure Function & SFTP Bridge

Business Central SaaS cannot open outbound SFTP — only HTTPS. So that the BORD512 file reaches the Rhenus SFTP server, the connector runs a small Azure Function as an SFTP bridge. It receives the file via HTTPS and forwards it to Rhenus via SFTP.

BC SaaS  ──HTTPS POST──▶  Azure Function (your subscription)  ──SFTP──▶  Rhenus server

Privacy: runs in your own Azure subscription

The function runs in your own Azure subscription. Shipment data and Rhenus SFTP credentials never flow through ALTENBRAND infrastructure. The function is stateless: the SFTP host and credentials are passed in per call from Business Central.

What is deployed?

The deployment creates in your Azure subscription:

  • a Consumption Function App (.NET 8 isolated) with two endpoints:
    • /api/RhenusSftpUpload — uploads the BORD512 file via SFTP
    • /api/RhenusSftpTest — checks the SFTP login (used by Test Connection)
  • an associated storage account

At the end of the deployment you receive two values: the Azure Function URL and the Function Key.

Requirement

You need an Azure subscription with the Contributor role. The deployment does not create a managed identity or role assignments — Owner rights are not required.

Deployment in 3 steps

Step 1 — Open the guide page

In Business Central, open the Rhenus setup (Setup Wizard or Rhenus Settings) and click the Set up Azure Function action. The guide page opens at downloads.merchantcentral.de.

Step 2 — Deploy in Azure Cloud Shell

Open the Azure Cloud Shell (PowerShell) in the Azure portal. Cloud Shell is already signed in — no local tool and no az login required. Paste the one-liner from the guide page:

iwr https://downloads.merchantcentral.de/shipment-rhenus/azure/deploy-rhenus-azure.ps1 -OutFile deploy.ps1; ./deploy.ps1

The script asks for a resource group and region, creates the function, and prints the Azure Function URL and Key at the end.

Step 3 — Enter the values in Business Central

  1. Enter the Azure Function URL and Azure Function Key in the Rhenus setup
  2. Add the SFTP credentials (host, username, password, remote path if needed)
  3. Click Test Connection — the connector calls RhenusSftpTest and verifies the SFTP login

Done

After a successful connection test, the transfer chain is ready. When a shipment is created, the BORD512 file is automatically transmitted to Rhenus through the function.

Security

  • The Azure Function Key, SFTP username, and password are kept exclusively in the hub's central Credential Store (not in the BC database). The fields only show Configured / Not configured.
  • The transfer to the function uses HTTPS; the key is passed as the function key.
  • The function is stateless — it does not store any shipment data.

Don't want to use Azure?

Without an Azure Function you can fully test the connector in Sandbox Mode: the BORD512 file and labels are generated locally and no upload takes place. For production, however, the Azure Function is required, because Business Central itself cannot do SFTP.

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