Once you've created an Integration, you're ready to add Flows.  A Flow is the confguration information that defines one data exchange between your host system and a remote system.  For example, if a freight forwarder is sending an invoice to a customer, the process that recieves the invoice from the forwarder's system in XML, converts it to EDI, and delivers it to the customer's FTP site is a single flow.

Creating A New Flow

1. From within an integration, click the Settings link at the top of the page, then click the New Flow button.
2. You'll be presented with a list of supported business processes.  Choose the one that best matches the task you're trying to accomplish.
3. You'll now be in the New Flow screen.  Flows have 4 main components and a range of optional features.  In this article, we cover the basic steps you need to get started.  Additional features are documented in their own support articles.
4. Once you've configured your flow, click the Save button to save it and the deploy button to move it to production.  Once deployed, your flow is ready to receive data based on its Source System configuration.

The Core Flow Components

You'll need to configure each of these components for each flow.  Most other configurations are optional.  These represent how you'll receive data, how you'll transform it, and where it should be delivered.

• Source System
  This is the process that listens for and responds to data coming into the flow. Depending on whether your flow is a Send or Receive flow, this will either be a Host System configured in your workspace or a Connection configured in your integration. Source systems represent different protocols like HTTP and Email or proprietary system connections like Cargowise eAdaptor or Amazon S3.
  
  
• Source File Type 
  This represents the data format of the data coming in from your host system. Depending on your flow type, you'll see a number of pre-built file types for common industry systems as well as generic connections for Chain.io Standard JSON formats and EDI.
  
  
• Destination File Type
  This represents the data format of the data being sent from the flow. Depending on your flow type, you'll see a number of pre-built file types for common industry systems as well as generic connections for Chain.io Standard JSON formats and EDI.
• Destination System
  This is the final delivery point for your flow.  The transformed data will be delivered to this location. Depending on whether your flow is a Send or Receive flow, this will either be a Host System configured in your workspace or a Connection configured in your integration. Source systems represent different protocols like HTTP and Email or proprietary system connections like Cargowise eAdaptor or Amazon S3.