Amazon MWS Connector for SSAS : Make generic REST API request via SQL

Learn how to make generic REST API request using the Amazon MWS Connector for SSAS. This connector enables you to read and write Amazon MWS data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate listings, orders, payments, and reports — almost no coding required. We'll walk you through the exact setup.

Let's dive in!

Create data source using Amazon MWS ODBC Driver

1. Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).

2. Search for odbc and open the ODBC Data Sources (64-bit):

   

3. Create a User data source (User DSN) based on the ZappySys API Driver driver:

   ZappySys API Driver

   
   • Create and use a User DSN if the client application runs under a User Account. This is the ideal option at design time (e.g., when developing in Visual Studio). Use it for both types of applications (64-bit and 32-bit).
   • Create and use a System DSN if the client application runs under a System Account (e.g., as a Windows Service). This is usually the required option in a production environment. If your Windows Service is a 32-bit application, you must use the 32-bit ODBC Data Source Administrator to configure this

4. When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Amazon MWS" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Amazon MWS" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:

   AmazonMwsDSN

   Amazon MWS

   

5. Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.

   OAuth

   Amazon MWS authentication

   Please refer to external API reference

   API Connection Manager configuration

   Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

   1. Set Authentication Type to OAuth [OAuth]
   2. Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
   3. Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
   4. Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
   5. Finally, hit OK button:

   AmazonMwsDSN

   Amazon MWS

   OAuth [OAuth]

   https://mws.amazonservices.com

   Required Parameters
   AWSAccessKeyId	Fill-in the parameter...
   Secret Key	Fill-in the parameter...
   SellerId	Fill-in the parameter...

   

6. Then go to Preview tab to start building a SQL query.

7. Once you do that, proceed by opening Query Builder:

   

   ZappySys API Driver - Amazon MWS

   Read and write Amazon MWS data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate listings, orders, payments, and reports — almost no coding required.

   AmazonMwsDSN

   

8. Then simply select the Make Generic REST API Request endpoint (action).

9. Continue by configuring the Required parameters. You can also set optional parameters too.

10. Move on by hitting Preview Data button to preview the results.

11. If you see the results you need, simply copy the generated query:

    Make Generic REST API Request

    Required Parameters
    HTTP - Url or File Path	Select the value from the dropdown
    Optional Parameters
    HTTP - Request Body
    HTTP - Is MultiPart Body (Pass File data/Mixed Key/value)
    HTTP - Headers (e.g. hdr1:aaa || hdr2:bbb)	Accept: */* || Cache-Control: no-cache
    Parser - Filter (e.g. $.rows[*] )
    Download - Enable reading binary data	False
    Download - File overwrite mode	AlwaysOverwrite
    Download - Save file path
    Download - Enable raw output mode as single row	False
    Download - Raw output data RowTemplate	{Status:'Downloaded'}
    Download - Request Timeout (Milliseconds)
    Advanced Properties
    HTTP - Request Method	GET
    HTTP - Request Format (Content-Type)	ApplicationJson
    Parser - Response Format (Default=Json)	Default
    Parser - Encoding
    Parser - CharacterSet
    General - Enable Custom Search/Replace
    General - SearchFor (e.g. (\d)-(\d)--regex)
    General - ReplaceWith (e.g. $1-***)
    General - File Compression Type
    General - Date Format
    General - Enable Big Number Handling	False
    General - Wait time (Ms) - Helps to slow down pagination (Use for throttling)	0
    JSON/XML - ExcludedProperties (e.g. meta,info)
    JSON/XML - Flatten Small Array (Not preferred for more than 10 items)
    JSON/XML - Max Array Items To Flatten	10
    JSON/XML - Array Transform Type
    JSON/XML - Array Transform Column Name Filter
    JSON/XML - Array Transform Row Value Filter
    JSON/XML - Array Transform Enable Custom Columns
    JSON/XML - Enable Pivot Transform
    JSON/XML - Array Transform Custom Columns
    JSON/XML - Pivot Path Replace With
    JSON/XML - Enable Pivot Path Search Replace	False
    JSON/XML - Pivot Path Search For
    JSON/XML - Include Pivot Path	False
    JSON/XML - Throw Error When No Match for Filter	False
    JSON/XML - Parent Column Prefix
    JSON/XML - Include Parent When Child Null	False
    Pagination - Mode
    Pagination - Attribute Name (e.g. page)
    Pagination - Increment By (e.g. 100)	1
    Pagination - Expression for Next URL (e.g. $.nextUrl)
    Pagination - Wait time after each request (milliseconds)	0
    Pagination - Max Rows Expr
    Pagination - Max Pages Expr
    Pagination - Max Rows DataPath Expr
    Pagination - Max Pages	0
    Pagination - End Rules
    Pagination - Next URL Suffix
    Pagination - Next URL End Indicator
    Pagination - Stop Indicator Expr
    Pagination - Current Page
    Pagination - End Strategy Type	DetectBasedOnRecordCount
    Pagination - Stop based on this Response StatusCode
    Pagination - When EndStrategy Condition Equals	True
    Pagination - Max Response Bytes	0
    Pagination - Min Response Bytes	0
    Pagination - Error String Match
    Pagination - Enable Page Token in Body	False
    Pagination - Placeholders (e.g. {page})
    Pagination - Has Different NextPage Info	False
    Pagination - First Page Body Part
    Pagination - Next Page Body Part
    Csv - Column Delimiter	,
    Csv - Has Header Row	True
    Csv - Throw error when column count mismatch	False
    Csv - Throw error when no record found	False
    Csv - Allow comments (i.e. line starts with # treat as comment and skip line)	False
    Csv - Comment Character	#
    Csv - Skip rows	0
    Csv - Ignore Blank Lines	True
    Csv - Skip Empty Records	False
    Csv - Skip Header Comment Rows	0
    Csv - Trim Headers	False
    Csv - Trim Fields	False
    Csv - Ignore Quotes	False
    Csv - Treat Any Blank Value As Null	False
    Xml - ElementsToTreatAsArray

    SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__

    

12. Click OK to use built SQL query and close the Query Builder.

13. Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in SSAS:

    

    ZappySys API Driver - Amazon MWS

    Read and write Amazon MWS data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate listings, orders, payments, and reports — almost no coding required.

    AmazonMwsDSN

    SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__

    
    You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.
    A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole result set will be retrieved from the Amazon MWS API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in Amazon MWS servers).

Let's not stop here and explore SQL query examples, including how to use them in Stored Procedures and Views (virtual tables) in the next steps.

Amazon MWS SQL query examples

Use these SQL queries in your SSAS data source:

Get __DynamicRequest__

SELECT * FROM __DynamicRequest__

Create SQL view in ODBC data source

ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.

If you're dealing with Microsoft Access and need to import data from an SQL query, it's important to note that Access doesn't allow direct import of SQL queries. Instead, you can create custom objects (Virtual Tables) to handle the import process.

Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
   

2. Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
   

3. And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.

4. Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
   Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
   

   SELECT
     "ShipCountry",
     "OrderID",
     "CustomerID",
     "EmployeeID",
     "OrderDate",
     "RequiredDate",
     "ShippedDate",
     "ShipVia",
     "Freight",
     "ShipName",
     "ShipAddress",
     "ShipCity",
     "ShipRegion",
     "ShipPostalCode"
   FROM "Orders"
   Where "ShipCountry"='USA'

   
   

5. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:

   SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"

   

Make generic REST API request in SSAS via SQL view

1. Start by right-clicking on Data Source Views and then choosing New Data Source View...:

   

2. Select the previously created data source and click Next:

   

3. Ignore the Name Matching window and click Next.

4. Add the tables you will use in your SSAS cube:

   
   For cube dimensions, consider creating a Virtual Table in the Data Gateway's data source. Use the DISTINCT keyword in the SELECT statement to get unique values from the facts table, like this:

   SELECT DISTINCT Country FROM Customers

   For demonstration purposes we are using sample tables which may not be available in Amazon MWS.

5. Review your data source view and click Finish:

   

6. Add the missing table relationships and you're done!

   

Advanced topics

Creating SQL stored procedures

You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.

Steps to create Custom Stored Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

1. Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
   

2. Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
   

3. Select the created Stored Procedure and write the your desired stored procedure and Save it and it will create the custom stored procedure in the ZappySys Driver. Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here

   CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders]
       @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>'
    AS
       SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
   

   

4. That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Stored Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:

   Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';

   

Conclusion

And there you have it — a complete guide on how to make generic REST API request in SSAS without writing complex code. All of this was powered by Amazon MWS ODBC Driver, which handled the REST API pagination and authentication for us automatically.

Download the trial now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

More actions supported by Amazon MWS Connector

Got another use case in mind? We've documented the exact setups for a variety of essential Amazon MWS operations directly in SSAS, so you can skip the trial and error. Find your next step-by-step guide below:

• Get CSV Report By ID - Cached Copy (Previously Generated)
• Get FlatFile Report (Live)
• Get Report Count
• Get Report List (Successful Only)
• Get Report Requests
• Get XML Report (Live)
• Get XML Report By ID - Cached Copy (Previously Generated)
• Orders: Get Single Order Information
• Orders: Read Order Items
• Orders: Read Orders
• Make Generic REST API Request (Bulk Write)

More Amazon MWS integrations

SSIS

SQL Server

Microsoft Fabric

Power BI

SSRS

Informatica PowerCenter

MS Access

Excel

C#

Python

Java

Tableau

SAP Crystal Reports

Azure Data Factory (Pipeline)

Azure Data Factory (SSIS)

Talend Studio

UiPath

PowerShell

Alteryx

ODBC