Odoo ERP in business. The online market is steadily growing. With this exponential growth, it’s no surprise that entrepreneurs are starting to become more open to trying out new and emerging solutions that will help give their business the extra competitive edge they need to succeed.
That’s a good thing because it opens the market up for competition.
Nowhere is this better proven than in the world of technology. The fact is that more and more people are shifting away from the conventional “one-size-fits-all” solutions to achieve their organizational goals and make their businesses competitive.
Companies of all sizes have started to invest in all-in-one business apps, such as established providers like Salesforce, among many other startup companies seeking a piece of the business app suit pie.
One thing they all have in common is that they started as business apps that focus on providing one solution for a particular business are.
One of these apps is Odoo – a suite that started as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Formerly known as OpenERP, it set out to take on the 500-pound gorilla in the ERP space, SAP. It has since branched out into a comprehensive suite of business apps that range from accounting, purchasing, billing, manufacturing, content management, e-commerce, inventory management, and many others.
Since then, Odoo has enjoyed substantial growth in recent years, particularly in the European and Asian markets it is adopted in. Much of this growth is credited to its robust platform’s strength, which costs significantly less than SAP.
But it’s not just the price that matters. And we’ll show you why. If you run a small to medium-sized organization, you can’t afford NOT to use Odoo’s ERP suite, regardless of your business.
Before we go any further, let’s first make a few definitions, particularly for those who are new to the concept of ERP.
What is Enterprise Resource Planning?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are systems that are set to manage tasks related to running a business, such as purchasing and inventory, production, and manufacturing (among many others).
ERP solutions are also designed to supervise the use of business resources between a company’s stakeholders, such as revenue, orders, materials, staffing, and manufacturing.
These are all managed through a single database management system complete with dashboard and built-in analytics.
Here are some of the most salient benefits of ERP systems.
- Real-time data. ERP systems provide a bird’s eye view of real-time data that enables organizations to quickly address business challenges and improve processes proactively.
- Manage risk and compliance. ERP systems improve regulatory and financial compliance, reducing organizational risk in the process.
- Promote the automation of business processes. ERP systems automate the most critical business operations. These include procure to pay, order to fulfillment, and lead to cash processes.
- Improve customer experience. ERP systems improve customer service by unifying data points and consolidating them into one source for relationship tracking and billing management.
As we will see, Odoo does this – and so much more. That’s why we say that businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes cannot afford to omit Odoo from their list of ERP solutions to consider. Odoo ERP in business can increase your profit.
Here are 10 reasons why.
Easy-to-use and intuitive user interface
Odoo offers a simple and elegant design. Its latest version boasts a clean and sleek look that is easy and pleasing to the eye. Odoo’s development team has performed experimental changes to the theme color and it goes perfectly with its intuitive interface – making for a fantastic user experience.
Comprehensive set of ERP features and modules
Odoo easily trumps the competition with more than a thousand modules that are customizable on your organization’s requirements. Choosing the right ones for your business will go a long way in increasing your employees’ productivity, enabling you to focus on the most important thing – growing your business and generating revenue.
Maximum flexibility
Odoo is extremely flexible and customizable no matter how simple or how complex your organization’s requirements might be. It can support the changes that your organization requires to stay competitive and thrive in today’s business environment. Constant scalability and innovation are critical features that makes Odoo the perfect platform for your business.
Modular system that simplifies business processes
Odoo makes ERP easy with its modular and user-friendly interface that makes it easy to customize them according to your organization’s requirements. With over thousands of modules to choose from, it is all but certain that you will find modules that are a perfect fit for your business. Otherwise, you can also choose an integrated business solution from Odoo that comes with preset modules that are ready to implement and use.
It’s a good idea to begin with some basic modules, then integrate more of them as you go. You can choose to go with the business app suite with preset modules you can use as required, and its modular option will allow you to add more modules and applications afterwards.
Economical and cost-effective
Compared to more expensive solutions like SAP and Oracle, Odoo has a much lower barrier of entry. While the initial investment may seem large, you will see the benefits in terms of a dramatic reduction in overhead.
Once Odoo is implemented, the only cost you will ring up is simply due to project management. This is, however, all reliant on your organization’s capability and expertise in managing ERP solutions like it. Whether you develop that technical expertise in-house, hire the talent to do so, or employ a consultancy to do so is up to you.
Technical experts best understand how to use Odoo to get the desired return on investment – just like any other ERP solution. However, not taken care of properly, it can definitely set your organization back. The total cost of ownership of Odoo is low, which will allow you to save your resources and use them for more important projects. Better technology and features compensate for its initial cost and the knock-on benefits make Odoo an economical solution.
No Lock-In Period
What sets Odoo apart from other legacy ERP providers is that it is open source software. Anybody can freely download a copy and install it to their heart’s delight. There are no license fees involved, which makes Odoo popular among a large user base of coders constantly working to improve and customize it.
Odoo’s open source philosophy makes it easy to customize, since it isn’t restricted to a company, and apply patches and edit the source code depending on your system’s needs and according to your requirements.
Free, constant software updates
Odoo’s open source nature also ensures that it is constantly being upgraded according to the constantly evolving tech landscape. This will help your business stay competitive by adapting to the latest technological advances and apply it to your organization.
Wide array of features and functionality
Who says you need to invest a ton of money in developing a quality ERP solution suited to your organization? Odoo can do that for you. Efficient operations are just at your fingertips. Proper implementation and change management will promote efficiency and productivity within your company’s business processes.
Odoo makes it easy to manage multiple facets of your business. From accounting, warehousing, project management, manufacturing, logistics, sales, customer relationship management, purchasing, human resources, contract management, payments, invoices, and so much more, Odoo is perfectly suited to be a flexible, function-rich, and robust platform from whence to improve your organization’s operational efficiency. The best part? Each and every one of them are customizable depending on your business requirements.
Improved messaging functionality
Odoo is constantly being upgraded and improved. The latest version vastly improves its messaging capabilities, allowing you to stay on top of what is happening within your organization. Think of it as a Facebook for your business. Get the necessary employees to join the group and communicate instantly and securely with this feature. It will improve the dissemination of information and communication within your company, ensuring improved and efficient collaboration between teams regardless of where they may be located.
What makes Odoo perfect for your business? A summary
To wrap it up, let’s take a look at the key features that make Odoo perfect for your business.
- Open source. Economic, productive, and ethical, Odoo is easy to make improvements and customizations on. Changes are quick to implement, and does not need large hardware resources to operate it effectively.
- Power and flexibility. Combine over a thousand modules to suit your business.
- Quick implementation. Odoo is faster to implement than your garden variety legacy ERP solution. With the right technical expertise, you can have Odoo up and running in a very short time.
- Business-centric. Odoo is concentrated on your business, and not on its application. The open source philosophy makes it an easy match for any size, type, or style of business you plan to implement it on.
- Modular. Odoo’s modular approach allows its customers to begin with a simple set of applications and add more features and modules as they go. Enjoy the benefits of integrated software without the hassle of dealing with resource-intensive and monolithic ERP systems.
- User-friendly. It’s easy to customize Odoo’s interface and dashboard in a few clicks. Your employees will find it a pleasure to work with due to its sleek and intuitive interface.
- Customize views easily. One click and you can easily customize views in Kanban, with lists, pivot tables, and graphs. Drag and drop tasks and keep tabs on your project simply.
- Easily view your inventory quickly.
- Create customizable and comprehensive workflows.
That’s more benefits than you can shake a stick at – and the best part is that you don’t have to break the bank to employ such a robust enterprise resource planning solution for your business.
Conclusion
It used to be the case that only big companies have the resources to deploy a comprehensive enterprise resource planning solution that integrates all aspects of their business. This is mainly due to the fact that the high cost of ownership for these legacy ERP systems have restricted their accessibility. This has given larger corporations the competitive advantage in optimizing their operations and their decision-making capabilities.
However, thanks to Odoo, small and medium-sized enterprises now have an opportunity to utilize these tools at a much lower cost, without compromising time and resources when it comes to financial investment or the time it takes to implement it.
If you are ready to invest some of your organization’s resources in a comprehensive, modular, and infinitely flexible solution, then you can’t make a better decision than choose Odoo. The benefits are just tantalizing. Its native integration capability without having to have a third-party solution is what really sets it apart from the rest. If your organization cannot support server management for utilizing Odoo, then you can simply opt for the hosted solution.
Got questions? Need a hand? We have the technical expertise to work hand in hand with customers for every implementation. Ditch the costly, complex, and resource-intensive traditional ERP solutions and enjoy the benefits of an open source, modular system that has the potential to reduce your costs and optimize your business just the same, if not better, than legacy systems would. If this is the case, then you cannot afford not to implement Odoo for your business.
Don’t take our word for it – contact us and see for yourself.