6 Reasons to Choose Odoo

Odoo is an open-source software platform capable of streamlining, automating, and organizing business processes throughout your organization. It is a one-stop solution designed to satisfy every company’s needs. What makes Odoo such a great ERP platform? Below, we take a look at the 6 reasons to choose Odoo — and some important considerations to keep in mind when choosing an Odoo implementation partner.

Odoo is an all-in-one platform

The first key benefit is that Odoo does not focus on one specific industry, workflow, or business process. Instead, it aims to deliver a broad suite of applications that can meet the demands of any company. There’s a plethora of apps for manufacturing, accounting, inventory, logistics, eCommerce, human resources, customer relationships, omnichannel sales, purchases, marketing automation, and many more. Whatever your requirements are, there’s an app for that. On top of that, Odoo is API-friendly. If you’re using Shopify or QuickBooks or other apps outside of Odoo that you just find beneficial, you can keep them as part of the system. There are connectors readily available to help you make all your apps talk to each other. 

It helps you streamline your end-to-end operations

Odoo integrates all its apps together into one streamlined ecosystem. A suite of fully integrated business apps enables your business to run more smoothly and efficiently. There’s no need to jump across multiple websites and platforms, no need to enter the same data over and over again, no need to train employees on dozens of different systems and technologies. Odoo ensures seamless communication across departments and business functions, allowing your team to avoid common problems (like handling bulk returns or having extra inventory sitting in your warehouse or connecting multiple sales pipelines). All this gives you more time to actually grow your business. With Odoo, you can easily manage your products at all points of the supply chain, from design to delivery and beyond. If you’re in a service industry, Odoo can still help you manage your marketing initiatives, contacts, communications, taxes, and documents, all from within a single system. 

You can start small and scale at your own pace

Odoo offers comparatively low implementation and recurring costs. This is partially thanks to its licensing model. The open-source Odoo Community edition is free to download and use, leaving you with more budget to spend on implementation and customization. Its modular architecture makes it simple to implement the system in stages, one module at a time. You can start with just a few core functionalities, connect your already existing infrastructure via the APIs, and keep adding new applications as you grow. It also gives you the ability of your chosen implementation partner, and try out the functionality of the software so you can decide whether or not it is right for you. With Odoo, you don’t have to plunge head-first and change everything from the outset. You can test the waters step-by-step.

Odoo’s architecture is easily customizable

Odoo is an open-source platform. This gives you the flexibility to customize your infrastructure to your unique needs and adjust it as necessary. The Odoo App Store offers a variety of free and paid modules to enhance the core functionality of the system. And if you have a unique request within your business that is not listed in the Odoo app store, you can get a developer to create a module or application for that particular need. You can easily adapt your Odoo ERP system as your business evolves, or introduce changes if you shift your business focus somewhere along the line. This is particularly valuable because you don’t build your business operations around the ERP. You make the software serve your needs, not the other way around.

It brings in all the benefits of open-source software

The backbone of Odoo is the no-fee, open-source Odoo Community edition. Its source code is customizable, which means businesses who use Odoo can create their own patches to improve functionality, address errors, and personalize their experiences. Since Odoo is open source, you’re also not bound to a single contractor. Any Odoo developer, either inside or outside of your company, can use, change, and adapt its source code — as long as you respect the license requirements. You can always get help from the Odoo development community or request support from the Odoo team themselves. Should the need be, you can change vendors while still using the system, without any disruption to your regular operations. Odoo works with open formats and standard programming languages such as Python and PostgreSQL, which means you can easily migrate your data across platforms. You maintain complete control over your data and your software.

Odoo’s functionality goes beyond ERP

Odoo has already gone a long way since its early days as TinyERP and Open ERP, and it keeps improving. Not only that, but there’s also a huge community of independent developers providing feedback and constantly working to create new apps and modules. This holds a promise of indefinite support and scalability — not only in the present but also in the years to come. As you add more functions to your business (e.g. logistics, warehouse management, or global sales), you can add new modules. As you test new approaches and hire new people, you can accommodate the system to your needs. Odoo is the kind of software that is able to grow — and to support your growth — over a long period of time.

But there’s more. Odoo has been continuously expanding its range of features beyond ERP and CRM. Odoo offers a plethora of applications for website building, eCommerce, marketing automation, business intelligence, customer retention, event planning, e-learning, instant communications, and much more. The best thing is — all Odoo apps are fully integrated with each other. It’s indeed the one platform to rule it all.

With all these benefits in mind, it’s worth remembering that Odoo is not an instant silver-bullet solution. Its success requires a substantial commitment of time, planning, and careful implementation.

Odoo is heavily IT-dependent

One of the major challenges with Odoo is its setup and maintenance process. With multiple programming languages at its back- and front-end and multiple hosting options, Odoo is quite intrinsic in its structure and often requires an IT specialist to maintain the system. You need to make sure you have skilled enough partners so as not to waste resources due to faulty installations.

This brings us to the final consideration:

A pretty package doesn’t guarantee quality of service

Odoo’s enormous popularity has backfired in the sense that many developers are now jumping on the bandwagon with little to no specific experience. Wide-eyed overpromises and thousands of technically poor modules are the sad reality of today’s Odoo development market.

As simple as it may seem, Odoo implementation is a complex process. To reap all the benefits Odoo ERP has to offer, you need to have a trusted Odoo implementation partner who can deliver on their promises. You need a team of experts with technical and functional Odoo ERP expertise who can analyze your requirements and set reasonable expectations for what can be accomplished.

If you’re thinking of implementing Odoo in your business, feel free to drop us a message. We always start by listening to our clients and making sure we get a clear understanding of your business. Contact us to discuss how we can help customize Odoo  to meet your unique workflows and make sure all modules run smoothly according to your requirements.