What is Odoo ERP?
Odoo is an open-source ERP designed to provide a complete, professional and easy-to-use solution for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors. It allows all key business functions to be managed through its various modules. Nonetheless, there are many common misconceptions people have about it. Here is a brief look at five of them.
Odoo is only for SMEs
From the start, Odoo’s approach has been to give all businesses – from SMEs to large corporations – the option of having an ERP system. ERP was, for a long time, the preserve of large businesses: smaller organisations could not afford to take the risk of launching that kind of project, put off by the scale of change it required. Odoo therefore emerged as an ideal compromise, thanks to its ease of implementation.
However, this label of being an “ERP for SMEs” has stuck. That’s not quite fair, because Odoo ERP now counts major corporations among its clients, such as Toyota (which uses it to manage stock and invoicing for its “Material Handling” branch in France) and Sodexo (which uses it to implement a centralised management system in its vending machine division), to name just a few.
Odoo is free of charge
Odoo is an open-source ERP, so it must be free of charge. Not at all! Just like more traditional software publishers, Odoo is a professional solution that charges for its products.
Odoo Enterprise uses proprietary developments: from accounting and sales to project management and human resources, this version offers more comprehensive functional modules than the community version, to suit the needs of all businesses.
This should put an end to the low-cost, low-quality image that this ERP system has attracted for a few years. Instead, it should focus on a complete, modular system that adapts to any organisation, with rapid growth rates thanks to a highly active community.
Odoo doesn't offer high-quality support
Many businesses think that open source software means depriving users of support. That's not true! There is indeed a publisher that provides first-line support (in the form of tickets). After that, your integrator becomes a true partner. If you experience difficulties, you can turn to this integrator to find an appropriate solution. Moreover, the
Odoo community often supplies solutions and updates that constantly enhance the ERP software. Finally, in the case of developing specific modules, you will also have the support of the company that implemented these features.
Odoo is not up to the job
In comparison to ERPs like SAP and Dynamics 365, people often think (wrongly) that there is no room for Odoo in the ecosystem. This is demonstrably, obviously wrong. Odoo now has nearly 3 million users worldwide, with an average of 69% annual growth over the last ten years.
Odoo also has 750 partners in 130 countries and 1,919 reference clients from SMEs to major corporations including WWF, Auchan, Bouygues and Danone.
Odoo is an inflexible "off-the-shelf" system
Many people think that the offer is highly packaged and not very flexible. However, Odoo now supports over 10,000 applications that are available independently. A few years ago, there were no core offerings and an ERP could not be installed without an integrator.
Today, ERP software comes with an increasing number of packaged offerings, which has given rise to the perception that it only works exactly as it comes “out of the box”. In reality, these offerings allow enterprises to enjoy a turnkey solution while still retaining all of Odoo’s unique flexibility and room for custom development.
In short, you can install the modules and features of your choice whenever you want!