Corporation in Education Industry Uses Odoo ERP System to Support New Product Launch
Overview
Novobi custom-built an Odoo ERP system for Excelligence Learning Corporation, a leading early childhood education service provider. To support their newly established school-supply kitting initiative, the team focused on customizing the Odoo inventory module to fit the company’s needs, quickly implementing the new solution, and ensuring a low total cost of ownership (TCO). With this system, Excelligence improved the sales team’s response time in sending quotes to clients, lowered labor cost, and increased data accuracy.
The Client
INDUSTRY:
Education, Manufacturing
LOCATION:
Monterey, California
Excelligence Learning Corporation
Excelligence Learning Corporation provides educational products, services, and solutions to the global early childhood education market.
As a leader in their industry, Excelligence streamlines the purchasing experience through a multi-channel approach. Their products, services, and solutions are used by a wide range of customers, including preschools, daycare centers, elementary schools, and homeschooling families.
Challenge #1
Current system cannot support new business initiatives without costly, time-consuming, and complicated development
Solution
Inflexible and monolithic
Challenge #2
“Requires a system that allows sales representatives to quickly generate BoMs, verify component availability, and generate quotations with increased speed and efficiency”
Solution
Create a custom job report to automatically generate the total cost of an ETO project that updates costs and inventory in real time with design changes.
Challenge #3
Requires a system that eliminates manual effort when sending purchase orders while ensuring order data accuracy
Solution
Create a custom job report to automatically generate the total cost of an ETO project that updates costs and inventory in real time with design changes.
Challenge #4
Requires a system that produces real-time financial accuracy by posting journal entries in real-time as transactions or stock moves occur
Solution
Create a custom job report to automatically generate the total cost of an ETO project that updates costs and inventory in real time with design changes.
The Client’s Challenge
Excelligence required a system that can support their newly established school-supply kitting venture. To provide the best possible solution, the Novobi team addressed several business and technical challenges ranging from an inflexible and monolithic legacy system to a lag in accessing the most updated data.
Business Challenges
On the business side of things, Excelligence had specific requirements that the Novobi team had to meet. The solution developed had to overcome the following challenges:
Slow Sales Order Processes
Slow Component Verification, Quotation, And BoM Generation
To ensure their new venture is fully supported, Excelligence would require a robust system that enables overall efficiency across sales processes. This includes a system that enables Excelligence sales representatives to quickly generate BoMs and quotations as well as verify component availability.
Lack of Purchase Order Automation
Manual Effort Still Required for Purchase Orders
Excelligence’s current system still requires employees to manually input information when sending out purchase orders. To increase efficiency, Excelligence requires a system that automates the purchase order process to lower labor cost and ensure data accuracy from purchasing to accounting.
Financial Reporting Inaccuracy
Accounting Journal Entries Are Not Updated in Real-time
Excelligence does not have access to real-time financial reporting because accounting journal entries are currently not automated. To ensure accurate financial reporting at all times, the new system must post the journal entries as transactions or stock moves occur.
System Challenges
Excelligence’s legacy system lacks the flexibility to support the new project. This pushed the company to seek a suitable solution that can overcome the following challenges:
Inflexible and Monolithic System
Current System Lacks Flexibility
Excelligence’s current system lacks the flexibility required to support their new venture. The system in place would require complex redevelopment for it to adequately support the initiative. Embarking on such a redevelopment would be costly, using up the company’s time and monetary resources.
Fragmented System
Lack of Single-Source of Truth
There is no singular system in place for Excelligence to run their business efficiently. The company utilizes multiple software for various aspects of their operations, and this leads to overall inefficiency and increased risk of data inaccuracy.
Lack of Access to Real-time Data
No Unified, Real-Time Data Access
Since some of Excelligence’s operations are still largely manual, the current system does not support unified, real-time data updates. This issue compromises the accuracy of the business’s financial reporting.
Novobi’s Solution
Using the Odoo ERP system platform, Novobi deployed a cost-effective, customizable solution capable of encompassing various aspects of Excelligence’s business operations. Advanced automations and integrations are included in the system to help ensure the success of the new business initiative.
Novobi Enhancements
Novobi leveraged the Odoo open-source platform to custom-build the following enhancements to meet Excelligence’s needs:
Custom Inventory Module for Excelligence
This module takes Odoo inventory management a step further. Excelligence sales representatives can now quickly check component availability when making quotations. Moreover, this tool provides access to accurate, real-time inventory data to help manage overstock and understock.
EDI Integration Module for Excelligence
This module simplifies the entire process of component purchasing for Excelligence by facilitating the generation of EDI documents on Odoo. Excelligence can then use generated files to purchase the components they need. The module seamlessly integrates with the rest of the system ensuring utmost efficiency for the business.
Odoo Apps
Excelligence uses the following Odoo apps in their system:
Sales
Accounting
Purchase
Inventory
Manufacturing
“Novobi delivered a complex project, on time and under budget. We’re leveraging Odoo to delight our customers by delivering high-quality products customized to their individual needs.”
Paul Whitely
Director, Enterprise Applications / Excelligence
The Novobi Approach
Novobi follows a strict implementation schedule following CMMI and Scrum frameworks with weekly sprints, ensuring that clients can expect demos and workable solutions weekly or biweekly. Novobi also follows best practices in configuration and customization to ensure the system functions correctly. This approach makes it easier and more cost-effective to upgrade in the future.
The Results
Novobi successfully implemented and launched a bespoke solution with the features required to support Excelligence’s new venture. Excelligence’s new Odoo ERP system increased overall efficiency in their sales process and reduced the risk of data inaccuracy in their reporting.
STRENGTHENED COMPANY’S POSITION DURING THE SALES PROCESS
Excelligence can position themselves as first to respond and demonstrate expertise by providing an accurate and detailed quote quickly.
LOWERED LABOR COST AND INCREASED DATA ACCURACY
Automating data entry through integrations reduces manual work and maintains data integrity as it moves through the system.
ALLOWED USE OF REAL-TIME DATA FOR QUICK FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Automated accounting journal entries provide real-time reporting of transactions and stock moves.
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