Duration: 25:31
PART 1 — Analytical Summary 🚀
Context 💼
This session features Hana from Match Consulting (a Germany-based Odoo Gold Partner) and Ashish from Simply (a Swiss e-mobility provider of AC/DC charging infrastructure). Together, they walk through how Simply re-engineered complex project delivery using Odoo Enterprise. The core story: replacing a split toolset (the standard Odoo Projects app plus Asana) with a deeply integrated, automation-first project operating model fully inside Odoo—from website intake to execution, reporting, and access control. Simply is currently on Odoo v15 and in the final stages of upgrading to v18.
Core ideas & innovations 🧠
Simply’s projects are large-scale, repeatable, and compliance-sensitive (e.g., building permits, phased execution), involving multiple internal teams and even multiple companies in the same Odoo database. The standard Projects app was a strong foundation, but they needed more: heavy templating, conditional automation, flexible (re)scheduling, and layered access.
They achieved this by staying close to standard and extending only where it unlocked tangible value:
- Leaned on Odoo’s modularity: Website → Projects → Tasks → Timesheets → Tickets are natively connected; this became the backbone of the flow.
- Built an end-to-end intake and orchestration loop: a partner fills an Odoo Website form; an automated action creates a landing task; time- or stage-based triggers then spin up a full project from a predefined template.
- Introduced a “third layer” above projects and tasks—Project Teams—to map departments, client portfolios, and HR sub-teams to the Projects app, with precise access rules.
- Elevated project templates into executable schedules: complex templates with dependencies, preset durations, Kanban stages, tags, and assignees allow a single trigger to materialize 30–50+ tasks with realistic, experience-based timing.
- Added one-click rescheduling: move the start date of an entire project (auto-shift all tasks), or shift only selected tasks—critical when permits, budgets, or client phasing change midstream.
- Kept customization minimal but strategic: a bit of Python for website snippets, automated actions for orchestration, and targeted visibility/scheduling features around the standard Projects and Stages model.
What it looks like in practice ⚙️
A partner requests a rollout via an Odoo Website form (building, parking spots, desired capacity). The submission creates a task in a “landing” project; after a time-based condition, Odoo auto-creates a new project using the correct template. That project arrives with 28+ tasks, default assignments, planned start, and tags—while leaving the end date open for the project lead to confirm with the client. Templates encode dependencies and time allocations gathered from Simply’s multi-year delivery experience, so estimates are realistic from day one.
The process is phase-aware. Concept and Implementation are separate projects with their own templates. When the last task in “Concept” moves to the right stage (e.g., “Approved”), an automated action creates the Implementation project instantly. If external constraints arise, project leads use the “move project” or “move selected tasks” features to shift timelines forward without manual Gantt-editing fatigue.
Access is governed through Project Teams—a department- and portfolio-level grouping that determines whether projects are public to the org or restricted to specific users. It’s also applied beyond e-mobility delivery; HR uses it to separate onboarding/offboarding projects and protect confidential one-on-ones.
Impact & takeaways 💬
Simply now runs more than 2,000 projects within Odoo, across ~100 Project Teams and 50+ templates. The approach slashed manual work and errors, improved privacy through layered access, and dramatically increased throughput. In a single year, they processed ~1,200 new projects—roughly double the previous five-year total (~600)—crediting automation, template discipline, and the integrated workflow.
Key lessons: - Standard-first pays off; targeted customizations amplify value without creating undue technical debt. - Encode field knowledge into templates and automated actions to scale consistently. - A third organizational layer (Project Teams) lets business units adopt Odoo Projects without losing control over access and focus.
Looking ahead, the upgrade to Odoo v18 will fold in more standard features (e.g., templates and UI improvements), with selective refactoring of customizations. On the roadmap: auto-creating Sales Orders from website requests and launching projects upon order confirmation, plus tighter links to custom property objects (auto-creating Buildings and Parking Spots when moving from Concept to Implementation).
PART 2 — Viewpoint: Odoo Perspective
Disclaimer: AI-generated creative perspective inspired by Odoo’s vision.
The beauty of this story is how much teams can achieve by leaning on the standard building blocks—Website, Projects, Tasks, and automated actions—then adding just a few targeted touches. When domain expertise is captured in templates and rules, software becomes quiet; work simply flows.
I’m especially glad to see access modeled around Project Teams. Simplicity is not about fewer features—it’s about the right abstractions so every team can work in the same system confidently. As we evolve Odoo 18 and beyond, we’ll keep folding real-world patterns like these into the standard, so more companies can do more with less.
PART 3 — Viewpoint: Competitors (SAP / Microsoft / Others)
Disclaimer: AI-generated fictional commentary. Not an official corporate statement.
This is a strong showcase of integration-led execution. By encoding repeatable delivery as templates and triggers, Odoo minimizes swivel-chair work and accelerates time-to-value. For many mid-market organizations, this is exactly the kind of lean stack that wins—website to project to ops without friction.
At scale, the challenges will shift: multi-country compliance, auditability, advanced portfolio and capacity planning, and deep financial controls become critical—areas where SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and others have mature offerings. The differentiator, then, is not just features but governance: ensuring template sprawl doesn’t undermine standardization, and that performance, data lineage, and regulatory reporting keep pace as volumes grow. The UX simplicity here is impressive; the question is how it evolves under enterprise-grade complexity.
PART 4 — Blog Footer Disclaimer
Disclaimer: This article contains AI-generated summaries and fictionalized commentaries for illustrative purposes. Viewpoints labeled as "Odoo Perspective" or "Competitors" are simulated and do not represent any real statements or positions. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.