Duration: 16:00
PART 1 — Analytical Summary 🚀
Context 💼
This talk recounts a real-world retail transformation at Belgian paint and interior wholesaler Schellaert, which operates five stores across Flanders and serves both in-store shoppers and B2B deliveries to construction sites and homes. The project was led by implementation partner Dynaps, following an initial self-start with standard Odoo. With a tight timeline and a go-live date of June 1 (this year), the engagement shifted Schellaert from an outdated SAP Business One setup to Odoo v18, focusing on retail speed, inventory accuracy, and in-store manufacturing for paint mixing.
The speaker, a project manager at Dynaps, outlined the company’s footprint (15 years’ experience, 650+ customer references, ~13,200 active users, 215+ employees, active in Belgium, Netherlands, France, and Switzerland) and framed the work as a collaboration: Odoo for the initial setup, then Dynaps for specialized scope and rapid execution.
Core ideas & innovations 🧠⚙️
Schellaert’s key challenges centered on retail execution and operational complexity: a Point of Sale footprint of 13 cash registers (each paired with its own payment terminal), Sales with complex price lists, Inventory with non-trivial routings and replenishment rules, Manufacturing for in-store paint mixing, and Accounting that needed to be simplified compared to SAP. Beyond the functional scope, the team had to manage change, data migration, and hardware deployment across multiple sites, all under a compressed schedule.
Dynaps followed a structured, accelerated approach: intake and handover from Odoo’s initial rollout; a concise analysis and scoped plan; iterative implementation with customer validation; on-site installation of registers and payment terminals; and hands-on support for complex routing. A formal UAT phase used defined test scenarios to pressure-test end-to-end flows. Training was delivered on-site to smooth adoption. The team executed data migration and multi-site hardware activation in a single weekend, followed by a short hypercare period before transitioning to ongoing service desk support.
The standout innovation was an integrated retail-manufacturing loop: when a customer checks out at POS, Odoo automatically triggers a manufacturing order to the in-store mixing area. Shoppers can pay, pick up a delivery slip, and collect freshly mixed paint almost immediately. For products restricted to specific mixing facilities, POS can route manufacturing to a central store, and Odoo auto-ships the finished paint to the correct branch for next-day pickup. This unifies POS, Inventory, and Manufacturing in a way that feels natural to retail staff and customers alike.
Impact & takeaways 💬
The move from SAP Business One to Odoo v18 delivered tangible improvements in flexibility, simplicity, and speed:
- End-customer choice expanded, with checkout-linked paint mixing and convenient pickup options across the network.
- Inventory was redesigned for scale using the Odoo Inventory app: two warehouses and five shops are kept in sync via automated resupply from central warehouses, daily inter-store transfers, and streamlined buyer workflows (review purchase proposals, confirm, and let Odoo handle restocking logic).
- Accounting steps were simplified versus SAP’s outdated setup—cited as a major pain point—while total cost of ownership improved through lower implementation and licensing costs.
- The retail estate (13 registers, multiple terminals) was standardized on Odoo POS, reducing integration friction and improving maintainability.
- The organization experienced a structured change journey—UAT, training, hypercare—minimizing disruption and accelerating time-to-value.
Just three months post-go-live, Schellaert is stabilizing and iterating. While no new phases are formally planned yet, they are exploring a webshop and additional continuous improvements. The team behind the rollout was lean—an all‑round consultant on-site, a finance consultant, and 1–2 developers—with the ability to draw on Dynaps’ broader expertise as needed. The project illustrates how Odoo v18 can serve as a modern, integrated backbone for specialty retail, especially when POS, Inventory, and Manufacturing must operate in concert. ⚙️
PART 2 — Viewpoint: Odoo Perspective
Disclaimer: AI-generated creative perspective inspired by Odoo’s vision.
What I love here is the elegance of the flow: selling at the counter and manufacturing on demand without friction. This is exactly what we mean by integrated simplicity—let the system handle the complexity so users can focus on serving customers. With Odoo v18, Schellaert didn’t just replace software; they simplified their business rules and unlocked new experiences.
The story also reinforces the power of collaboration. Odoo can get companies started quickly in standard, and our partners like Dynaps add the specialized flows and change management that make transformation stick. Community, integration, and usability are our compass—and this project shows how far that can go when executed well.
PART 3 — Viewpoint: Competitors (SAP / Microsoft / Others)
Disclaimer: AI-generated fictional commentary. Not an official corporate statement.
Schellaert’s shift underscores an industry trend: retailers want tightly integrated POS, inventory, and light manufacturing without heavy custom stacks. Odoo’s breadth and UX help it land fast in multi‑store scenarios. The cost profile versus traditional ERP is attractive for mid-market firms, especially when legacy systems are on outdated versions.
That said, long-term scaling brings questions: governance for extensive customizations, advanced compliance (e.g., auditability, controls, localization depth), performance across large SKU catalogs, and enterprise-grade analytics. Microsoft and SAP ecosystems will emphasize robust compliance frameworks, enterprise data models, and BI layers. UX differentiation will remain a battleground; Odoo has momentum on usability, while larger suites will push depth and global scale. The deciding factor will be how cleanly these retail-manufacturing flows scale without accruing technical debt.
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.