On the 14th of October, Odoo released its new version Odoo 16. During the event, Odoo declared that they will continue to disrupt the ERP Mid-Market with interesting features.

In this article, you will see what those elements are and how Odoo will be able to compete with the main competitors in the MMC Market.

The 4 factors that allowed Odoo to compete with the top ERP Companies.

Odoo is the Right Solution

Fully integrated as an ERP System

• Strong Product
• IT innovative
• Agile Methodology

All in One Software

When you have different software and try to integrate them, you will have a lot of issues.

For example, a technical issue you had to connect different software to one another so that you maintain these connectors, and connection you had to upgrade them as soon as you get a new release or a new version. 

That is not convenient, or easy to maintain.

Cost-Effective

Subscribing to multiple systems will end up costing you more than you think.

• You will need to pay for multiple subscriptions instead of one. 
• If your customer needs to access multiple data on the same platform you will need to request a special feature to the editor in order to create and allow the integration.
• The product and the knowledge that is contained in Odoo is not like any other ERP system out there. Multiple Modules specially designed to help you with improving your business.

Odoo is an all-in-one sytem, it allows to tackle and access multiple modules, that are integrated with one another.

Odoo 16

With the release of Odoo 16 and the additional new features, Odoo became one of the top Open Source CRM business management software.

Priorities:

• New knowledge app similar to Wiki, Notion and confluence and integrated with all odoo apps. 
• Website builder backend and front end in single view
• Coupons and promotions in all apps
• Subscription app merged with sales
• Chatbot: multi choice questions and decision tree.

Accounting

• New bank reconciliation: multi currency matching, simplified accounting imports,
• Journal audit report: improved readability and vat related information's
• Enhancements in assets: Easier cancellation, better UX, Accurate Computations
• Credit Limit: warning in sales and invoice
• OCR: separate settings for customer invoice
• Intrastat reports
• Various improvements in E-invoicing Factrux, Peppol, Finvoice, EHF
• Vies Validation and E commerce

Appointments

1. New back-end(better onboarding, more visibility)
2. New Frontend Design

Email Marketing

• Create new templates from the previously designed templates
• Change global attributes of mailing list all at once

eLearning

• Vimeo Support

Mail

• New layout for pay now email notifications
• Multi company: multi domain & servers

Social

• Retweet & quote tweets from dashboard

Inventory

• Force backorder
• Improved shipping methods
• Automated batches 
• GS1 labels for lots and packages
• Replenishment visibility days
• Scan package
• Pick and count
• Force scan

Purchase

• Revamped call for tender
• Receipt/Delivery status in PO & SO
• Shipping insurance
• Commercial invoice

HR

• Sign: option to refuse sign

Timeoff

• New stress days, where leaves are not allowed for employees
• Options delete time off from dashboard

Approvals

• Determines sequence among approvers

Employees

• Report on employee skills
• Add signature request wizard to plans

MRP

• Split and merge manufacturing orders 
• Allocation report for manufacturing
• Subcontracting portal

Planning

•  Revamp Tablet view

Other Features:

• Project Scoreboard
• Sign 
• eIDAS integration
• Stripe Connect3 
• New payment acquirers 1. Mercado page(LATAM) 2. Flutterwave ( Africa) 3. Payfort (ME & SEA)
• Rental Online
• Studio : approvals dashboard

Odoo has come a long way since it's initially released in 2005. With businesses affected by the COVID 19 crisis, the way we conduct business changed. Businesses have decided to go online in order to stay afloat, and sometimes when you are not allowed to leave your house, due to a spread, you will need to manage your business. Well, Odoo is one of the most cost-effective and easily manageable solutions out there.

Other than expert talks, training sessions, and workshops offered by various partners, developers, and experts around the world, there are 2-days long, advanced, practical, and hands-on training sessions led by Odoo’s experts termed ‘SmartClass’. These classes are available for different modules of Odoo which in Odoo Experience 2022 would include:

• Website and Ecommerce (Level: Introductory) where you’ll learn how to optimize the website with great UI/UX, and product configuration and import it into the store
   
• Accounting (Level: Advanced): Where you’ll learn the Odoo Accounting module’s advanced features and the power of BI integration with Odoo Accounting among other popular techniques.
   
• Inventory (Level: Advanced): In this class, the overview of advanced features of Odoo Inventory 16 will be presented along with the case studies, best practices, and practical and theoretical knowledge of the supply chain framework

Other than these off-the-shelf official modules classes, the SmartClass includes the practical training on the Development of different common useful features in Odoo, and a detailed understanding of the models, interactions between models, and fields. There are also some intermediate courses scheduled as well such as the Odoo JS Framework for UI customization in Odoo and Adding new features to the Odoo web client. For this course, however, prior experience with Odoo development and JavaScript is required.

Conclusion

The Odoo ERP will probably outlive the competition when it keeps growing, and keep making profits each year, again and again for the past 17 years. The Summit Partners is a well-known name in the investment community. Summit Partners’ continued investment trust in Odoo’s growth is highly indicative of the fact. Similarly, Odoo has continued its internal and external growth alike. Odoo has nicely placed itself in the market suitable equally for Small and Medium Enterprises. Due to this fact, the number of employees and Odoo’s growth is continuously and proportionally pacing over years. Odoo is predicted to grow as it adds more functionalities and modules in its arsenal. One such example is the addition of IoT integration that resolves many issues that the customer may face in manufacturing, shipping, and inventory.