The Future of Odoo Consulting
Last updated: November 07, 2022 Read in fullscreen view
Recommended for you
- 21 Apr 2021
Most frequently asked questions about Odoo ERP 1066 - 20 Oct 2022 Odoo roadmap for beginners and small businesses 913
- 23 Aug 2022 How to Create Qweb Report in Odoo 16? 757
- 10 Aug 2021 Build A Marketplace Website with Odoo ecommerce 686
- 29 Nov 2019 Odoo Website Builder Allows You to Make Your Own Website 626
- 18 May 2022 Odoo Employee Contract Portal Self Service 591
- 06 Mar 2021 4 things you need to do before getting an accurate quote for your software development 557
- 01 Sep 2022 Facts Chart: Why Do Software Projects Fail? 500
- 10 Apr 2022 Odoo Dealership Management 499
- 01 Jan 2023 Senior Odoo Business Developer - Job Detail 462
- 08 Aug 2022 Scale-up! The ultimate business game to learn business operations before you get started 443
- 25 Dec 2021 Compare Odoo Studio vs QuickBase vs OutSystems 417
- 15 Jun 2022 ERP Implementation Strategies: Big Bang and Phased rollout 397
- 16 Apr 2021 Insightful Business Technology Consulting at TIGO 354
- 10 Feb 2022 Odoo Implementation - Basics of the QuickStart Methodology 353
- 14 Dec 2021 Odoo - the Right Software for Your Digital Transformation? 344
- 07 Jul 2021 The 5 Levels of IT Help Desk Support 342
- 17 Feb 2022 10 services of Odoo Development for streamlining your business 341
- 09 Nov 2021 Frequently Asked Questions about Odoo 310
- 01 Nov 2023 Unlocking the power of Odoo 17 - What are the new and improved features? 302
- 03 Nov 2021 7 phases of Odoo Implementation and Development: Can they be outsourced? 300
- 08 Aug 2021 XERO vs ODOO: Which fits your needs? 295
- 10 Feb 2022 Odoo Implementation Services - Let Us Be the Icing 280
- 01 May 2023 CTO Interview Questions 279
- 03 Jan 2022 ERP System Scalability—A Tale of Two Companies (Part 3) 271
- 01 Oct 2022 Odoo 16 will Disrupt The ERP Mid-Market with stunning features 266
- 18 Mar 2020 Automate Recruitment with Odoo: Work smarter, not harder 264
- 19 Jan 2022 TIGODOO - The leading player in the digital transformation market 256
- 19 Jul 2022 Odoo vs Sage Comparison 255
- 03 Nov 2022 Top questions and answers you must know before ask for software outsourcing 253
- 11 Sep 2022 Odoo - a product-market fit for a radical and meaningful transformation of SMEs in Japan 251
- 19 Oct 2021 The Workplace of the Future: Gamification to Encourage and Reward Employees 247
- 12 Oct 2022 Why is ODOO end-to-end business management software? 247
- 25 Jul 2022 Govern your Business with Odoo - One Solution To Many Challenges 242
- 08 Nov 2022 Considerations in revolutionizing your business with Odoo 238
- 08 Nov 2021 Why Odoo is considered best for streamlining your business? 238
- 07 Aug 2022 Things to Consider When Choosing a Technology Partner 226
- 02 Jan 2022 ERP Implementation Cost and Duration—A Tale of Two Companies (Part 2) 225
- 10 Apr 2021 RFP vs POC: Why the proof of concept is replacing the request for proposal 225
- 02 Oct 2022 Odoo: The Disruptor of Traditional ERP in the Age of AI and Blockchain 221
- 20 Nov 2022 Software Requirements Are A Communication Problem 219
- 07 Feb 2023 Odoo Consulting Services in Vietnam 214
- 23 May 2022 4 Strategies of Odoo ERP Implementation 207
- 08 Nov 2022 4 tips for meeting tough deadlines when outsourcing projects to software vendor 193
- 19 Apr 2023 A Deep Dive into Odoo: Benefits, Drawbacks, Strategic Fit, and Investment Models 192
- 04 Jan 2022 Freedom of ERP Deployment Choice—A Tale of Two Companies (Part 4) 186
- 09 Apr 2022 Comparing Features for Odoo ERP with ERPNext 183
- 09 Feb 2023 The Challenge of Fixed-Bid Software Projects 180
- 09 Mar 2022 Consultant Implementation Pricing 168
- 07 Oct 2022 Digital Transformation: Become a Technology Powerhouse 164
- 19 Sep 2022 Comparison between Odoo and SAP: It doesn't matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice 158
- 09 Jan 2022 How to Bridge the Gap Between Business and IT? 150
- 16 Mar 2022 Digital Transformation With Odoo: an ERP made for you as SME and grow with you? 149
- 01 Jan 2022 Planning for Successful ERP Implementation Projects (Part 1) 144
- 16 Feb 2021 Choose Outsourcing for Your Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA) 143
- 08 Aug 2022 Why is Odoo growing faster than other ERP software systems? 138
- 01 Feb 2024 Employee Attendance Using Camer AI 137
- 01 Mar 2023 How do you deal with disputes and conflicts that may arise during a software consulting project? 137
- 01 Mar 2024 Odoo Ecosystem - ALL-IN-ONE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE 116
- 04 Apr 2023 Odoo: A Re-Birth for Enterprise Software 114
- 03 Apr 2023 Odoo ERP - "Swiss army knife" approach for all business solutions 112
- 10 Jul 2025 Building AI-Driven Knowledge Graphs from Unstructured Data 89
- 18 Mar 2025 Odoo HRMS Software for Efficient HR Management in Dubai Businesses 75
- 01 Apr 2025 How to Manage Social Media Marketing with Odoo 73
- 13 Jan 2025 Why Businesses Are Choosing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central Over NetSuite 64
- 15 Jul 2025 Steps to Successful Odoo Implementation 57
- 17 Mar 2025 IT Consultants in Digital Transformation 48
- 01 Jan 2024 Odoo: The Small Business Game-Changer — Cost Savings and Enhanced Productivity 48
- 09 Apr 2025 Odoo Migration Best Practices: A Complete Guide to Upgrading Your ERP System 30
Being an Odoo consultant has become a much bigger challenge in recent years. The number of apps and modules has increased a lot and Odoo is doing one major release per year.
So how do you keep up with this fast-paced evolution and what will the future of Odoo consulting look like? I have been working as an Odoo consultant since 2014 and I will share my insights with you.
The Evolution
Five years ago, the Odoo universe was very different in terms of features and apps. Looking at the apps for Manufacturing and Accounting, we can understand the magnitude of this evolution.
Manufacturing in Odoo 8 was covering basic needs of manufacturing companies. But it didn’t include the apps Product-Lifecycle-Management (PLM), Quality and IoT-Integration, to just name a few. Accounting in Odoo 8 didn’t have dynamic drill-down reports, powerful dashboards or the possibility to create your own financial reports from the user interface. In addition to that, there are many features that have been drastically improved like reconciliation in bank statements, country localizations, follow-up of overdue payments, bank integration etc.
So, in summary, Odoo 8 and Odoo 12 may be distant relatives, but they don’t look alike. What does all that mean for Odoo consulting?
Actually, it’s really simple: With every additional app and feature, it becomes more difficult to be competent in all of them. I would argue that we have already reached a point where it is impossible to cover everything. Let us pretend we are doing an Odoo project and we are looking for an Odoo consultant with experience in just three specific areas. We need someone who has proven project experience with:
- Point-of-Sale with integrated hardware scale and coupons
- Stock valuation in multi-company environment
- Document-Management-System (DMS): train Odoo to create supplier invoices from received PDFs.
How many consultants would bring real project experience for all three requirements? Not many, if any at all. I am insisting on “real project experience”, because reading the documentation and clicking around in the user interface for a couple of minutes doesn’t make you a consultant.
What can we learn from other disciplines?
Keeping all this in mind, what does the future of Odoo consulting look like? It is instructive to look at two disciplines that are already past this point in their evolution: SAP consulting and medicine.
SAP is obviously still an important ERP solution in the global market. And in the SAP world, we can see that specialisation has occurred. If you are browsing through SAP job offerings, it is very common to see offerings for consultants in SAP FI/CO, SAP HCM, SAP MM or similar. “FI/CO”, “HCM” and “MM” all refer to specific SAP modules; they are basically the equivalent of Odoo’s modules Accounting, HR and Inventory. So, will we see job listings like “Odoo POS consultant” or “Odoo MRP consultant” in the future? It’s quite likely. But does this mean you should specialize?
On the other hand, what does the evolution of medicine teach us? Today, pretty much every part of the human body has it’s own specialised doctor. Got a problem with your eye? Go see your ophthalmologist. Got a rash on your skin? Go check with your dermatologist. And of course we have specialised brain surgeons, heart surgeons, hand surgeons — you name it. But modern medicine is also relying heavily on general practitioners. When you have something common like the flu, hypertension, or a small cut in your arm, you don’t need a specialist. The general practitioner can take care of that.
The Future
At the Odoo Experience 2018, Fabien Pinckaers announced that more industries will be covered by Odoo. In Odoo 13, there will be an app for Field Services management, to name just one example. With more apps and features, there will also be a need for specialised Odoo consultants. This will start with larger, complex apps such as Accounting and Manufacturing. For customers with complex business requirements, basic knowledge in those apps is not enough for a successful Odoo implementation. They need a consultant who has done several similar projects in those specific areas and who knows viable solutions, common pitfalls and best-practices from experience.
So, since there is a need for specialised knowledge, we will see more specialised Odoo consultants in the future. If you get the chance to specialise in a major app, this can be an interesting career path. Don’t specialise in small apps just now, as it is unlikely there will be enough demand for e.g. Odoo Lunch consultants.
If you do not have the opportunity or the inclination to specialise, don’t worry. A lot of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) need Odoo consultants that are competent all-rounders. Just make sure that you know your limits and get support from specialists if the project or customer requires it.
Explore more on these topics
Guest Blogging: The Definitive Guide
Top Trending Topics
Share This
Recently Updated News
