Company Name: SM CONTACT
Location: France
Industry: Appliances, Electronics Manufacturing
Company Size: 50-100
Odoo Users: >30
Hosting Type: On Premise
Apps: Accounting, Invoicing, Inventory, Manufacturing, Purchase, Sales, Studio, CRM, Helpdesk
SM Contact is a prominent player in the electronics industry, specializing in manufacturing and distributing equipment and consumables for electrical connections. With locations in France, China, Germany, Spain, and Estonia, it has built a reputation for high-quality products and innovative solutions. Despite its success, the company faced challenges in scaling operations due to outdated software and manual processes that wasted resources and restricted growth potential.
Challenges
Before implementing Odoo, SM Contact's operations relied on manual tasks such as data entry, inventory tracking, and order processing. These processes were time-consuming and error-prone, leading to inefficiencies and bottlenecks that limited the company's ability to meet the increasing demand.
Added up, these inefficiencies resulted in approximately 10 months of manual labor every year, costing the company over €22,000. Manual workflows also led to frequent errors in inventory management and order tracking, which disrupted operational accuracy. As the company expanded, its existing systems struggled to scale, making supply chain optimization increasingly challenging. Acknowledging these limitations, SM Contact partnered with VentorTech to create a more robust and automated solution.
Step-by-Step Implementation
VentorTech partnered with SM Contact to customize Odoo's tools to meet their specific requirements, tackling inefficiencies and laying the groundwork for long-term growth. The collaboration started with manufacturing planning automation through Odoo's manufacturing. This implementation allowed updates of sales orders (which is
totally normal in B2B business) with daily re-calculation of forecasted quantities to be
purchased and manufactured. As a result, manual checks in other software were
eliminated, improving overall accuracy.
Odoo's sales and invoicing apps have improved order processing, significantly reducing the need for manual data entry. The CRM module has improved customer relationship management by ensuring faster communication and better response times. Additionally, customized reporting tools offer real-time insights, enabling managers to make informed and proactive decisions that enhance operational performance and customer satisfaction.
Customization played a key role in this process. VentorTech adapted the inventory and CRM modules to fit SM Contact's specific products and workflows. They changed product categorization to align with the electronics industry and created reporting dashboards highlighting the most relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for management. Comprehensive training was provided to ensure employees were well-equipped to transition to the new system and utilize its capabilities.
VentorTech's role went beyond setting up the system. Their team collaborated closely with the company staff to pinpoint opportunities for automation, especially in repetitive tasks like invoicing and data entry. This automation allowed employees to concentrate on more strategic initiatives, improving morale and productivity. The smooth integration process ensured minimal downtime as the old systems were transitioned to Odoo.
Ongoing support from the Odoo partner quickly resolved adoption challenges. Regular feedback loops further refined workflows, ensuring the system evolved with business needs. This iterative approach optimized functionality and maintained long-term scalability, keeping SM Contact competitive in its industry.
Results and Benefits
After implementing Odoo, SM Contact saw transformative results. Workflow automation eliminated inefficiencies, saving over €22,000 annually and freeing up resources for strategic investments. Productivity increased by 20%, allowing the team to handle more tasks without expanding the headcount.
Data accuracy also significantly improved, leading to fewer errors in inventory management and order processing. This resulted in better stock availability, reduced delays, and an enhanced customer experience. Modernized operation workflows also decreased costs by minimizing errors, rework, and waste.
Finally, Odoo’s scalable platform allowed the company to manage increased volumes and incorporate additional features according to its needs. Reporting tools offer real-time visibility into key metrics, enabling quicker responses to market demands. Employees have reported higher job satisfaction as automation has freed them from monotonous tasks, allowing them to concentrate on more meaningful work.
Conclusion
With Odoo, SM Contact optimized its operations, reduced costs, increased productivity, and gained valuable insights for better decision-making. The company is de-facto performing a real digital transformation using Odoo as a company basic business platform, and this already gave competitive advantages on the market.
P.S. You can find a detailed overview of this case in the full success story.
Implementation Partner
Achieving Efficiency: How Automated Processes Delivered €22K in Annual Savings