Company Name: EBTrans
Location: Luxembourg, Europe
Industry: Transportation
Established: 1996
Company Size: 1000+
Odoo Users: 1000+
Hosting Type: On Premise (Acsone’s hosting environment)
Apps: CRM, Accounting, Expense, Fleet, Maintenance, Inventory, Time Off, Events, Subscriptions, Maintenance, Sign, Helpdesk.
Implementing partner: Acsone SA
Leading actor in sensitive product transport in Europe, EBTrans has 49 subsidiaries to manage across 13 countries. For years, the group used SAP to deal with all things accounting, but figured this tool was too costly and not user friendly enough. Before deciding to change software, they wanted to make sure the chosen solution could handle such a big group with very specific requirements… And Odoo surprised them by being cost-effective, easy-to-use, adaptable and offering every possible feature and development they needed.
Handling the accounting of a truck fleet spread across Europe
Based in Luxembourg and having around 49 subsidiaries in 13 countries, EBTrans Group tailors tank transportation solutions within Europe, and is a major actor in mainly 5 industries: manufacturing, energy, construction, environment and food. Respecting the highest standards in terms of quality and security, their team can cover all the supply chain needs to transport products. No matter the industry, EBTrans brings its expertise in transporting sensitive materials, whether for logistics, maintenance, delivery, warehousing, tank cleaning and more.
With more than 4000 employees and 3200 trucks to manage across the European territory, it is critical for EBTrans Group to benefit from an easy-to-use management solution that empowers every party involved to achieve outstanding results.
From SAP to Odoo: a choice to migrate software
Until 2022, EBTrans was dealing with its operations and workflows through SAP, which was very costly and not user-friendly at all. A decision was made to switch to Odoo’s management system, with the following features in mind:
All accounting operations management
Business expense management
Order to cash processing
Profitability per truck data and reports
Time off and absence of employees overview
CRM
Training management (Event)
Gasoil management system
At the premise of the project, EBTrans first wanted to make sure Odoo could handle the requirements of such a large group operating across Europe.
EBTrans working closely with Acsone to successfully implement Odoo’s software
Altogether with Acsone, a key Odoo partner in Luxembourg & Belgium since 2011, EBTrans started implementing Odoo’s software, with a migration period spread over two years, beginning in January 2023. During the implementation process, Acsone provided EBTrans with all the necessary analysis, development, support and training to be up and running smoothly, and continues to do so in order to make the project an ongoing success.
Functional and technical analysis period
The process started with a gap analysis between the previous tool, SAP, and the new one, Odoo, as well as functional and technical analysis.
The specificity of this implementation was that EBTrans needed to have several depreciation schedules for the same fixed asset:
Statutory: Standard economic depreciation
Fiscal: Faster depreciation allowing tax deductions (specific for the French market)
Derogatory: The difference between statutory and tax depreciation is used to calculate the tax advantage and impacts statutory accounting.
Group: This depreciation is carried out on the same accounting basis for all companies, useful for consolidation reporting.
Group versus statutory: The difference between statutory and group depreciation is useful for consolidation reporting.
The adjustments were conducted by the implementing partner Acsone, which understood quickly the issue and presented a solution at relatively low-cost development.
We decided to move forward with the project, as we were quite convinced Odoo, implemented by Acsone, provided the adaptability and flexibility needed for EBTrans” - Nicolas Didier - CFO at EBTrans
Odoo’s software implementation with a thorough migration process
At the beginning of the implementation process, Expense and Time-off were the first two modules configured, as they were relatively basic compared to the developments required in the accounting field.
Afterward, a huge focus was placed on migrating the accounting and data of all the subsidiaries from SAP to Odoo. This proved to be quite a challenge, as SAP is built on a consolidated chart of accounts when Odoo relies on a statutory chart of accounts, which are based on different accounting principles. Therefore, a master chart of accounts was created per country, duplicable for each company operating in that territory.
The implementation of Odoo’s applications has been pursued country by country, starting by Spain and Luxembourg in 2023 and followed by France and Belgium in 2024. The goal is to continue the implementation in 2025 for other European countries such as Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.
“Implementing Odoo in such a large group like EBTrans is actually less complicated than it looks. The user experience and the data accessibility give better control over all operations, which is very effective. Overall, in the subsidiaries already using Odoo, all the feedback we receive from users is super positive.” - Nicolas Didier - CFO at EBTrans
“Having successfully implemented Odoo in smaller entities, I initially had reservations about its suitability in a multinational context like EBTrans. However, the platform’s openness and flexibility allowed us to overcome limitations and tailor it to our specific needs, proving its value even at scale. None of this would have been possible without the dedication of our integration partner Acsone and the commitment of our internal teams, to whom I am deeply grateful.” - Thibaut Lenfant CIO at EBTrans
Making the most of Odoo’s features that SAP didn’t provide
Implementing the Odoo business management system has allowed EBTrans benefitting from many advantages such as:
Intuitive and easy-to-use interface: The software is super userfriendly, which helps the different users complete their daily operations easily, quickly and efficiently navigating through a meaningful menu. User experience is considerably enhanced.
Data accessibility: Information is available in just a few clicks to everyone, everywhere, in a transparent way. Odoo makes it simple, when SAP made it complex and nearly impossible without the help of one of their experts.
Ability to make informed decisions: This easy access to data has empowered employees to make informed decisions more efficiently.
Range of new features: Implementing Odoo has also opened the door to many features EBTrans didn’t have before with SAP. This is the case for the super flexible reporting module and the mobile application for instance.
Increased productivity: Overall, the operational efficiency has significantly improved, with 10 to 20s to manage supplier invoice booking versus 7 minutes with SAP.
Reduced costs: Using Odoo implies lower costs, both in terms of licenses maintenance and development.
Flexibility, customization and ease of development: If managing their accounting was their main need, EBTrans also appreciates the other customizable modules that can be added to handle the specific business needs. For example, they have configured a Training module and a Gasoil Management System connected to the providers and internal stocks so that they can track fuel consumptions truck by truck in real time.
Time saved: Previous Excel processes are now automated, resulting in a valuable time-saving.
Even if the initial need of EBTrans was to simplify the accounting and finance management, the team quickly realized that Odoo could bring much more to the business. This is why many other apps (CRM, Event, Repair, Helpdesk,...) have been installed to help the company think further, work better and make things simpler.
Migrating a group as large and complex as EBTrans—operating in 13 countries with highly specific requirements—from SAP to Odoo was a real technical and organizational challenge. As Project and Technical Lead, I witnessed firsthand how Odoo’s flexibility, combined with Acsone’s agile approach, allowed us to deliver robust solutions for complex use cases, especially in multi-ledger accounting and detailed fleet management. This success was only possible thanks to the outstanding collaboration and dedication of both the EBTrans and Acsone teams. Together, we built a powerful and scalable solution that truly meets the needs of a modern, international transport group." - Adrien Peiffer, Project & Technical Lead at Acsone
