Company: CinemaNext
Location: Liège-Blegny, Belgium (+26 branch locations worldwide)
Industry: Entertainment, Supplies and Equipment, Services
Partner name: Modoolar
Main Apps Implemented: Sales, Invoicing, CRM, Website, eCommerce, Accounting, Project, Inventory, Manufacturing, Purchase, Timesheet, Expenses, Subscription, Field Service, Helpdesk, Planning, Time Off, Documents
Company Size: 250+
Number of users: 250
Hosting type: Odoo.sh
Overview
CinemaNext is one of the largest cinema exhibition service companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At the start of 2020, CinemaNext consisted of 26 companies all differing in size, with their own business process and ERP solutions. The group decided it was time to transform and unify the business processes across all branches. Working in collaboration with implementation partner Modoolar, CinemaNext’s Odoo solution was deployed over a 16 month period at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thanks to Odoo, the company now has standardized master data management, vital business processes and reporting.
Key challenges and requirements
Based in Liège-Blegny and operating through 26 companies in more than 20 countries around the globe, CinemaNext is one of the largest cinema exhibition services companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At the beginning of 2020, the company group decided it was time for a new ERP system. At the time, CinemaNext consisted of 26 companies all differing in size and each had their own unique business process. There was no reporting, coordination or collaboration because each company had their own ERP solution and tools. Some of the many ERP solutions that were being used by the 26 companies included: SAP, Sage, Navision, 1C and Microsoft Excel.
The challenge at hand was to transform CinemaNext’s entire business process in the middle of a pandemic with a limited budget and tight deadlines and working in collaboration with a complex multinational team remotely.
The cinema giant knew this would be a huge task so they decided to look for implementation experts based in Europe that would help them carry out this huge task at hand. Following a series of successful meetings and presentations, CinemaNext decided to work with Odoo partner; Modoolar. Their skills, experience and results orientated approach demonstrated they were a good fit.
Solution and results
Working in collaboration with implementation partner Modoolar, CinemaNext’s Odoo solution was deployed over a 16 month period. Initially, the project got off to a great start with a lot of enthusiasm however the team quickly ran into their first hurdle with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to this, due to unstable implementations from legacy systems and limited budget, CinemaNext management was forced into a situation where they had to launch Odoo in just one year. The initial plan was 3 years. The drastic cut in time to launch caused many stakeholders to view the new timescale as impossible. However, Modoolar and CinemaNext management came together to ensure they could do the impossible.
The project was divided into three stages: ERP21 core, ERP21 finance and ERP21 eCommerce. It took more than 500 completed tasks to manage decentralized business processes and organization within countries. It also involved the consolidation of all the sales processes (B2B, B2C and eCommerce) across CinemaNext and full integration of inventory management. A key success factor was the implementation approach. Modoolar used a mix of agile and traditional methodology which consisted of analyzing the overall scope of the project, strategically dividing the tasks into milestones, which were then completed step by step with follow-ups and hard work.
Frederic d’Archambeau, CinemaNext Program Director said “We like the approach we used with Modoolar, it is very similar to ours. Gap analysis we worked on together to roughly estimate the efforts and the complexity of the project was especially important due to uncertainty and the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, we appreciate their frankness and fairness.”
The most impressive accomplishment from this project has been replacing 8 different legacy systems with Odoo in just 16 months during the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges faced, many lessons were learned and it all paid off because all 26 of CinemaNext’s companies manage their entire company operations in Odoo. Thanks to Odoo’s automation, CinemaNext is able to do more in less time. In one year of system usage, over 10k of sales have been processed, 6k+ of purchase orders, 1.6k+ field service tasks and 2.3k+ repair orders. The company is able to easily see these figures thanks to the common data, standardized reporting and real-time synchronization.
About CinemaNext
CinemaNext is the largest cinema exhibition services company in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, providing smart, comprehensive solutions across the board, from projection equipment, audio systems, central systems, cinema outfitting, content management, 3D projection systems & glasses, TMS, digital signage, screens and seating to consulting services. Clients enjoy the highest level of reliability and lowest cost of ownership through our various services.
About Modoolar
Here at Modoolar, we like to take action toward your ideal business solution. As the first Odoo Gold Partner in Southeast Europe, today we stand out in the market with over 10 years of tradition and experience, delivering top-notch business solutions to our clients worldwide. The most important value of Modoolar`s brand is a customer-centric strategy that positions the client at the focus of our business aspect. With our proven implementation methodology, we can help implement Odoo business solutions on time and within budget, no matter if you are a complex Enterprise or SME. From inception to implementation of your ideal business solution, you are at the right place.
CinemaNext's success story is also available in more detail on the partner’s official website.
CinemaNext: Replacing 8 Legacy Systems with Odoo in only 16 months