Long live the Odoo-Idealis partnership

Headquarters: Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Partnership year: 2009
Number of employees: 74
Services offered: Odoo project, hosting, Business process consulting
Number of Odoo implementations: 60+

Idealis Consulting was founded in 2007 by André Bake. At that time, André was working as an SAP consultant in the HR field and for large international companies. He decided to develop a team based on a culture of fun, transparency, authenticity and autonomy. He founded Idealis Consulting in September 2007, which provides SAP consultants to carry out implementation projects. The team gradually grew to a dozen consultants, mainly active in the fields of logistics and human resources (this is still the expertise today).

For André’s business objective was not to be the number one in SAP consulting, but rather to be a leader in digital transformation. This meant not limiting themselves to one technology and offering clients consulting services in addition to technical skills. It was then they decided that their main mission became: to support the growth of companies through the implementation of an ERP solution.

In 2011 Idealis Consulting met Odoo (OpenERP at the time). What stood out to André is the user-friendliness of the product, the ease and speed to develop custom-made solutions for customers and the price was also attractive. At the time, the Odoo team was still small so it was a risk but the Idealis team wanted to get onboard. The product is Belgian, attractive and promising. Despite the product being in its infancy, the company saw there are places to take it. After much deliberation, the deal is concluded and Idealis Consulting becomes an official partner. 

When OpenERP became Odoo, the purple branding appeared and version 10 accelerated the demand for the product. During the following years (2013-2019), Odoo projects followed one after the other, the team grew and new colleagues were recruited. The SAP team (15 consultants) continues to be the cash cow, while the Odoo team grew to 20 consultants by 2019. The Odoo team is profitable but recruiting is not easy, especially for developers. There is no particular sector targeted yet, the team is still growing and defining its area of expertise. In 2012, Idealis decided to use Odoo for its internal management: Project Management, Timesheets, Invoices and Sales. And to this day, Odoo remains as Idealis’ ERP.

2019 is the year a series of new strategic decisions were made for Idealis Consulting. The management team decided to accelerate growth and expand the scope of services. In addition to ERP implementation services (SAP or Odoo), Idealis began to publish and sell sector-specific solutions (Smart Biotech) and business solutions (Smart Analytics). Idealis also began to provide accounting (Smart Accounting) and HR consulting services and launched a training academy (Idealis Academy).

In 2020, the COVID crisis accelerated the demand for digital transformation. While other companies were pausing their investments, Idealis Consulting did the opposite. They decided to seize the opportunity to accelerate growth and continue working towards their strategic vision for 2019. They made anticipatory recruitment moves, formalized processes, had intensive training, recruited sales staff and a marketing manager.

The bold choices during 2020 and the vision set out in 2019 have resulted in success: in 2022, the Idealis team has more than 75 collaborators. Gradually, the SAP startup of 2007, is now transforming into a fine SME, with defined processes and serving more than 2500 Odoo users. An SME that can claim more than 80 successful projects with Odoo and a customer retention rate of >97%. 

For the years to come, Idealis Consulting's ambition is to continue to grow and expand without losing proximity to customers. They aim to become a European leader in digital transformation: providing advice and delivering solutions that leverage digitalization as a growth driver for clients. With Odoo of course and also through their business and industry-specific solutions. They’ve just opened an office in Luxembourg. 

Of course, this success is not a given. Every day, the team works with passion to serve their clients better. They capitalize on past experience but are still learning every day.

Part of this success is also the result of the evolution of Odoo. The applications evolve every day to better meet customers' expectations. The evolutions that customers have liked the most and have allowed Idealis to win new customers are; Accounting, Manufacturing, Inventory and Website. The user-friendly aspect is a strong asset and so is the price for both licenses and implementation. 

Today in 2022, what does Idealis like most as an Odoo partner? Having an Odoo account manager in which they’re able to exchange relevant information and there is a cross-check of business information internally at Odoo. They also like to see Odoo trying to expand to mid-market and corporate businesses (>1000 users) and that partners are involved in this process. They appreciate the investment in marketing, from which they benefit in terms of leads. And most of all Odoo Experience, which is simply crazy and an opportunity to discover really great features and party till the break of dawn. It's a big family that’s built a constantly evolving ecosystem.

About Idealis Consulting
Idealis Consulting is a team that designs, develops, integrates and supports your Odoo solutions in order to make our customers more productive, responsive and profitable. Our mission is to support your growth and guarantee your digital transformation thanks to Odoo. We offer an adequate solution for every business problem you have to face. Our mission is to get you close to where your Ideal IS. Our consultants will accompany you throughout your projects by offering you a ERP solution adapted to your needs during all your projects.

On a daily basis, in the course of our projects and through the organization of exclusive events, we continually seek to create an ecosystem. We put our clients in contact with each other, and some of our clients are also our suppliers. Our clients are partners.

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