Swisslux: Teaching an Old Process New Tricks

Overview

Swisslux sells motion and presence detectors to wholesalers in Switzerland and is the first point of contact for intelligent lighting technology. After using the same ERP-system since 1996, the company decided it was time to modernize and use a system that reflected how their business had evolved over time. Working in collaboration with camptocamp, Swisslux’s Odoo solution was deployed over one year. Thanks to Odoo, the electronics wholesaler no longer works with various different tools, has more efficient processes and makes fewer errors with stocks, sales and manufacturing.

Key Challenges and Requirements

Swisslux is based in Oetwil am See in Switzerland and sells technical components such as motion detectors by the German brand “BEG” and intelligence lighting system “Trivalite” by Swisslux. The company only sells to wholesalers based in Switzerland. The main office in Oetwil am See is where administration and stock are primarily handled. Sales representatives are based in different regions all over Switzerland so that they’re closer to customers, can support and examine lightning solutions in use and provide post sale services.

When the Glauser family took over Swisslux in 1996, they began with a legacy ERP-system that they would continue using for the next 10-15 years. As the business grew, the system did not develop and slowly but surely the business began to shape itself around an outdated tool. The legacy system that Swisslux previously used didn’t release any major upgrades in the decades the company used the system.

As the years went on, processes became more complex and the company needed to use other software tools such as Excel to manage lists to aid the areas where the legacy system fell short. With time consuming processes and a scattered system, it was difficult for Swisslux to keep up, so the company decided to look for a new ERP system.

Solution

When searching for a new system, Swisslux found there were many options on the market, however the company understood first hand the detriment of an inefficient tool, so it was of high importance that they chose the best tool for their needs. René Glauser, Chief Information Officer at Swisslux came across Odoo 10 years ago whilst it was operating as OpenERP. After testing out the system and understanding how it worked, René decided to go with Odoo because it’s modern, integrated and constantly evolving.

Initially the company decided to self implement Odoo as they had the internal competencies for implementation. However, when they realized the huge workload required to migrate the data from the old system into Odoo, René decided it would be best to work with implementation partner camptocamp in Switzerland.

Working in collaboration with camptocamp, Swisslux’s Odoo solution was deployed over a one year period. camptocamp was an integral part of Swisslux’s onboarding. They helped train Swisslux’s IT team which then went on to train the rest of the company’s employees. Training on a new system was a real challenge for Swisslux because employees were in the habit of their legacy system that was used for over a decade. In the beginning, tracking and finding information in Odoo was difficult, however with time, employees became familiar with the system and were able to find the information they needed in no time. After some time Swisslux employees began to really enjoy working with Odoo and found it much easier and user friendly than the legacy system.

The majority of Odoo apps installed were used out of the box but a couple of the apps required customization in order to help the company’s work flows be more efficient and connect to third party apps. The Sales app was the main one that required additional customizations. An aspect Swisslux particularly likes about Odoo is that if a function isn’t available in Odoo, there’s a good chance it can be found within the Odoo Community app store or customizations can be made with the help of their Odoo partner camptocamp. 

Results

What Swisslux most values about Odoo is the stock, logistics and manufacturing functionalities. In the previous system, the company had issues with BoMs (bill of materials) because they had many and the system was unable to compute this. With Odoo, the company now has a more accurate stock count; they're able to see the BoM version and the ongoing ECOs from the BoM Cost & Structure Report. They can also define the exact and flexible quantities for the components in BoMs. These features have automated tasks that previously used to be done manually saving staff time and minimizing errors in stock.

Changing from a system Swisslux knew like the back of their hand was a huge challenge. In addition to this, the company’s previous system did not evolve or provide upgrades over time. The company has found Odoo to be a real change as the software is evolving every year. Swisslux doesn’t upgrade their database every year, however working with a system that continues to evolve has empowered the company to continuously think about how to improve their processes. Currently the company is operating with Odoo 13. Each time the company upgrades their system they’ve found a huge improvement in their processes. Efficiency and constant improvement of processes has become a part of the company’s way of working.

Two years ago, Swisslux migrated their website content onto Odoo. Like many of the previous processes, the website was on an outdated system. Since beginning to work with Odoo, René Glauser’s goal is to reduce the number of different systems and to have as many processes as possible run on one platform. This year Swisslux will begin showcase and publish their products to their partners on their website via Odoo eCommerce. Currently most partners place their orders via an XML-File, the order is then imported automatically into Swisslux’s Odoo system. In order to further automate their processes, the company will begin using Odoo eCommerce.

Thanks to Odoo, Swisslux has managed to modernize their software system which has led to streamlined and automated processes. In the long run this has led to fewer internal mistakes and more time to focus on dominating the motion detectors and intelligence lighting market in Switzerland.

About Swisslux
We are the Swiss market leader for motion and presence detectors and the first point of contact for intelligent lighting technology. Our solutions lead to more safety, comfort and energy savings. We place the highest importance on providing outstanding service in every phase of a construction project. We support our customers from the planning stage through installation and out to the flawless operation of our products. The offer is for electrical companies, such as electricians, planners and engineers, system integrators, as well as the electrical distributors.

About camptocamp
Camptocamp is a Swiss service company founded in 2001 in the field of Open Source software with great expertise in the areas of Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP), IT Management Systems and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Our services include consulting, implementation, training, maintenance, support and R&D. In addition, Camptocamp has sophisticated competencies in consulting and sales of subscriptions for enterprise solutions in the Open Source environment.