Why Odoo Is The Perfect ERP For NZ Businesses
There is plenty of content out there describing Odoo as a great all-in-one ERP software for enterprises of all sizes, globally. Including our own review of Odoo as an ERP. However, when it comes to choosing the right ERP for NZ businesses, finding localised knowledge and expertise based on actual Odoo NZ implementations is far more difficult. While relatively unknown as an ERP solution in NZ, Odoo is gaining popularity (and fast!).
New Zealand is a nation of small to medium enterprises, with SME’s accounting for over 97% of all New Zealand businesses. For that reason, when we say Odoo is the best ERP for NZ businesses, we do so with the knowledge that the majority of those businesses are small to medium enterprises. This is an important distinction because Odoo caters particularly well to SME’s due to it’s focus on affordability, innovation, customer experience and flexibility.
A small enterprise in NZ is generally a small business with 20 employees or less. Medium enterprises are those with 20 to 100 employees and that leaves large enterprises which are those businesses with more than 100 employees.
The pandemic has fueled the acceleration of many businesses toward digital transformation, with 89% of APAC organisations* having already adopted, or planning to adopt, a digital-first business strategy.
In our experience, the biggest driver for NZ businesses committing to a digital-first business strategy is to better manage business performance through data availability and analysis. Followed closely by the need to increase their understanding of customer needs through data collection and analysis. Budget restraints however, are a common concern when it comes to new technology solutions and enhancements.
*2021 IDG Digital Business Research | APAC
Odoo Is An Affordable ERP Solution For NZ Businesses Of All Sizes
For SME’s in particular, affordability is a major hurdle in implementing an effective ERP system. Often, they rely on multiple vendors and software solutions to take care of customer relationship management (CRM), accounting, marketing automation, warehouse management, human resource management and more.
When multiple vendors and software solutions are used as a compromise for an affordable ERP system, productivity is impacted, reliable data is scarce, time is wasted and total cost of ownership across a growing tech stack often grows undetected. Each team or department unintentionally develops their own systems and processes that don’t integrate with the rest of the business and silo’s begin to entrench and threaten growth.
With the cost or investment in ERP always the highest concern for businesses searching for the best ERP software in NZ, an uncomplicated pricing structure is important. Odoo offers a simple online calculator, based on a per user, monthly charge for each module used. An obvious benefit to this modular ‘add as you go’ design is you only pay for what you use. No waste.
In comparison to software solutions like Netsuite, SAP, ERPNext, Oracle and Microsoft Dynamics, Odoo is extremely cost effective and the most affordable, comprehensive ERP solution available today.
Having positioned themselves with a comparable business scope to the big players, Odoo has also successfully positioned themselves as an easy to use integrated management software – cornering the SME market! Combined with affordability, Odoo is the perfect ERP for NZ SME’s, while still holding the business scope to cater for large enterprises.
Odoo Empowers NZ Businesses To Keep Up With The Pace Of Technology Within Their Industry
Keeping up with the pace of technology is cited as a top issue facing NZ businesses within ANZ’s 2019 Business Micro Scope survey and continues to be a concern for NZ businesses we engage with. Odoo releases new and advanced features each year, developed by a large base of developers who are committed to evolving the software to better meet customer needs whilst keeping ahead of technological changes across industries.
With annual version releases, Odoo and all Enterprise users have access to innovations and improvements across all modules (search Odoo Version 15 on youtube for countless examples). This reduces the burden on businesses to keep up with technological changes by making such technology accessible, and easy to install. Best of all, aside from any costs associated with installing the latest version, there is no extra cost in upgrading.
Like Eric Pearson said, “it’s no longer the big beating the small, but the fast beating the slow”.
A World Leading Open Source CRM System
Forbes rated Odoo CRM the 2nd best open source CRM in 2022, proving the CRM module to be a strong and affordable out-of-the-box solution. This is important for New Zealand businesses as consumer expectations continue to rise, with customers increasingly comparing the service they receive to global brands. To keep up, NZ businesses are looking for a CRM system that will improve customer centricity and deliver accurate, real time data to drive better decisions.
The seamless integration of Odoo CRM with all other business applications delivers on the needs of NZ businesses to become fully integrated organisations, while delighting sales and marketing teams alike with the tools they need to be the best in their field.
Odoo's Modular Design Supports Growth From Infancy To Maturity
The key point for NZ businesses looking for the best ERP solution, is to first define what the organisation will be when it grows up. With this in sight, an ERP can be identified that will best fit requirements in the short term, whilst having the flexibility to evolve and meet the needs of the business when it grows. This approach will see you business grow with the software for the many years to come, rather than replacing software every 3-5 years.
The modular, ‘add as you go’ design of Odoo ERP allows New Zealand businesses of any size to implement an ERP solution in stages, addressing key requirements and continuing to do so with an ‘add as you go’ approach as the business changes and grows. This point also lends itself to the affordability of Odoo. When you 'add as you go', you're also 'paying as you go'. Rather than investing in the entire software solution all at once, you are only paying for and using what you need, when you need it. This makes Odoo an accessible ERP solution for business at infancy and all the way through to maturity.
Odoo's Open Source Nature Drives Innovation, Affordability and Flexibility
Open source software has never been a leader in the NZ market and most businesses are still very much Windows based. The problem with this for NZ businesses however, is that proprietary software by nature, is expensive. Licensing and customisation costs often price smaller businesses out of the market and this is where Odoo has aimed to scoop them all up.
Most ERP’s are not open source. This means the IP rights and ownership belong to a specific company. Should you require customisations to tailor the software to your unique needs or add functionality as needs change, the owner or company who created the ERP software must do it for you. Similarly, if the owner or creator of the ERP software develops a new version, they may announce that a certain version or later will be supported going forward, making all others obsolete. With no support, this can force an upgrade (which of course is not free).
Open source ERP on the other hand means that full access to the source code of the software is available and customisations can be developed at a fraction of the cost of proprietary systems. When upgrades are made available, they are optional and can be installed with minimal charges too.
Naturally, with Odoo being open source, there is an entire community of developers working worldwide to customise the software to the needs of their customers. The 'give and take' nature of this community means thousands of free apps and customisations are already available.
The performance of NZ's small enterprises is often referred to as the 'engine room of growth', particularly due to their creativity and innovation. The ability to customise software to unique or local needs supports and encourages innovation, enabling businesses to mold the solution to best fit their requirements. Enabling rather than inhibiting innovation in business processes is therefore an important attribute of Odoo for NZ businesses.
If you’ve been researching the ERP software market for a while, make the most of Odoo’s open source software by downloading it FREE. The basic version of Odoo is available from their website and will help you get a feel for the software. While the free (basic) version will provide an overview of the product, configuring and customising the software based on your specific needs is best done with an Odoo partner.
Looking for more information on Odoo that is specific to New Zealand? Let us know!
As NZ's first Gold Partner, we've got the most local experience to make sure you're on the right path and we're happy to share it.