Odoo bills itself as a suite of open-source business apps that cover all your company needs: CRM, eCommerce, accounting, inventory, point of sale, project management, etc. So, if you’re looking to bring these functions under a single umbrella and have picked Odoo, your next step is rollout. Wondering how to plan for an Odoo ERP implementation? We’ll break it down. Here, we’re assuming you’ve gone through the discovery and planning project phases and you’re ready to map your Odoo launch.
Create your PID
First, you want to document everything your Odoo ERP will touch via a Project Initiate Document (PID). Put into the PID your goals, the scope, how you’re going to configure the system, who is involved, what their responsibilities are, your rollout stages and your budgets. It can serve as your blueprint for the installation, customisation, configuration, and rollout. Remember that your project management team will need to have the skills and knowledge to keep the PID on track.
Prep for data migration
Data migration is important. It’s what will fuel your new system. According to Unit4, “the increasing prominence of cloud solutions makes some migration challenges a thing of the past, while introducing new challenges of their own. You’ll need to devise clear policies around where your new solution warehouses data to stay on the right side of regulatory and compliance rules, for instance.” Remember that mapping all your unique data sources will help you keep track of where your connections are for faster rollout.
Set a realistic timeline
Don’t try to rush your Odoo ERP implementation. While you can complete a rollout in around 4 weeks, that’s not going to be suitable for most business environments. Looking at your PID, you’ll probably realise that a few months is more realistic. Your Odoo implementation partner will help you create an achievable timeline that will ensure all your departments are trained up and prepared for the launch. If you try to do it too fast, you'll lose all support and employee goodwill for the project as people feel overburdened.
Install, customise and configure
Here you take your PID and start to act on it. Components such as operating system, database and patches are installed on your hardware, and validation and testing are completed. Typically, the final configuration takes place in two stages – baseline and final – to precisely tailor the system to your needs. The baseline configuration reflects your organisational structure and core data and transactions, whilst the final configuration is completed in process-oriented cycles.” Once this is done, you’ll do final tests before switching over completely.
Post-launch support
Once you’ve launched, the support doesn’t stop. Your implementation partner will help you to monitor and fix any bugs following go-live. One of the most forgotten steps in how to plan for an Odoo ERP implementation; post-launch training is critical. Not every role-centric function will imbed during your initial sessions. So, ongoing training and configuration are needed. That will ensure that every department is using Odoo to its fullest potential for maximum ROI.
How to plan for an Odoo ERP implementation