Location/Region: Montreal, Canada
Sector: Equipment Manufacturing
Applications Used : Production , CRM , Sales , Purchasing , Inventory Management , Spreadsheet
Replaced Software: SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, and Oracle.
Company Size: 105
employees. Hosting Type: Odoo.sh
CO7 Technologies, a rapidly growing manufacturer of protective equipment for electrical networks, needed a scalable ERP solution to manage its complex and highly customized product lines. With the implementation of Odoo, CO7 was able to streamline its production, sales, and financial processes, allowing it to grow from nine to over one hundred employees in just five years.
Founded in July 2020 by Christian Cossette, CO7 Technologies specializes in manufacturing equipment for electrical substations. The company provides outdoor circuit breakers and indoor protection devices that play a crucial role in maintaining the stability of electrical networks worldwide.
What sets CO7 apart is its ability to provide highly customized, project-focused solutions that meet the specific needs of its clients. Unlike larger competitors like ABB and Siemens, CO7 focuses exclusively on the protection of electrical networks, allowing it to be more responsive to market demands, accelerate innovation, reduce implementation times, and offer tailored solutions that address the specific needs of utility companies and energy providers.
"For our competitors, what we do is just a small part of their portfolio. For us, it's our livelihood."
Christian Cossette,
president and founder of CO7 Technologies.
Managing complexity before Odoo
Since its inception, CO7 Technologies has faced the challenge of managing thousands of references, bills of materials, and manufacturing procedures inherited from the acquisition of three product lines from Schneider Electric. Traditional spreadsheets proved insufficient to manage the complexity of CO7's operations.
Before adopting Odoo, Cossette had already worked with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software such as SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics, and Oracle. However, he found them complex, costly, and inflexible. The company also considered Zoho but ultimately turned to an easily customizable open-source solution.
"I didn't want to face the issues associated with SAP. We needed something simpler and easier to manage."
president and founder of CO7 Technologies.
AAZ Solutions: Contributing to the success of Odoo at CO7
Under the leadership of Guy Potvin, AAZ Solutions has been the strategic partner that helped CO7 optimize its Odoo implementation. With extensive experience in business management and IT, Guy has a deep understanding of technical and operational challenges, allowing him to propose tailored solutions that perfectly meet his clients' needs. AAZ Solutions stands out for its approach focused on in-depth digital diagnostics, ensuring an Odoo implementation that fully supports the future growth and operational objectives of companies like CO7.
What distinguishes Odoo as the reference ERP, according to Guy, is its integrated platform that centralizes business functions such as inventory management , accounting and sales within a unique ecosystem. This integration promotes efficiency and collaboration between departments, as users work from a unified platform rather than managing multiple disparate systems. Furthermore, the open-source nature of Odoo offers flexibility unmatched by other ERPs, allowing companies to tailor the software to their specific needs. The cost-effectiveness of Odoo, particularly due to its pricing model with no additional fees for extra modules, makes it particularly attractive for companies looking to grow without incurring prohibitive costs for each added feature.
"Odoo's ability to evolve with a company's needs and its modularity, allowing for the gradual addition of new features, makes it the ideal ERP solution. As businesses grow, Odoo adapts to their growth, offering features such as human resource management and payroll at no additional cost, which reduces operational costs. At AAZ Solutions, our goal is to ensure that Odoo meets not only immediate needs but also prepares businesses for sustainable success."
Guy Potvin,
founder of AAZ Solutions.
How has Odoo transformed CO7 Technologies?
When CO7 Technologies discovered Odoo, Christian Cossette was immediately impressed by its flexibility and ease of use.
The company started with the free version, and within a month, it became clear that Odoo was the right choice.
Simplified implementation and immediate results: the CO7 finance team led the initial setup, starting with Odoo's financial modules. The intuitive interface allowed for a seamless integration of key processes, ensuring accessibility for non-technical users.
Unified production and quality control: Odoo's production modules enabled CO7 to streamline the managementof inventory , purchases and production.. Unlike other ERP systems that require extensive customization, Odoo offered pre-configured modules for production and quality control, perfectly suited to CO7's needs.
Integrated management of customer relationship (CRM) and tracking of sales :One of CO7's flagship features was the integration of Odoo's CRM into its sales and production processes. Unlike siloed systems such as SAP Business One and Zoho CRM, Odoo allowed for smooth data flow between departments.
Real-time data and performance tracking: with Odoo, CO7 tracks key performance indicators through custom dashboards, monitoring sales per production employee, sales success rates, and financial indicators such as cash flow and income statements.
Transparency in communication and workflows: Odoo's integrated collaboration tools ensure that all team members stay informed throughout the manufacturing process. The ability to track orders from CRM to final shipping on a single platform has significantly improved operational efficiency.
"What we appreciate most about Odoo is that all information flows smoothly from CRM to production and then to shipping."
Christian Cossette,
president and founder.
Expanding horizons: what are the next steps for CO7 Technologies?
CO7 Technologies is constantly refining its use of Odoo and plans to optimize its processes for manufacturing by integrating more precise tracking of assembly lines. This will allow the company to optimize its production and further improve its efficiency.
Additionally, CO7 aims to expand its market presence beyond Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, increasing its global footprint inSouth Americaand other emerging markets.
The success of CO7 Technologies illustrates the power of Odoo to transform complex manufacturing operations. If your business is facing challenges related to disconnected systems, inefficient workflows, or scalability issues, Odoo's integrated platform can provide the necessary solution to drive your growth and efficiency.