Odoo vs SAP vs Net Suite vs ERP Next: Which ERP is Making Real Sense to Growing Businesses?
I guess you are Googling the best ERP provider to use with a small business, right? You have now spent the last three days searching and you are even more baffled now than you were at the beginning. Trust me, you're not alone. All the other sites present feature lists and spec sheets to you. However, none of them informs you about such things as really count in a real business with a real budget. So let's skip the sales talk. This is what I have had to experience after observing dozens of businesses make this very decision. Talk to me about every one of them -- frankly.
SAP Business One
SAP is an impressive piece of paper. And it is on huge companies with hundreds of employees and deep pockets. But this is what nobody talks about at the beginning. It can only bankrupt a small company with its licensing. Execution is interminable. And you are likely to have a special IT individual who will ensure that things run. I have witnessed small business registering to use SAP believing that they are investing in the future. In half a year, they now have a half-complete installation, and a head that costs them a great deal of money. When you are doing $100M or more revenue, yes. Otherwise, you are unlikely to find it your best bet.
Oracle NetSuite
NetSuite is solid. It is cloud-based, money wise, and presentable. It is popular with a good number of middle-sized businesses.
But the economics model may creep up on you. You begin with a base subscription, add users, add modules, add customizations and in a few seconds you realize you have increased your monthly bill to some extent that you had not anticipated.
In addition, you are more or less locked into the world of Oracle. Wish to make some changes that are specific to your workflow? It is about to charge high prices.
ERPNext
ERPNext is the low-tech newcomer. It is open-source, it is free to begin with and it is actually easy to install to do basic operations.
I do like ERPNext with very small teams, under 5, or 15 individuals with simple processes. It makes the job done without making it too difficult.
The catch? ERPNext begins to fail once your business begins expanding, and your processes become more layered. Its customization opportunities are not too high, the developer community is not large, and it may be difficult to find serious developers.
Odoo
Now, Odoo is interesting. It is in that just right zone between cost and power.
The Community Edition is free and you can add modules later on as your business expands. Inventory needed now and manufacturing in a quarter? No problem. It grows as along with you rather than compelling you to purchase it all at once.
However, the aspect of Odoo I like most is its flexibility. Most ERPs require you to modify your processes in order to fit the software but Odoo allows you to do the opposite. An effective Odoo customization firm can mold it to fit the manner in which your team works actually, rather than how they ought to work as a textbook version.
My Honest Recommendation
There is no best ERP, look. It is a matter of where you are and where you are going.
However, when you are a small or medium business with a number of 10 to 500 employees and you need something that will work today without costing you a fortune or taking a year to deploy, Odoo is quite difficult to compete with.
It's not perfect. No software is. But it would allow you to begin with simple and become more advanced with time. And that is what expanding businesses are in need of.
One Thing People Overlook This is one thing I would like more companies to know before selecting an ERP.
The program itself is perhaps forty percent of the formula. The other 60%? That is implementation - making sense of your workflows, setting up things correctly, making that personal touch that makes it yours.
That is why the selection of Odoo customization company is so important. An excellent partner is not one who merely puts his modules and goes away. They are in your team, they learn about the messy real world processes, and create a system that truly assists persons in doing their jobs in a better way.
I have witnessed the same software perform outstandingly well in one company and fail miserably in the other. The implementation partner was always the difference.
Wrapping Up
Quit going after the most popular name. Begin to search after the best match.
Odoo is worth a serious consideration in case you want an ERP which is flexible to your business rather than the other way round. And when you are ready to proceed, see an Odoo customization company that really has the idea of businesses just like yours.
Since nothing can transform in the end of the day, the right system with the right partner can turn everything around.
And the wrong one? Oh that makes it a costly lesson.
