End-to-end processes in Odoo
How Fetzer & Bertsch Energie GmbH (febe sonnenenergie) digitalised its entire business processes
Odoo Experience 2024
“We are glad to have found an ERP that is truly flexible. Choosing SAMSA-IT as our Odoo implementation partner was a good decision, great people with a very high level of customer focus. By now it is definitely a match!”
About the customer
Fetzer & Bertsch Energie GmbH from Erbach/Donau plans and builds photovoltaic systems under the febe sonnenenergie brand
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Fetzer & Bertsch Energie GmbH from Erbach/Donau plans and builds photovoltaic systems under the febe sonnenenergie brand, from single-family homes and agricultural businesses to PV carports without substructure. With 35 employees and around 50 subcontractors, febe installs around 500 PV systems a year with about 35,000 modules and generates revenue of €20 million.
The company is managed by Reiner Bertsch (Managing Director Technical; master electrician and graduate industrial engineer with 23 years of experience at a municipal utility, first solar roof more than 20 years ago) and Daniel Fetzer (Managing Director Commercial; graduate in business administration with management experience in energy companies and the real estate industry).
The challenge & strategy
The photovoltaic market is growing strongly
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The photovoltaic market is growing strongly: according to the KfW Energy Transition Barometer, 14.7% of households in Germany already own a PV system, and a further 5% plan to purchase one in the next twelve months. To be able to handle this growth, febe needed an ERP system that supports the entire sales and project process digitally and end to end.
febe got there in two steps:
Start with Odoo Community
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Quick start at low cost (implementation only, no costs per user) and standard functions. For a growing company, however, it became clear that many requirements would have to be developed individually, which gets expensive. Community is better suited to small companies without growth ambitions or as a complement to other IT solutions.
Switch to Odoo Enterprise & Odoo.sh
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For a complete ERP in day-to-day business, the decision fell on Odoo Enterprise with all apps, including mobile use, accounting, document management, e-signature and Studio, as well as support and upgrades from Odoo. Hosting on Odoo.sh was a decisive criterion: no coordination with further IT service providers, no additional organisational effort.
The solution from SAMSA IT
As an Odoo partner, SAMSA IT supported Fetzer & Bertsch Energie GmbH in switching from Odoo Community to Odoo Enterprise and in digitalising its complete business processes:
Switch from Community to Enterprise
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Easy transfer of the existing data from Odoo Community to Odoo Enterprise (version 16) on Odoo.sh, with joint planning of capacities, time, budget and the order in which the apps are introduced.
End-to-end PV sales process
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Mapping of the entire flow from contacts via CRM and sales to the project. Purchasing and inventory are connected to CRM and sales, the helpdesk to the projects, and dashboards give an overview of the entire process.
Project control for every PV system
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Each system is controlled as a project in Odoo with standardised tasks, from uploading the handover document and the down payment, through the grid request, registration with the energy supplier and wallbox registration, to the module plan, ordering the PV modules and stock material.
Odoo as the central ERP
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Around 20 Odoo apps are in use, including CRM, Sales, Accounting, Documents, Project, Timesheets, Helpdesk, Website, Purchase, Inventory, Manufacturing, Barcode as well as Employees, Appraisals, Recruitment and Time Off.
Accounting entirely in Odoo
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The previous accounting system was completely replaced by Odoo, so sales, projects and accounting now run in one end-to-end system.
Results & business impact
Full-fledged ERP
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With Odoo Enterprise, all applications are available, including the mobile version, accounting and document management.
Complete business processes digitalised
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From sales through project execution to accounting, the previous accounting system has been completely replaced by Odoo.
Digitalised PV sales
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From the first contact through quotation and order to project execution and service, everything runs in one system.
Everything from one source
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Hosting on Odoo.sh and a suitable implementation partner, febe can focus fully on its own business.
Flexible & ready for growth
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A truly flexible ERP that is well prepared for further growth and additional applications.
Lessons Learned
Find the right partner
Look for a licensed Odoo partner and check whether the collaboration really fits.
Take time and plan
Plan capacities, time and budget realistically and set the order of the apps, there is a lot to decide, and there is more in Odoo than you expect.
Build strong processes
A successful business needs well-organised processes, and that takes time and budget.
Create internal acceptance
Involve interested colleagues early and train everyone else regularly, this ensures long-term success.
Free specification, implementation at a fixed price.
Send us your requirements. We write a specification free of charge and, based on it, a fixed-price offer for the implementation.
- 1Send requirements
- 2Free specification
- 3Fixed price for the implementation
