Odoo integrator: the job, and what to expect from it

What the job covers

Installing Odoo takes a day. Putting it into service in a company takes weeks, and that is where the project succeeds or fails. An Odoo integrator is the one doing that second job.

They start by understanding how the company actually works, which never quite matches what the written procedures say. They then translate that reality into configuration, flag what will not fit, migrate data from the old system, develop what is missing and support the teams on the day they switch over.

The five stages of a project

• Scoping: list the processes, identify which are standard and which are not, decide what goes into the ERP.
• Configuration: set up modules, permissions, approval flows and documents.
• Data migration: bring in customers, products, stock and accounting history without losing or duplicating anything. This is the most underestimated and riskiest phase.
• Development: write the modules covering what the standard ignores, through inheritance rather than modification.
• Training and go-live: support the teams, hold the first weeks, fix what real use reveals.

Questions to ask before signing

Choosing an integrator often commits you more than choosing the software. Four questions size up a partner fairly quickly.

What do you refuse to develop? A partner who accepts everything has no opinion. A good integrator will tell you when configuration is enough, and when your need has no business being in an ERP at all.

How do you handle version upgrades? The answer reveals the technical quality of the work. If modules are written cleanly, migration is a predictable piece of work. If not, it becomes a wall.

Who owns the code of the developed modules? To be clarified before, not after.

What happens if we leave? A confident partner documents the work and makes it possible for someone else to pick it up. It is the best sign of seriousness.

Integrator, publisher, developer

Three roles look alike and do different things. The publisher releases the software, here the Odoo company itself. The integrator puts it into service at your premises. The developer writes code, which is only part of integration work.

A company looking only for development can do without an integrator. A company starting out on Odoo needs the scoping far more than the lines of code.

How we work

KERN-IT works on Odoo from Brussels, with one deliberate particularity: we do not try to fit everything into the ERP. Our work starts by drawing the line between what is standard at your company and what is not, then tooling each side properly.

This approach sometimes disappoints, because it leads to recommending less Odoo than expected. In exchange, it produces installations that stay readable and upgrade without drama.