GPP Perimeter Protection Group, operating in seven countries, needed a new ERP system to facilitate Nordic cooperation, reporting and transparent management. When they switched to Odoo in three countries, collaboration improved and everyday work became more efficient.
GPP Perimeter Protection Group (GPP) is a manufacturer, developer, planner, and service provider in all aspects concerning the security of companies, organisations, municipalities and even nuclear plants and other high-security sites. Their internationally certified products include gates with high impact loads, wedge barriers, bollards and barriers, in addition to manually operated barriers, type-tested quick-folding gates and sliding gates. It goes without saying that their ERP system and its functionality have high operational reliability criteria 24/7.
The confusing and dysfunctional tangle of several different systems was dismantled
GPP previously had its own separate ERP systems in use in different countries. For this reason, among other things, product codes had been established in different ways in the subsidiaries of the same group. One and the same product had many different codes depending on the country of operation.
The financial management software used by the company in the past was not suitable in all respects for inventory management, which naturally caused problems for accounting. The software used to control maintenance operations had also become hopelessly outdated.
The goal was to put into use one common modern ERP system that can automate functions.
The focus soon turned to Odoo, which enabled the harmonization of Nordic operations, a common reporting tool and a unified financial management system in three countries (Finland, Denmark, Sweden).
Switching to a single system has made work easier and brought clear savings as separate programs that did not talk to each other have been abandoned.
The open source code used by Odoo was a significant selection criterion, as it guarantees flexible development and modification of the software.
The experiences with Odoo have been so promising that there are plans to add new countries to the circle. With Odoo's global partner network, it is possible to implement the system almost anywhere with the help of a local partner. SprintIT Finland was mainly responsible for GPP's Odoo project, but the Swedish partner managed the local connections to e-invoicing. Now GPP handles the purchases, inventory management, sales and CRM, projects, financial management, hourly reporting and maintenance functions for the three countries on Odoo. Salary administration and expense tracking, among other things, are to be transferred to Odoo in the next phase.
"Transferring the maintenance functions to Odoo has improved the planning of the maintenance work and the anticipation of the work."
The big digital leap of the field services
The timeliness and smoothness of product maintenance is very important to GPP's customers. With the help of SprintIT, Odoo's field maintenance functions were developed to meet the changing needs of the growing company.
Previously, GPP handled maintenance-related tasks with a separate program. The customer and equipment base had grown so large that the old system began to be inadequate. In the old program, there was no possibility to schedule work. The gigs were recorded as discrete events, and managing them was challenging. We set out to solve these challenges in Odoo.
With the help of SprintIT, the Odoo Field Service standard functions were further developed so that the progress of the installation projects and periodic and fault maintenance of the equipment are controlled using Odoo. Planning and forecasting maintenance work is now efficient.
"Transferring maintenance operations to Odoo has improved maintenance work planning and work forecasting. With us, the same people often manage both project installations and maintenance. Thanks to one system, we don't accidentally book an electrician for project delivery and maintenance work at the same time. No more accidental double-bookings or sitting idle waiting for the next gig. Resourcing for the coming weeks can be efficiently planned for the following week."
Odoo shows directly the customer's equipment base, the maintenance contracts and the periodic maintenance tasks. Odoo shows the scheduled maintenance timetable for the whole year, and when the customer's scheduled maintenance starts to become relevant, Odoo alerts about the need for maintenance.
When there’s a service request, the customer service can see from Odoo which versions of the different devices the customer has. The service person can immediately choose the spare parts that are needed for this customer's equipment. Up-to-date inventory management in the same system is also important for maintenance. Visibility of the status of the spare parts in the warehouse (and working alarm limits) guarantee that the necessary parts are always available.
The development of the maintenance function based on the device register has also improved the cost monitoring of project installations. The monitoring and budget view of the progress of installation projects is now much more accurate than before. Now the hourly entries made by maintenance are updated directly in the system. In hourly contracts, the installer's hours are also directly recorded in billing and accounting. In fixed-price maintenance contracts, it is possible to monitor the profitability of the maintenance customer for the company without a reporting delay.
"SprintIT's Project Manager contribution to the success of the project was extremely important, they had an extremely good overall vision of the solution".
Under the guidance of the SprintIT consultant, the project progresses smoothly
A successful ERP project starts with a careful definition. At its best, guided by an experienced consultant, the ERP project clarifies all of the company's processes. GPP's project was started by drawing up detailed operational descriptions in cooperation between the client and the consultant.
"Cooperation with SprintIT's Project Manager Leo was seamless, he clearly had a lot of insight into the projects of different companies. He explained when it made sense for us to change our own process to fit Odoo's logic, and when there was a need to develop Odoo for GPP's needs. His contribution to the success of the project was extremely important, because he had a tremendously good overall vision of the solution," says Janne Mikkola, who was responsible for GPP's Odoo project.
"The project progressed smoothly. We met virtually once a week with the entire project staff and updated the situation. In addition to this, we were in daily contact with SprintIT's Project Manager if necessary. He acted in an exemplary manner throughout the project and was always very accessible. He also handled all communication for the coders and architects, and we always got the solution proposals or changes back within the same day. "
Janne's tips for those starting their first ERP project
It would be good for all people involved to have some basic knowledge of the chosen software from the beginning.
The biggest challenge was learning how to use the new system while developing it to meet our needs. That's why it was extremely important that we had a competent consultant to help us.
An additional challenge for us was also the fact that each country had used different software that operated with different logic. Because of this, the starting situation and expectations were different in the subsidiaries.
Janne Mikkola, Area Manager, GPP
Follow in the footsteps of GPP Perimeter and choose Odoo!
Let's find the best solution for your company.