Client Background

Company: SolarNova Technologies
Industry: Solar Energy Equipment Manufacturing
Location: Kaunas, Lithuania
Size: 1,200 employees
Annual Revenue: €85 million
Founded: 2009

SolarNova Technologies is one of the Baltic region’s leading manufacturers of photovoltaic panels, solar inverters, and mounting systems. The company has experienced rapid growth over the past five years, expanding from 400 employees to 1,200, with manufacturing facilities in Kaunas and a distribution center in Klaipėda.

Challenge

As SolarNova scaled operations to meet growing European demand for renewable energy solutions, they encountered several operational challenges:

1. Disjointed Systems: The company was using seven different software solutions across departments (accounting, inventory, manufacturing, HR, CRM, purchasing, and shipping), resulting in data silos and manual reconciliation.
2. Manufacturing Inefficiencies: Production planning was complex and often reactive, leading to inventory shortages, production delays, and increased carrying costs.
3. Supply Chain Visibility: Limited visibility across their supply chain made it difficult to forecast material needs, leading to rush orders and additional costs.
4. Reporting Complications: Creating comprehensive business reports required data extraction from multiple systems and manual consolidation, consuming significant time and introducing error risks.
5. Employee Management: With 1,200 employees across multiple shifts and locations, HR processes were becoming increasingly burdensome and inefficient.

Solution Implemented by Salply

After a comprehensive needs assessment, Salply recommended and implemented a full-scale Odoo Enterprise solution with the following modules:

• Manufacturing: Streamlined production planning with MRP capabilities
• Inventory Management: Real-time tracking with barcode integration
• Purchase Management: Automated procurement with vendor management
• Sales: Integrated CRM and order management
• Accounting: Comprehensive financial management
• Human Resources: Complete employee lifecycle management
• Project Management: For new product development initiatives
• Quality Control: For maintaining strict manufacturing standards

The implementation was completed in three phases over eight months, with careful data migration and minimal disruption to ongoing operations. Salply provided comprehensive training programs for all staff levels and custom development to address SolarNova’s unique manufacturing processes.

Custom Development

Salply developed several custom solutions to address SolarNova’s specific needs:

1. Solar Panel Efficiency Tracking: A custom module to track the efficiency ratings of each panel through the production process
2. Advanced Forecasting Tool: An AI-driven demand forecasting system integrated with Odoo
3. Energy Consumption Monitoring: A system to monitor and optimize the energy usage of manufacturing equipment
4. Supplier Quality Rating: Automated scoring of suppliers based on delivery times, quality, and price

Results

Within 12 months of full implementation, SolarNova achieved:

Operational Improvements:

• 30% reduction in production planning time
• 25% decrease in inventory carrying costs
• 18% improvement in manufacturing throughput
• 40% reduction in reporting time
• 99.2% accuracy in inventory management

Financial Impact:

• €2.4 million in annual cost savings
• 15% increase in profit margins
• 8% growth in sales due to improved delivery reliability
• ROI of 320% on the Odoo implementation within 18 months

Employee Experience:

• 95% reduction in paper-based HR processes
• 3 hours per week saved per manager on administrative tasks
• Improved employee satisfaction scores in internal surveys

Implementation Approach

Salply’s implementation team followed a methodical approach:

1. Discovery Phase: Comprehensive business process mapping and requirements gathering
2. Solution Design: Tailored Odoo configuration design with SolarNova’s management
3. Development & Configuration: Core system setup with custom development
4. Data Migration: Careful migration from legacy systems with dual-running period
5. Training: Comprehensive training program with role-specific sessions
6. Go-Live: Phased approach by department with dedicated support teams
7. Continuous Improvement: Regular review cycles and optimization

Testimonial

“Partnering with Salply for our Odoo implementation transformed our operations. Their deep understanding of manufacturing processes, combined with their Odoo expertise, delivered a solution that not only addressed our immediate challenges but positioned us for continued growth. The custom developments they created for our specific needs demonstrate their commitment to providing tailored solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.”

— Lukas J., CEO, SolarNova Technologies

Ongoing Support

Salply continues to support SolarNova with:

• Monthly system health checks
• Quarterly optimization reviews
• Ongoing training for new employees
• Proactive updates and enhancements
• Dedicated support channel with guaranteed response times

This ongoing partnership ensures SolarNova maximizes its return on investment while adapting the system to evolving business needs.

Why This Case Demonstrates Salply’s Expertise

This implementation showcases Salply’s capabilities in:

• Enterprise-scale Odoo deployment
• Manufacturing expertise
• Custom development capabilities
• Change management for large organizations
• Complex data migration
• Multi-module integration
• Industry-specific customizations

With this success at SolarNova, Salply has demonstrated its ability to handle comprehensive Odoo implementations for large manufacturing enterprises in the renewable energy sector.