ERP
Odoo or SAP: Which ERP Software is Right for Your Business?
- By Nazmus Sakib
- Time 9:30 am
- Date June 7, 2023
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems play an important role in addressing miscommunication, inefficient resource utilization, and disrupted workflows within businesses. With the right ERP solution, you can streamline your business processes and ensure the highest efficiency. Today, we will primarily focus on the two leading ERP solutions: Odoo and SAP.
Odoo is a rapidly growing open-source ERP solution, debuting to assist small and medium
sized businesses to enhance their operations. Its easy implementations and simpler technology
stack makes it an ideal choice for majority users.
On the other hand, SAP is an industry-leading ERP vendor, commonly used by large
companies. With complex implementations and a steeper learning curve, it is hard to maintain
for small and medium businesses but performs well for large companies with huge resources.
By exploring the features, pricing, and suitability of each ERP system, we aim to help you make an informed decision about which ERP solution is the best for business.
ODOO ERP
Launched as an open-source ERP software, Odoo initially aimed to assist small and mediumsized businesses in enhancing their operations across various functions such as eCommerce, billing, accounting, finance, HR, project management, and inventory management.
Over time, its popularity surged, leading to the introduction of the Odoo Enterprise edition in 2015, offering enhanced features. Businesses can leverage the enterprise version for significant productivity improvements. While the enterprise edition offers dedicated hosting and an improved user experience, the community edition remains customizable by professionals to cater to specific business needs.
Odoo modules include accounting, manufacturing, sales, marketing, human resources, shipping, productivity, website, and services.
SAP ERP
SAP enables organizations to streamline their processes, optimize resources, and enhance
overall efficiency. With a strong focus on scalability, flexibility, and industry-specific solutions,
SAP ERP has become a popular choice for large enterprises worldwide. Its robust features, extensive customization options, and extensive ecosystem of partners make it a versatile solution for complex business requirements.
Making the Right ERP Choice for Your Business
Selecting the most suitable ERP system for your business requires careful consideration of various factors, including the size and nature of your organization, industry requirements, budget constraints, and long-term growth plans. For small to medium-sized businesses with limited budgets and flexibility needs, Odoo ERP provides a scalable, cost-effective, and customizable solution.
SAP ERP addresses the requirements of large enterprises with complex operations, global reach, and a requirement for extensive functionalities and integration capabilities. To select the right ERP for your business, these are some points that you should keep in mind:
Order Frequency: The number of orders your business receives daily serves as an essential factor in selecting the appropriate ERP system. If your daily order volume is within 100, Odoo ERP is a suitable choice.
Despite being open-source, Odoo can seamlessly handle substantial amounts of data. Small businesses may opt for the Odoo Community edition, while the Enterprise edition offers advanced features for future scalability.
However, SAP is more suitable for enterprises dealing with high volumes of orders, such as Amazon, which rely on its robust capabilities, albeit with some potential performance limitations.
However, SAP offers stability and reliability, making it suitable for large organizations with international branches and complex operations like the Fortune 1000 companies.
However, SAP ERP, requires a longer implementation period due to its complexity. The implementation process involves a number of stages, such as requirement gathering, system configuration, data migration, and testing, which can extend the timeline significantly. SAP’s complexity stems from its powerful and comprehensive nature, catering to the needs of large and diverse organizations.
However, SAP ERP is known for its higher upfront costs, which includes licensing, implementation, and customization expenses. It is generally more suitable for large enterprises with substantial budgets.
Don’t worry! We have a cost chart below which will help you in your decision making process.
Odoo allows modifications to various process steps, making it suitable for businesses with evolving requirements. SAP’s customization capabilities are more complex and detailed, catering to organizations with intricate needs like multinational corporations. However, customizing SAP requires more resources, time, and expertise.
Implementing SAP, especially the S/4HANA version for larger organizations, comes with high implementation and annual costs. Even the SAP Business One (SBO) alternative for small and mid-sized businesses can be considerably more expensive than Odoo. SAP is geared towards organizations with substantial resources.
Suitability Comparison
| Suitability | Odoo ERP | SAP ERP |
| Business Size | Suitable for small to medium-sized businesses | Suitable for small, medium, and large enterprises |
| Industry Compatibility | Suitable for a wide range of industries and business types | Suitable for a wide range of industries and business types |
| Scalability | Highly scalable and can grow with the business | Highly scalable and can accommodate the growth of large enterprises |
| Customization | Highly customizable with flexibility to adapt to unique business processes | Customizable to meet specific business requirements and industry needs |
| Implementation Complexity | Relatively easy implementation with simpler technology stack | More complex implementation with a steeper learning curve and technology |
| Cost | Cost-effective solution with lower initial investment and licensing fees | Higher initial investment and licensing fees, especially for largescale enterprises |
| User-Friendliness | Intuitive user interface with a shorter learning curve | Requires training and expertise to navigate the system effectively |
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Odoo ERP | SAP ERP |
| Functionality | Covers all essential functionalities | Offers an extensive range of modules |
| User Experience | User-friendly interface | Complex and highly customizable |
| Integration | Integration through the Odoo app store and custom APIs | Extensive integration capabilities with third-party systems and SAP Cloud Platform |
| Flexibility | Highly customizable, it allows easy adaptation to changing business needs. | Stable and reliable, suitable for complex operations |
| Implementation Time and Effort | The simple learning curve, modular structure | Longer implementation period due to complexity |
| Cost | The community edition is free, Enterprise edition has a subscription-based pricing model | Higher upfront costs, including licensing, implementation, and customization expenses |
Price Comparison
| Feature | Odoo ERP | SAP ERP |
| Pricing | $25 / user / month | $2,975 / user perpetual + 18% per year |
| Contract Duration | Monthly / Annual | Annual |
| Five Year Cost (50 Users) | $75,000 | $282,625 |
| Free Trial* | Available | Not Available |
| New Version Upgrades | Included | Included |
| Cost | The community edition is free, Enterprise edition has a subscription-based pricing model | Higher upfront costs, including licensing, implementation, and customization expenses |
| Update Service | Not Included | Not Included |
| Cloud Offer | Available | Not Available |
Conclusion
Choosing the right ERP system is an important decision that can significantly impact your
business’s efficiency and productivity. By comparing Odoo and SAP ERP, we have highlighted
their key differences, suitability, features and pricing differences which will help with the decision
making.
Ultimately, the decision should be based on your organization’s unique requirements, ensuring
that the chosen ERP solution aligns with your business goals and enables future growth.
Services We Provide
Brain Station 23 is focused on delivering tailored services to meet the unique needs and expectations of their clients. Here we provided ERP Solutions to our client.