Manufacturing companies often reach a point where disconnected systems, manual workflows, and spreadsheet-based operations begin to slow growth instead of supporting it. As production volumes increase, managing sales, inventory, accounting, and production across separate tools creates operational complexity and limits real-time visibility.
Manufacturing Growth Often Creates Operational Complexity
This challenge is common among growing manufacturers. mute-labs in Germany and Impression Multi-Images in Canada both experienced operational difficulties caused by fragmented systems, duplicated data entry, and fragmented processes across production, inventory, sales, and accounting.
As both companies expanded, their existing systems struggled to support increasing operational demands. Reporting required manual consolidation, production coordination depended heavily on spreadsheets or disconnected tools, and teams lacked a centralized view of business performance.
To support scalable manufacturing operations, both companies adopted Odoo ERP to centralize workflows, improve operational visibility, and reduce manual coordination across departments.
How mute-labs Improved Manufacturing Visibility and Workflow Efficiency with Odoo ERP
Company Overview
Detail | Information |
Company Name | mute-labs |
Location | Berlin, Germany |
Industry | Manufacturing |
Business Focus | Soundproof office booths and acoustic solutions |
Established | 2018 |
Company Size | 50+ employees |
Odoo Users | <50 |
Hosting | Odoo.sh |
Implementation Partner | much consulting |
Key Odoo Apps | Contacts, CRM, Sales, Accounting, Inventory, Purchase, Helpdesk, Marketing Automation, Odoo Studio |
Founded in Berlin, mute-labs manufactures soundproof office booths designed to create quieter and more productive workspaces. Through its brands Berlin Acoustics and mute-labs, the company serves more than 5,000 customers across Europe with a combination of minimalist design, direct sales, and efficient manufacturing operations.
As the business expanded, the company needed more structured internal workflows to support growing demand, customer management, and reporting activities across departments.
Challenges Before Odoo
Like many fast-growing manufacturing companies, mute-labs initially adopted multiple software solutions on an ad-hoc basis. While these tools supported individual functions such as CRM, invoicing, and inventory management, they operated independently and lacked overall operational visibility.
The absence of an integrated ERP structure created reporting silos across the business. To analyze company performance, teams had to manually collect information from different systems and consolidate it into Excel spreadsheets, slowing decision-making and limiting access to real-time manufacturing data.
Operational Area | Challenges Before Odoo |
CRM & Sales | Isolated customer and sales information |
Inventory Management | Limited visibility across workflows |
Reporting | Manual Excel consolidation |
Operational Coordination | Multiple disconnected applications |
Business Visibility | No single source of truth |
Scalability | Existing infrastructure becoming difficult to manage |
As operational complexity increased, the company recognized that its existing software landscape would no longer support long-term manufacturing growth efficiently.
Why They Chose Odoo
mute-labs evaluated Odoo as a manufacturing ERP platform capable of supporting professional and scalable business operations without adding unnecessary system complexity.
One of the key advantages was Odoo’s all-in-one ecosystem. Instead of relying on multiple standalone tools, the company could manage CRM, sales, inventory, purchasing, reporting, customer service, and supply chain processes within a connected platform.
The pricing structure also played an important role. Compared with solutions such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 and NetSuite, Odoo offered a more transparent pricing model with all applications included under a per-user structure.
Additional factors influencing the decision included:
- Broad out-of-the-box manufacturing ERP capabilities
- Reduced dependency on custom development
- Lower long-term maintenance costs
- Flexible workflow customization through Odoo Studio
- Easier adoption for non-technical teams
With support from much consulting, mute-labs gradually replaced older operational tools and mapped sales, finance, and supply chain workflows into Odoo.
Results After Implementation
After implementing Odoo ERP, mute-labs established a more connected operational environment that improved reporting accuracy, process coordination, and cross-department alignment
One of the most significant improvements came in production planning and inventory management. Odoo replaced spreadsheet-based coordination and fragmented communication processes, giving teams clearer oversight across the production chain.
Area | Before Odoo | After Odoo |
Reporting | Manual Excel consolidation | Faster real-time reporting |
Sales Operations | Fragmented workflows | Structured CRM pipelines |
Production Coordination | Spreadsheet and message-based tracking | Centralized production visibility |
Operational Data | Disconnected information sources | Unified business data foundation |
Process Scalability | Difficult to manage growing complexity | Improved scalability for future expansion |
Key operational improvements included:
- 80% increase in Sales and CRM productivity
- 80%–100% efficiency gains in production planning and inventory workflows
- Up to 60% reduction in reporting time
- Faster access to operational and manufacturing insights
Beyond operational improvements, mute-labs also observed stronger internal engagement around process optimization. Teams became more proactive in improving workflows and adapting the ERP system to evolving manufacturing requirements.
How Impression Multi-Images Unified Manufacturing and eCommerce Operations with Odoo ERP
Company Overview
Detail | Information |
Company Name | Impression Multi-Images |
Location | Quebec, Canada |
Industry | Promotional Apparel Printing |
Business Focus | Screen printing, embroidery, personalized corporate clothing |
Company Size | >10 employees |
Hosting | Odoo.sh |
ERP Scope | Manufacturing, Inventory, Sales, Accounting, eCommerce, Marketing |
Previous Systems | Excel spreadsheets and a local accounting software |
Founded in 1997, Impression Multi-Images began as a small family-run business specializing in customized apparel and promotional clothing. Over time, the company expanded from a one-person operation into a growing manufacturing business serving organizations that require branded uniforms, embroidery, and personalized printing services.
As operations grew, the business needed a more connected way to manage customization workflows, production coordination, inventory, online ordering, and accounting within a single manufacturing ERP environment.
Challenges Before Odoo
Before implementing Odoo ERP, Impression Multi-Images relied heavily on manual workflows and multiple standalone business applications. While the previous accounting software handled bookkeeping, it lacked integration with manufacturing operations, inventory management, sales, and eCommerce activities.
Several business processes also depended on Excel spreadsheets and repeated manual data entry, especially for large customer orders. Information often had to be entered multiple times across accounting, production, and order management systems, increasing administrative workload and the risk of operational errors.
Operational Area | Challenges Before Odoo |
Accounting | Outdated local accounting software with limited ERP capabilities |
Production Coordination | Manual communication and workflow interruptions |
Order Management | Duplicate data entry between systems |
Inventory Visibility | No centralized operational view |
eCommerce Operations | Disconnected from production and accounting |
Reporting & Workflow Tracking | Limited real-time visibility across departments |
As order volumes and operational demands increased, the company needed a more coordinated manufacturing workflow to support future growth efficiently.
Why They Chose Odoo
During the ERP evaluation process, Impression Multi-Images explored several solutions, including Oracle and Zoho. However, traditional enterprise systems were considered too costly and overly complex for a growing manufacturing business of its size.
Odoo stood out because of its flexibility, user-friendly interface, and fully integrated application ecosystem. Instead of relying on isolated business applications across departments, the company could centralize operations within a single platform.
The platform also matched the company’s need to connect customization, online ordering, production, and customer management.
Key Odoo applications implemented include:
- Manufacturing
- Sales
- Purchase
- Accounting
- Website
- eCommerce
- CRM
- Inventory
- Project
- Marketing Automation
- Email Marketing
Within three to four months, the company became operational on Odoo, with core manufacturing and business workflows successfully centralized.
Results After Implementation
The transition to Odoo significantly improved operational coordination across manufacturing, customer ordering, and internal workflows.
One of the most impactful improvements came from integrating Website, eCommerce, Manufacturing, and Accounting into a connected workflow. Customers can now place uniform orders through dedicated online stores, while confirmed orders automatically flow into production and accounting without repeated operational handoffs.
In manufacturing operations, Odoo Manufacturing and Work Orders improved shop floor visibility by providing employees with clear production instructions upfront. This reduced workflow interruptions and minimized dependency on managers for task coordination.
Area | Before Odoo | After Odoo |
Website Creation | Around 3 days | Approximately 1 day |
Production Coordination | Manual interruptions and task clarification | Structured work orders and clearer workflows |
Order Processing | Multiple manual entries | Automated operational flow |
Department Visibility | Fragmented systems | Centralized manufacturing operations |
Customer Ordering | Traditional coordination process | Dedicated online ordering portals |
Project management also became more structured. Graphic design services are now automatically routed into Odoo Project, giving teams better visibility into deliverables, timelines, and responsibilities.
With manual administrative work reduced, Impression Multi-Images is now focusing on scaling future growth initiatives through Odoo Marketing Automation and Email Marketing, with the company targeting stronger year-over-year business growth supported by a more connected manufacturing ERP infrastructure.