Grüne Erde's Journey to digital excellence with braintec and Odoo
Since 1983, the Austrian furniture manufacturer and catalogue retailer Grüne Erde has stood for sustainable, socially fair products and eco-efficient business practices. The strong growth of the Grüne Erde Group called for a new, modern and enterprise-wide software solution. braintec successfully digitised the company using the ERP system Odoo.
The Grüne Erde Group produces and sells over 6'000 articles for living and sleeping, fashion and natural cosmetics. The ecologically and fairly manufactured products are made in the company's own factory in Austria and sold in 14 stores in Austria and Germany as well as through mail order and an online shop. Around 550 employees work in production, sales and administration.
Growth meets established structures
In recent years, the Grüne Erde Group has grown rapidly and successfully. This growth impacted all areas and especially the workflows in production, logistics, warehousing and sales across more than a dozen stores and the flourishing mail order business.
"Our goal was to improve data quality and harmonise our processes to achieve a high degree of standardisation in everyday operations," explains Darja Kneissl. As Head of the Process Management Team and Product Owner Odoo, she is driving the digital transformation at Grüne Erde.
The IT landscape of the Austrian company had become very heterogeneous over the years. It included a custom-built system for online sales, Excel-based production planning and many manual steps. Much of it was siloed and dependent on individual employees’ knowledge – reliable but hard to scale.
"It was time to replace the patchwork of legacy systems and implement a unified, future-ready solution," says Darja.
With this vision Grüne Erde launched a call for tenders.
"Our goal was to improve data quality and harmonise our processes to achieve a high degree of standardisation in everyday operations".
Darja Kneissl
Head of Process Management and Product Owner Odoo at Grüne Erde
Going digital with Odoo and braintec
In workshops with internal departments and external providers, various ERP systems were evaluated. Odoo was chosen because of
- its modular design and wide range of applications beyond core processes.
- its flexibility in handling complex, customised workflows on one platform central open-source platform support by the the open source approach.
- the intuitive, user-friendly interface, particularly suited for teams with many part-time staff.
- the ease of integration with third-party systems.
braintec was chosen as the implementation partner for its strong experience with large-scale Odoo rollouts and its deep understanding of complex organisational structures.
Agile and step-by-step project implementation
The implementation had two phases: supply chain and sales.
“We had development teams on both sides working closely together. The specialists from the Grüne Erde and the Odoo experts from braintec were a perfect match", remembers Darja.
The implementation followed an agile approach, with multiple small soft rollouts as pilot tests. Even in the first project phase, products pilots went live and were tested, analysed and improved under real-world conditions. "This allowed us to catch errors early, minimise risks, implement improvements quickly and continually optimise processes," Darja adds.
„We wanted a partner who understands not just the system but our values and our versatility. braintec impressed us right away: they live the Odoo spirit and are able to support us technically and also in redesigning our processes“.
The solution: customised processes for greater efficiency
braintec successfully digitised Grüne Erde’s key processes in purchasing, production, warehousing and sales in Odoo. One of the main challenges was implementing cross-company processes, including internal cost allocations. Today, all workflows are connected and run seamlessly.
Focus Sales
All customer data is stored centrally in Odoo, enabling fast, personalised and transparent customer service. From the first point of contact through to after-sales support, Grüne Erde’s omnichannel sales – whether via retail, mail order, or online – are consistently organised and provide a smooth, unified customer experience.
Marketing campaigns with vouchers and promotional offers can be created directly in Odoo and translated into targeted campaigns.
"As a mail order retailer, we are especially creative in this area. Together with braintec, we developed many enhancements that are not yet available in the latest Odoo versions".
Focus Supply Chain
The Product Management team maintains master data, lists new products and ensures clean product structures in Odoo.
Through an interface with Grüne Erde's disposition software, purchase orders are pre-calculated and transferred to Odoo. The actual approval, ordering, delivery and storage in the central warehouse are then managed within Odoo.
Goods are dispatched to the end customer via a complex routing system based on product type, delivery address and warehouse location. This process includes two geographically separate warehouses in Austria. Products are shipped via various directly integrated mail-order service providers and several logistics companies.
"A real highlight was when the first parcel was processed automatically through Odoo“.
Together towards digitalisation
One of the biggest challenges was understanding all processes and the wide range of Odoo apps. “At first, it was hard to know where to look and how things connect. But thanks to our close, solution-oriented collaboration with braintec, we always found the best way forward," says Darja.
Even during ongoing operations, the transfer of procurement orders and warehouse processes went smoothly. Without any loss of data. Without interrupting operations. The migration to a new Odoo version also was completed in the middle of the project.
„We are particularly proud of the fact that we were able to master all of these challenges and implement them during regular operations without the house of cards collapsing or information being lost", Darja emphasises.
Module leaders for user experience
A key success factor was introducing module managers. They act as a bridge between departments, push further development and ensure long-term knowledge sharing through internal training. The module leaders also train colleagues in their own area and in related ones.
“This approach helps us promote a broader understanding of our overall processes and makes using Odoo as intuitive and efficient as possible for everyone. Regular feedback from our teams allows us to identify optimisation potential at an early stage and implement it in a practical way“, explains Darja.
Digitalisation that makes an impact
By introducing Odoo, Grüne Erde achieved the following improvements:
- Unified system landscape across all areas of the Grüne Erde Group.
- Real-time transparency across inventory, processes and production steps at all locations.
- Less manual work and fewer media breaks.
- More automation with flexibility for custom workflows.
„A major success is that Odoo gave us the opportunity to anchor the intercompany approach within the Grüne Erde Group. All companies now work on the same system. That reduces maintenance and gives us the freedom to integrate Odoo where it adds the most value".
Outlook: Odoo grows with Grüne Erde
Grüne Erde and braintec are currently working on further integrations into Odoo, such as in-store order capturing and new sales channels. Some pilot stores will soon be connected to Odoo to make the sale process even smoother and more efficient.
“Our Odoo project with braintec is not finished, it marks the beginning of a long-term partnership. With a digital toolbox that grows with us. Now that we know what’s possible with Odoo and braintec, we’re excited to keep driving digital transformation and evolving step by step“, Darja concludes.
About Grüne Erde
For over 40 years, Grüne Erde has combined sustainability, responsibility, and quality design. Its range of over 6'000 products in home, fashion and natural cosmetics features only natural materials, crafted with care and high design standards. The products are made fairly in Austria and sold in 14 stores in Austria and Germany, as well as through mail order and online. Around 550 people work for the Grüne Erde Group in production, sales, and administration.