True beauty comes from within – how Purish GmbH is driving a deep transformation in its sales operations

Company Name: Purish GmbH
Location: Berlin
Industry: e-Commerce
Founded: 2017
Company Size: <50
Odoo Users: <30
Hosting Type: Odoo.sh
Apps: Inventory, Purchase, Accounting
Implementation Partner: bobco GmbH

Their business stands on three pillars: In the B2B sector, they handle distribution for 7 international brands and supply the large German drugstore chains. Additionally, they run their own online shop and are active on numerous marketplaces, including Amazon, Douglas, Bol, Allegro, and Shopapotheke. In total, their portfolio comprises around 80 brands.

The challenge: Outdated methods for modern sales channels

With a mix of email inboxes, Excel spreadsheets, and Shopify, Purish GmbH had a classic start-up setup. This worked well for a while, but as the company grew and had ambitious goals, it quickly became clear that this collection of siloed solutions could not last permanently.

The new software solution had to tackle a range of specific challenges. For one, Purish GmbH serves very different sales channels. All order processes from their own shop, the drugstore chains, and the various marketplaces had to be centrally consolidated, reconciled with actual inventory levels, and promptly billed.

Before the introduction of Odoo, the entire warehouse process was rather "classic." “Our warehouse process was completely analogue. Paper, pen, clipboard, and a team that had to know every storage location by heart,” reports Viktoria Maas from Purish GmbH.

This only works if employees know all storage locations and the system behind them. The option of working with temporary staff during peak times was therefore completely out of the question.

At the same time, the company has external storage locations, which, in turn, work with their own software solutions. The new system for Purish GmbH therefore had to be flexible enough to allow for corresponding interfaces.

Success with courage and modules

An ERP implementation always requires courage. Purish demonstrated this courage by implementing their newly chosen software solution, Odoo, directly during their busiest phase. “We implemented Odoo in the middle of our highest-revenue period, the so-called Summer Sale, when thousands of orders were waiting for fulfillment. What was intended as a pragmatic solution quickly turned into a rushed effort under real time pressure.” Despite the time pressure and the very analogue warehouse management, the implementation was ultimately a success. Purish GmbH attributes the reasons primarily to Odoo’s structure and the valuable help of Odoo Partner bobco GmbH.

Thanks to Odoo's modular design, it is very possible to implement the platform step by step. This approach of going live with an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) has the advantage that operations can continue as usual in parts of the company. Potential effects of the implementation are limited to manageable areas. For Purish, only the Inventory app was implemented in the first step, and only after successful use were other modules connected. “A modular, phased rollout significantly reduces the risk and gives the team the necessary time to truly familiarize themselves with the system.”

After the Inventory app, the Purchase module was also integrated. The full potential of Odoo can primarily be leveraged when all company processes are unified on one platform. With the unified use of Odoo in the procurement process as well, another interface could be eliminated. Previously, orders had to be manually entered using Excel spreadsheets, which was tedious and error-prone. “This organic expansion proved to be the right decision, because the team was already familiar with the system, and the expansion felt like a natural development, not like a new project.”

More technical insights about the project can be found in the detailed case study by Odoo implementation partner bobco GmbH. Click here to read the full story.

From reactive crisis management to scalable operations

3 years after the implementation of Odoo, Purish GmbH looks back on a whole series of improvements. From a classic start-up setup with Excel chaos and countless media breaks, they have made the leap to a unified, scalable ERP system. “Today, everything is a continuous, largely automated process. From purchasing and goods receipt to supplier invoicing, everything runs in one system. Manual work has been drastically reduced, as has the error rate.” Purish GmbH estimates their efficiency has increased by 100% in all these processes thanks to Odoo.

At the same time, the Odoo implementation opens up new options. Thanks to a unified and intuitive system, there is now the possibility to use temporary staff during times of high demand. Since the paper-based system has been replaced and all the knowledge no longer relies on a few people, personnel can be trained quickly and easily. “Today, we can flexibly scale and spontaneously increase staffing even during peak times, without having to schedule weeks of training time. That was the game changer for us.”

However, the biggest success for Purish GmbH is the added peace that Odoo brings to the company. Through the gained maturity in business processes, the unified data basis, and the new possibilities with personnel, Odoo has transformed Purish GmbH from reactive crisis management to a scalable operation. “We no longer let peak times throw us off course. What used to lead to genuine chaos now simply flows. Even in the strongest phases, we manage to process almost all orders on the same day. That is an enormous difference from before and a clear competitive advantage.”

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Read the Success Story of bobco GmbH here