Hachette was founded in France in 1826 and is one of the world’s leading publishing groups. Since entering the partwork (serialized encyclopedia) market in 1988, it has grown to operate in 38 countries, publishing in 16 languages, with over 115,000 titles released.
Hachette Collections Japan was established in 2003 under the Hachette brand and has maintained its position as one of the leading companies in Japan’s partwork segment.
"We needed an ERP that could adapt to our complex workflows. Odoo was the answer: flexible, intuitive, and transparent. It’s an affordable ERP that works for companies of all sizes. Implementing Odoo has allowed us to streamline operations and improve visibility across the business."
Why Odoo? - High Flexibility of modules for Unique Workflows
Hachette Collections Japan manages eight collections per year, delivering content continuously in series. Accurate, ongoing management of planning, production, procurement, and sales is essential.
Before Odoo, operations were managed with Excel, leading to manual errors and difficulty tracking information. Domestic ERP solutions in Japan lacked the flexibility to support Hachette’s unique and complex workflows.
Odoo stands out for its adaptability and ease of customization. With support from official partner Portcities Japan, the implementation was completed in about 9 months—significantly faster and more transparent than typical ERP projects in Japan, which can take up to two years.
How Hachette Collections Japan Uses Odoo: Centralized Management Across Departments
The company uses the following Odoo apps:
Collection Management
(custom app developed with Portcities Japan)
Production Department
Publishing schedules and communications with partners are managed centrally. Orders and progress tracking are streamlined.
Procurement Department
Purchasing operations for printing, packaging, and assembly are managed in Odoo, improving efficiency, quality control, and delivery accuracy.
Accounting Department
Invoicing, accounting processes, and inventory management are integrated, enhancing accuracy and transparency. Company-wide asset management is now smoother.
Results: Consistency and Transparency Achieved
Odoo has established consistency and traceability across our business workflows.
It is now clear who updated which information, significantly strengthening the coordination of each process. The seamless integration between applications has reduced information duplication and confusion.
Odoo is more than just a system; it has become indispensable that centrally manages and supports our entire workflow.
Three Words to Describe Odoo
Flexibility
Easily customized to fit our workflows
Intuitiveness
Consistent, easy-to-use interface across apps
Transparency
Simple and transparent pricing, features, and extensive online resources
Summary: Odoo as a Key Business Tool
Hachette Collections Japan has achieved streamlined operations, improved transparency, and centralized information management with Odoo.
Flexible, intuitive, and transparent, Odoo is an essential, affordable ERP that scales with businesses of any size.
Company: Hachette Collections Japan
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Industry: Publishing (Partwork / Serialized Encyclopedias)
Company Size: SME to Large Enterprise Scale
Odoo Users: 25
Hosting Type: On-Premise
Implementation Partner: Portcities Japan
Implemented Apps: Inventory, Purchase, Invoicing, Accounting, Sales, Collection Management (custom app)
Implementation Duration: 9 months
