Solum Technology

Solum Technology

Customer profile

Solum Technology is a Dutch specialist in conveyor equipment, supplying rollers, frames, pulleys and belt covers for a wide range of industrial applications. Built on more than thirty years of experience and an extensive international network, the company connects demand with high-quality production for customers in different markets. That position requires global supply and custom work , with commercial, logistical and project information staying aligned throughout each customer journey.

The company serves sectors ranging from lighter transport applications to demanding environments such as bulk handling, cement, fertilizer and mining. Its offering is therefore not limited to standard products, because many requests involve customer-specific solutions. In practice, that means quotations, purchasing, stock movements and project follow-up often influence one another. For Solum Technology, it became increasingly important to work in one shared business environment where teams could rely on the same current information instead of maintaining separate process views.

Reason for change

Before the implementation, Solum Technology worked with Exact, while the quotation process and project follow-up were handled in Excel. This created a split between core commercial and operational activities, with important updates depending on manual tracking across different tools. That setup could support daily work up to a point, but it became less effective when files became more complex and projects stretched over longer periods. The company therefore wanted to move away from Exact and Excel in parallel toward a more integrated way of working.

The main reason for adopting Odoo was to monitor projects more effectively. In particular, task follow-up and progress control over a longer timeline had become a clear priority. Once a quotation turns into a confirmed order and then into execution work, teams need to understand what has happened, what is still open and which actions depend on one another. Solum Technology was looking for stronger project visibility , not just another software replacement, and that business need defined the direction of the project.

Challenge

The challenge was not simply to introduce a new ERP system, but to connect business processes that naturally continue into one another. A quotation can become a sales order, and that order may then be handled through the warehouse or through a project flow. If those steps are tracked in different files or systems, teams risk duplicate work, inconsistent status updates and avoidable delays in execution. The real objective was therefore cross-process consistency , so that sales and operations could work from the same process logic.

Another part of the challenge was the mix of stock-driven activity and project-based coordination. Solum Technology needed a setup that could support warehouse operations while also giving better control over stages, tasks and planning over time. Inventory locations, internal transfers and dropshipment had to fit naturally into the overall process, without losing sight of purchasing and delivery steps. The solution had to make long-running work manageable while remaining practical for day-to-day users and key internal stakeholders.

Odoo solution

With Odoo, Solum Technology chose a single platform where CRM, sales, purchasing, inventory and project management come together. Leads can be followed up as opportunities and quotations, and once a quotation is accepted it can flow into a sales order that continues through warehouse handling or project execution. This reduces the need to re-enter information and makes the status of each case easier to follow centrally. The result is one platform for follow-up from first commercial contact to operational handling.

The implementation was also designed around practical use by key users rather than around technology alone. Within scope, key users were trained to configure and use the relevant Odoo areas independently. Master data could be imported by Solum Technology itself, with Odoo Experts taking a supporting role during that process. This approach helped the company absorb the new setup in a controlled way and build internal ownership. It created a usable setup for key users , with knowledge anchored inside the business instead of remaining external.

Apps and processes

The core process landscape centers on CRM, Sales and Purchase , supported by Inventory, Project, Manufacturing, Invoicing, Documents and Studio. CRM helps manage the path from lead to prospect and quotation. Once a quotation is confirmed, the process can continue into order handling without switching to separate tools. Purchase requests can be created manually or based on product rules such as minimum stock.

This gives Solum Technology a more connected flow in which commercial decisions and operational actions support each other more directly. On the logistical and project side, Inventory and Project play a central role. The setup covers one warehouse, locations and putaway strategy, receipts, deliveries, internal transfers, dropshipping, stock counts and the use of serial or batch numbers. Projects can be created automatically from sales orders or set up manually, with custom stages, planning and capacity forecasting. In addition, apps such as Manufacturing, Quality, Planning, Helpdesk and Employees support broader process needs within the company, even where usage intensity may differ by team or scenario.

Result

The immediate result of the Odoo setup is that Solum Technology now has a central environment where commercial, logistical and project information sits much closer together. That makes it easier to follow a case without moving back and forth between spreadsheets and separate administrative steps. It also gives key users a clearer base for managing and refining the process over time. In that sense, Odoo provides more operational overview , with a stronger relationship between quotation, order, stock movement and project status.

The most important expected improvement is the ability to monitor tasks and progress more consistently over longer periods. For a company that operates internationally and regularly handles custom and project-based work, that is a meaningful process advantage. The value is therefore mainly organizational: less fragmentation, clearer insight and better coordination between involved roles. Over time, Odoo is intended to support Solum Technology with better control of progress and a more consistent operating model that fits the reality of its business.