Customer Insights: Successful SOLIDWORKS Odoo Integration

In the dynamic world of manufacturing, seamless integration between design and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems is crucial for efficiency and success. Recently, we had the opportunity to interview RCI Engineering, a manufacturing company, that has successfully integrated SOLIDWORKS with Odoo using CUSTOMTOOLS. Their journey offers valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs of ERP integration.

What kind of team do you have?

Our team consists of around 20 employees, evenly split between production and office/engineering. We utilize Odoo 17 and CUSTOMTOOLS 2024 alongside SOLIDWORKS 2024. We currently have 5 SOLIDWORKS users.

How did you choose Odoo?

As a small manufacturing company, we evaluated all available options and narrowed it down to Microsoft Dynamics or Odoo. Odoo appeared simple on the surface, but its customization capabilities were impressive. Additionally, Odoo integrates accounting within the ERP system, which works better for us. While Dynamics offers this too, many other systems do not, making this a differentiator. Moreover, Odoo’s pricing was more suitable for our budget.

How did you take ERP into use?

We integrated everything ourselves and used CUSTOMTOOLS to export data from SOLIDWORKS to Odoo. We’ve tried other ERP systems in the past, and I’ve learned a lot from those experiences. The biggest lesson was becoming our own masters of the ERP software, so we didn’t have to rely on external help to get started. Odoo made this process easier for us.

We did a lot of customizing in Odoo with Studio, which was key for us. Much of the quality work and ECO/ECR tracking we built using custom fields. Odoo has improved over the years, but we did a lot of special work to make it work for us. CUSTOMTOOLS works well with all of it.

Our partner in setting up Odoo was QOC Innovations in Fall River, Wisconsin. Their assistance was invaluable, and they continue to help us with version upgrades.

Have you done any upgrades after implementation?

Since the initial implementation, we’ve upgraded from version 11 to 13, and then to 15 and 17.

We upgrade SOLIDWORKS annually and typically perform a mid-year service pack upgrade. As for CUSTOMTOOLS, we upgrade it whenever we change the versions of SOLIDWORKS and Odoo.

Can you describe the functionality of the Integration between SOLIDWORKS and Odoo?

Our BOM master is based in SOLIDWORKS. We refer to the vault as our bible. We don’t push data from Odoo to the vault; instead, we only push data from the vault to Odoo. This approach keeps things simpler and ensures that the engineering team makes all decisions regarding manufacturing processes and key design details.

The primary data we transfer includes e.g., part descriptions and part status. We also created numerous custom fields in Odoo to capture data from engineering, making it easier to set up parts in Odoo. This includes BOMs and other relevant data.

The integration is very reliable. We thoroughly test it during upgrades. By keeping the process simple and pushing data only from SOLIDWORKS to Odoo, we maintain simplicity and reliability.

Where do you manage any ECO processes, in SOLIDWORKS, Odoo, or a combination of both?

It’s a combination. We keep track of changes and requests in Odoo but implement them in the design in SOLIDWORKS and then push the data to Odoo. We contain revision change data on drawings. However, this depends on how you handle revisions. For us, the key is that all revisions start in engineering and are then pushed to Odoo.

What are your experiences working with the CUSTOMTOOLS team?

We worked directly with CUSTOMTOOLS team, and they did an excellent job with the integration. They met all our requirements within the budget.

One key aspect is that they may have a lead time before they can start an upgrade, so it’s important to reach out to them ahead of time and plan around their schedule. Once they begin an upgrade, they stay committed to it.

We base our entire upgrade process for SOLIDWORKS and Odoo around their schedules. We can’t afford to be down without CUSTOMTOOLS for long after an Odoo upgrade. Therefore, we prepare Odoo in a test database first, then have the CUSTOMTOOLS team do their work. After that, we go live with the Odoo upgrade and finalize everything with CUSTOMTOOLS. This approach has worked well for us.

I can’t say enough good things about the CUSTOMTOOLS team. They are great. We’d be lost without them.

If you were starting from scratch, what would you change with the benefit of hindsight?

Honestly, nothing yet. The day will come when some company figures out how to combine 3D modeling, ERP, and everything into one package. Then we will all wish we were on that system. Until then, I feel Odoo is the best for us, and of all the companies I researched and tried to work with, CUSTOMTOOLS is the best.

Learn more about RCI Engineering on a customer success story written a couple of years back.

If you are interested in learning more about CUSTOMTOOLS or the Odoo ERP integration solution, you can contact us or download a free demo of CUSTOMTOOLS today!