All businesses operating in the manufacturing industry are well apprised of the importance of ERP systems and the value they bring to businesses of all sizes. Regardless of their niche, USP, or value proposition, ERP caters to the diverse business needs of manufacturers, distributors, and supply chain companies. Nevertheless, despite its apparent benefits, several small-scale manufacturers refrain from investing in ERP mainly due to financial constraints. At the same time, many SMBs in the manufacturing industry end up spending a fortune on their ERP investments which ultimately impacts their ROI.
Considering the financial constraints and ROI, the ideal way to achieve digital transformation for small-scale manufacturers is through open source ERP development. There are many open source software platforms that enable enterprises to build custom ERP solutions from scratch at a shoestring budget. Since open source platforms like Odoo and ERPNext do not incur additional license fees, you only have to bear software development costs. As a result, it significantly reduces the overall project costs while keeping overhead expenses to a bare minimum.
Here, we shall examine the most effective open source software platforms that offer promising solutions for most of the challenges prevalent in the manufacturing industry. First, let us talk about the importance of open source ERP development for manufacturing businesses.
Also, read ERP Software Development For The Automotive Industry
Open Source ERP Development
Open source ERP refers to the software platform whose source code is available in the public domain for general purpose use by developers. Here, developers can use the underlying software code and customize it to match the diverse business needs. Open source ERP development is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that do not want to overspend on the ERP infrastructure. Using open source software platforms like Odoo, OFBiz, and ERPNext, they can build custom ERP solutions without bearing any additional licensing fees and support costs.
Now let us carefully examine the most extensively used open source platforms for custom ERP development with a focus on strengthening manufacturing businesses.
Opentaps
Opentaps has helped many small and mid-sized businesses to achieve digital transformation with its comprehensive ERP and CRM software suite. It offers a fully integrated suite of business applications and open source software modules to support complex business functions. All business modules are open source which means they are free to use and customize as per varying business needs. With Opentaps, you get fully customizable modules for CRM, HRM, warehouse/inventory, eCommerce, accounting, and supply chain management. Besides, Opentaps currently has a fair share of customers worldwide which includes small and mid-sized businesses.
Apache OFBiz
OFBiz is a standalone ERP software suite that is developed and maintained by Apache software foundation. Being an open source platform, it renders complete support for a variety of business use cases via its fully customizable ERP modules. Similar to Opentaps, OFBiz supports all mission-critical business functions for manufacturing businesses including warehouse/inventory management, SCM, accounting, invoicing, workforce management, and more.
Also, read Developing SaaS Accounting Solutions Using Open-Source Technologies
Odoo
Odoo is one of the most popular ERP software platforms that caters to the varying needs of businesses of all sizes. With over 4.5 million users in 120+ countries, Odoo’s popularity supersedes many industry leaders like SAP, Oracle, and HubSpot. In addition to SMBs, Odoo ERP development services are used by several large-scale organizations including fortune 500 companies and high-profile customers. To support the diverse needs of its customers, Odoo provides a free community version as well as a more advanced enterprise version. The community version covers all basic ERP features and is an ideal solution for SMBs. Whereas, the enterprise edition provides all advanced features that you would find in SAP, Salesforce, or any other high-end ERP software.
ERPNext
ERPNext is an alternative to Odoo that is effective at building lightweight software applications to solve complex business problems. Similar to Odoo, it offers fully customizable modules for CRM, HRM, eCommerce, warehouse management, financial management, SCM, logistics, and more. However, as compared to Odoo, ERPNext lacks several crucial features like contract management, automated time tracking, and freight carrier integration. In a nutshell, ERPNext is an ideal open-source solution for building lightweight business applications that cover all basic features.
You may also like to read ERPNext Software Development For The Manufacturing Industry
Conclusion
Here, we have discussed some of the most extensively used open-source software platforms for ERP development. All these platforms are ideal for small and medium manufacturing businesses and are fully customizable as per their varying requirements. Besides, they help bring a multifold increase in business productivity by enabling automation at every stage of the manufacturing and distribution value chain. All things considered, open source ERP development is an effective way for small-scale manufacturers to drive digital transformation across different verticals while going easy on the pocket.
Why Choose Oodles For Open Source ERP Development?
We are a prominent name in the ERP application development industry with a proven track record in building custom ERP solutions from the ground up. Our development team specializes in using open-source software platforms like Odoo, OFBiz, and ERPNext to build scalable enterprise solutions. We adhere to the latest UX principles and UI development guidelines to build interactive business applications that deliver engaging user experiences. Our ERP software development toolkit also includes OptaPlanner, jBPM, and Apache Camel for middleware application development. For more information, contact us at [email protected].
