Koster Industrial Textiles B.V.

Koster Industrial Textiles is a professional Dutch manufacturer of textile lifting slings, tie-down straps, and round slings. They produce these in a wide variety of sizes, types, and capacities. All types of lifting slings, tie-down straps, and round slings are produced in their own workshop. Koster manufactures standard versions, but naturally also systems according to customer specifications.

Eric Voschezang is the IT project leader at Koster: “Koster IT distinguishes itself with fast service and deliveries, including for non-standard sizes and versions. We have years of experience in the production of lifting and lashing systems and a well-equipped workshop with experienced staff. We also print straps with names and/or logos at an excellent price-quality ratio.”

Lifespan

Koster Industrial Textiles previously worked with their own software package. “The package was written 15 years ago and was quite adequate for its time. In recent years, a proliferation of functionalities had been added. Eventually, the software reached the end of its lifecycle. It wasn't very user-friendly for new employees and difficult to understand. All in all, this was reason enough for Koster to switch to new integrated business software. Koster requested quotes and advice from various ERP suppliers. A collaborating partner of Koster worked with Odoo and was very satisfied with it. Ultimately, it was decided to engage with Odoo Experts for the implementation of various Odoo apps for example, for sales, inventory management, accounting, purchasing, production, and a project module.”

Scope creep

Before Eric got involved in the project, it experienced some startup issues. “There was little time, and it wasn't really clear which direction we should take. Especially with Odoo, there are so many possibilities, it's crucial to stick to the predetermined requirements and prioritize them. In my opinion, scope creep is a dreaded phenomenon in software development. A large number of projects encounter it. With scope creep, the scope of the system being developed increases unnoticed or uncontrollably. Together with the key users and the project manager from Odoo Experts, we managed to maintain the right focus to efficiently implement Odoo.. We first created a blueprint of the desired situation and then implemented the appropriate modules. With Odoo, you can easily choose and configure the functionality of your business software.”

Step by step

“We are now at the point where we can do the same as before, but with Odoo and without APIs,” continues Eric. “All modules now also have the same user interface, making it very user-friendly. But we are certainly not done yet. We can now add more functionality step by step. For example, we want our inventory to be automatically replenished based on customer demand. We want the same for our purchase orders. This means we first need to verify if the displayed inventory in Odoo matches the actual current inventory. Technically, it aligns with Odoo, but now we need to get it under control in practice. The big advantage of Odoo is that you can review and link many things, even in a production order. The manufacturing-app is entirely new.” “In my opinion, Odoo Experts have proven to be knowledgeable and committed. During the project, they focus on the important matters. When you call, the phone is answered by a knowledgeable staff member. This way, questions can be answered skillfully, directly, and efficiently.”