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How Malabar Marketing Enhanced Customer Engagement & Sales with Odoo ERP Implementation

Company Name: Malabar Marketing
Business Industry: Plumbing & Sanitary Ware
Country: India


About Malabar Marketing

Malabar Marketing is a wholesale and retail supplier of plumbing and sanitary ware, based in Malappuram, Kerala, India. Established in 2009, the company faced operational inefficiencies in sales management, inventory tracking, document handling, customer communication, and payroll management.

To address these challenges, they implemented Odoo 16CE (Community Edition) ERP with the help of Technaureus, a consulting firm that customized 40% of the system, focusing on barcode-based inventory tracking and WhatsApp integration for customer engagement.

 

Challenges in the Plumbing & Sanitary Ware Business

Being in the wholesale and retail trade of plumbing and sanitary products, Malabar Marketing faced industry-specific challenges:

1. Sales & Multi-Branch Management

  • Managing wholesale and retail operations across multiple branches.
  • Difficulty in tracking orders, customer accounts, and invoices across locations.
  • Delays in sales reporting and stock availability updates.

2. Inventory & Stock Control

  • Plumbing and sanitary ware products have varied sizes, materials, and brands, making inventory tracking complex.
  • Stockouts and overstocking due to poor demand forecasting.
  • Manual stock management led to errors and inefficiencies.

3. Document Management

  • Large volumes of invoices, purchase orders, and customer quotations required systematic handling.
  • Lack of a centralized digital system led to difficulties in retrieving documents.

4. Customer Engagement & Order Tracking

  • Wholesale buyers and contractors often needed quick quotations and order confirmations.
  • WhatsApp-based communication was crucial for sharing product catalogs, prices, and updates.

5. Payroll & HR Management

  • Managing salaries, incentives, and attendance for sales and warehouse staff across branches.
  • Lack of automated payroll processing led to delays.

 

Odoo ERP Implementation by Technaureus

Technaureus deployed Odoo ERP with customizations to address Malabar Marketing’s business needs. The key modules implemented were:

  1. Sales & Accounting – Enabled real-time tracking of invoices, sales, and branch-wise revenue.
  2. Inventory & Barcode System – Improved stock accuracy and enabled faster product lookups.
  3. Helpdesk & Document Management – Digital storage for invoices, purchase orders, and supplier contracts.
  4. WhatsApp Integration – Automated messaging for order updates, promotions, and bulk customer engagement.
  5. Payroll & HRMS – Streamlined employee attendance, salary processing, and leave management.

Customization (40% of Odoo’s Default System)

  • Barcode System: Enabled scanning-based inventory tracking for plumbing and sanitary ware.
  • WhatsApp Automation: Allowed bulk messaging to contractors, retailers, and suppliers.
  • Multi-Branch Sales Management: Ensured centralized sales data access from headquarters.

 

Solutions & Impact

The ERP implementation resulted in improved operational efficiency in the following ways:

✅ Multi-Branch Sales & Accounting

  • Branch-wise sales, invoicing, and accounts were synchronized in real time.
  • The head office could track wholesale vs. retail performance easily.

✅ Efficient Inventory Management

  • Barcode scanning enabled real-time stock updates, reducing discrepancies.
  • Automated low-stock alerts prevented stockouts.

✅ Faster Customer Engagement via WhatsApp

  • Contractors and retailers could receive price lists, invoices, and promotions instantly.
  • Automated responses for order confirmations and dispatch details.

✅ Document Digitization & Helpdesk Integration

  • Reduced paperwork by storing invoices and purchase orders digitally.
  • Faster retrieval of supplier agreements and past transactions.

✅ Payroll & HR Efficiency

  • Automated salary calculations based on attendance and sales incentives.
  • Reduced administrative workload in HR processing.

 

Industry-Specific Benefits for Plumbing & Sanitary Ware Business

Compared to traditional manual or semi-digital systems, Malabar Marketing’s Odoo ERP implementation delivered:

  • Better Wholesale & Retail Coordination – Seamless tracking of bulk orders from contractors and retail sales from showroom floors.
  • Improved Supplier Management – Faster processing of purchase orders for imported sanitary ware items.
  • Real-Time Pricing Updates – Dynamic pricing adjustments based on supplier rates, discounts, and demand.
  • Enhanced Customer Trust – Quicker order fulfillment and transparency in product availability.

 

Recommendations for Further Optimization

To further enhance Malabar Marketing’s ERP system, the following improvements can be considered:

  1. AI-Based Demand Forecasting
    • Implement AI-driven analytics to predict seasonal demand for specific plumbing products.
  2. E-Commerce & B2B Portal
    • Develop an online store integrated with Odoo for wholesale buyers to place orders directly.
  3. Mobile App for Field Sales & Contractors
    • A mobile solution for on-the-go order placement and inventory checks.
  4. IoT-Enabled Inventory Management
    • Smart sensors to track real-time inventory movement in warehouses.
  5. Advanced CRM & Loyalty Program
    • Customer loyalty points for frequent buyers (contractors and retailers).

 

Conclusion

Malabar Marketing’s Odoo ERP implementation significantly improved its wholesale and retail operations in plumbing and sanitary ware. With barcode-based inventory tracking, WhatsApp automation, and centralized sales management, the company achieved higher efficiency, faster customer service, and better financial control.

Moving forward, AI-driven forecasting, e-commerce expansion, and a mobile sales app could further optimize its operations, making it a market leader in plumbing and sanitary ware distribution.