Industry: Cosmetic Products Manufacturing & Contract Manufacturing.
Vertical: Wholesale.
Location: West Ryde, NSW, Australia
Challenge: Disconnected systems (MYOB & Spreadsheets), no real-time inventory valuation, and complex batch/expiry tracking for a global B2B market.
Solution: An accountant-led, phased implementation of Odoo ERP, followed by a strategic version upgrade, focusing on financial integrity and operational control.
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Website: https://divinecosmetics.com.au/
Building a Single Source of Truth
Divine Cosmetics is a successful Australian contract manufacturer of cosmetic and pet grooming products, with a complex global footprint and a significant export market in Japan and Asia. Their growth had pushed their existing systems—a combination of MYOB AccountRight and a labyrinth of spreadsheets—to the breaking point. They faced significant financial and operational risks due to a lack of real-time inventory valuation, cumbersome manual processes for quoting and batch tracking, and an inability to get a single, unified view of their business.
By partnering with WAO Group, Divine Cosmetics undertook a strategic, accountant-led migration to Odoo. The project focused on building a rock-solid financial foundation first, ensuring the integrity of their inventory and compliance data from day one. Navigating the complexities of their unique manufacturing processes and international customer requirements, the implementation delivered a single source of truth. A subsequent successful upgrade to the latest Odoo version in 2023 has solidified their ERP as a scalable platform, empowering Divine Cosmetics with the clarity and control needed for future growth.
The Challenge: When Growth Exposes the Cracks in Your Foundation
Before Odoo, the daily operations at Divine Cosmetics were a testament to the limitations of disconnected systems. While successful, the business was running on a foundation that could not support its complexity or its ambitions.
The core challenges were not just operational inconveniences; they were significant financial risks:
- No Single Source of Truth:
Critical business data was fragmented across MYOB for basic accounting and a series of complex spreadsheets for everything else. This created information silos, making a consolidated view of the business impossible. - Critical Lack of Inventory Control:
As a manufacturer, inventory is their largest asset. Yet, it was managed on paper and spreadsheets. There was no real-time inventory valuation, making it impossible to know the true Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) or Gross Profit at any given moment. This financial ambiguity hampered strategic decision-making. -
Stronger Retailer Partnerships:
Seamless EDI communication with major supermarkets, ensuring smooth order flow and compliance. - Complex Compliance Managed Manually:
Tracking batch numbers and expiry dates—a critical requirement for their cosmetic products and international clients—was a manual, error-prone process conducted in Excel. This exposed the business to significant compliance and quality control risks. - Inefficient Manual Processes:
Key workflows, from creating quotes for new customers to managing production sheets and calculating purchasing requirements for long-lead-time orders, were all manual. This consumed valuable time and increased the risk of costly errors.
Managing Director Lisa Dermody knew that to continue scaling, particularly with their demanding international client base, they needed to move from their patchwork of systems to a single, integrated platform.
The Solution: A Finance-First Approach to a Complex Migration
Divine Cosmetics chose WAO Group because they recognised that their core problems were financial, not just technical. They needed a partner who understood the accounting principles behind inventory valuation and global compliance.
Our accountant-led methodology was critical at every stage:
1. Building the Financial Core:
Our first priority was establishing a solid financial foundation. We worked closely with the Divine Cosmetics team to structure their Chart of Accounts and, most importantly, to implement a rigorous process for their opening stocktake. We understood that going live with an inaccurate opening inventory balance would be a catastrophic failure, poisoning their financial data from day one. This finance-first approach ensured the integrity of their balance sheet from the moment of transition.
2. Tackling Manufacturing Complexity:
We mapped their entire manufacturing process within Odoo—from raw material receipt to finished goods dispatch. This included setting up multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs), quality control points, and robust batch and expiry date tracking, moving this critical data from vulnerable spreadsheets into a single, auditable system.
3. Navigating Real-World Challenges Together:
No implementation is without its challenges, and this project was no exception. Authenticity and partnership were key to overcoming them.
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Complex Customer Requirements:
Their Japanese clients had highly specific needs for batch numbering and pallet configurations that the standard Odoo setup could not meet. We worked collaboratively with Lisa's team to develop and fine-tune a solution that satisfied these crucial export requirements.
- Post-Go-Live Fine-Tuning:
After the initial implementation, some teething issues arose, such as the Odoo-to-Xero integration occasionally overriding bank details. Our ongoing support model meant we were there to diagnose and resolve these issues quickly, demonstrating our commitment to a long-term partnership. - Process Optimisation:
The team identified that their internal scheduling process wasn't perfectly aligned with Odoo's automated reservation system. Rather than treating this as a system flaw, we worked with them to refine their internal workflows, empowering them to leverage the full power of the software.
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A Strategic Upgrade for Future Growth:
In 2023, having built deep trust in the platform and our partnership, Divine Cosmetics engaged WAO Group to upgrade their system to the latest version of Odoo. The project was managed with the same financial rigour, ensuring a seamless transition that brought new features and functionality without disrupting their operations.
The Results: Clarity, Control, and a Platform for the Future
By moving to a unified Odoo platform with an accountant-led partner, Divine Cosmetics has transformed its operations and de-risked its financial management.
- A Single, Trusted Source of Truth:
All operational and financial data now resides in one system, eliminating information silos and providing management with a clear, real-time view of the entire business. - Bulletproof Batch & Expiry Control:
Manual tracking in Excel has been replaced by robust, integrated batch and expiry management within Odoo, ensuring compliance with their global customers' stringent quality standards. -
Real-Time Inventory Valuation:
Divine Cosmetics now has a perpetual, real-time view of their inventory value. This financial clarity allows for accurate COGS reporting, true margin analysis, and more strategic decision-making. - Streamlined Global Operations:
With multi-currency (USD) invoicing and the ability to manage complex, custom pricing tiers, Odoo now seamlessly supports their international sales process. - A Foundation for Growth:
With a stable, scalable, and financially robust ERP system, Divine Cosmetics is no longer constrained by their software. They have the foundation they need to continue their growth with confidence.
"We are very happy with how Odoo runs our business. The WAO Group team's accounting-first approach was critical for us. They understood the financial importance of getting our inventory and batch tracking right from the very beginning. They have been a true partner, helping us navigate the complexities of our business and ensuring we have a system we can trust and grow with."
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