A Look At Odoo 17: New Features, More Flexibility

Odoo 17 is here, and it’s fundamentally different from earlier versions of the world’s most powerful open-source ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution.

For starters, it’s completely redesigned, with a new color scheme and a significantly cleaner interface. That’s not just window dressing: Odoo is intended as a complete solution for ERP/CRM, so intuitive functionality is crucial — a cleaner look could help organizations migrate more efficiently.

Here’s a video explaining some of Odoo’s new features. If you’d rather not watch the full clip, we’ll discuss some of the major features below.

New Features in Odoo 17: Simpler Migrations, A.I. Integrations

As St. Louis’s leading Odoo development firm, Blue Stingray has been preparing for Odoo 17. We’re ready to guide our clients through the new features — and if you’re ready to build a custom Odoo implementation that enhances your business processes, we’re here to help.

Send us a message to learn how Blue Stingray’s Odoo experts can transform the way you work.

Odoo 17’s AI Copywriter: Simple (But Powerful) Text Generation

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Odoo 17 has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its toolkit — and while AI isn’t perfect (yet), it’s an ideal resource for generating product descriptions, alternative text, and other essential text.

Odoo 17 works directly with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Users can feed prompts to the new AI Copywriter to quickly generate text or get ideas for their content.

Of course, AI content must be reviewed carefully for accuracy — particularly with alternative text, which is crucial for website accessibility. But for large eCommerce and manufacturing businesses, Odoo’s AI Copywriter can greatly reduce busywork.

Learn how customization helped L&R get more from Odoo.

Odoo Accounting Now Supports Peppol

Peppol is a standardized e-invoicing system with a secure, user-friendly platform, so Odoo 17 integration certainly makes sense — and with new localization packages for Belgium, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, and other nations, the Accounting module is more powerful than ever.

Other tweaks to the Accounting module:

The management of deferred entries is now distinct from assets, which allows the creation of deferred revenues and expenses without setting up deferred models in advance.
A new scam protection feature generates warnings when creating a transfer to a vendor bank that hasn’t been marked as “trusted.”

Learn how Blue Stingray helped Mesa Logistics Group reduce manual entry with a custom Odoo transactions app.

Odoo 17 Supply Chain Tweaks: New Apps and Data Centralization

Odoo 17 has strong use-cases for manufacturers and distributors, so it’s no surprise that the newest version contains a few improvements geared towards those users.

A new Manufacturing Order Overview provides an overview of component status, reordering options, and other relevant data.
The new Shop Floor app is billed as an “absolute game changer” for work center operators. When a manufacturing order is confirmed, it’s displayed on the Shop Floor; operators of each station can follow work instructions and update data with a quick tap on a touchscreen.
Barcode scanners and camera-equipped mobile devices can be used to scan used components, instantly updating the associated data in Odoo 17.
The Inventory app features a new picking flow. Users can instantly view quantities per location when reserving products.

Learn how Blue Stingray helped BHS, Inc. switch from a legacy ERP to a custom Odoo implementation.

Website Scraper: Transform Any Content to Odoo 17

Odoo 17’s Website Scraper is a new feature intended to streamline website migrations. Users enter their current website’s URL into the tool, which crawls (or “scrapes”) the content and generates an Odoo-ready website.

Potential use cases include gathering product characteristics from existing eCommerce stores or recreating blogs that have a large number of images or other non-text content.

Like other scraper tools, Odoo Website Scraper requires human oversight — it’s not perfect, and if the goal is to retain the original website while adding Odoo for backend use, there are better alternatives. Even so, Website Scraper will be instrumental in many migrations.

The team has also tweaked Odoo Website to make it a more robust solution:

Images are now automatically compressed to WebP format, which should improve load times and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) without reducing image quality.
Odoo Website now includes a more thorough overview of page templates and an improved shape library.
A new header and footer design provides more intuitive controls for navigation.
Users can now add multiple email domains.

Explore the Possibilities of Odoo 17

We’re providing a basic overview of Odoo 17, but we’re not addressing every feature — and for good reason.

Odoo is a powerful resource because of its scalable, modular architecture. Users don’t need to wade through unused apps or features that impede their workflow.

With an appropriate implementation, Odoo enhances the way you work without forcing your team to learn new skills or navigate through clumsy, overbuilt menus. Whether you operate a large manufacturing firm or a small eCommerce store, a custom Odoo solution can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and help you concentrate on growing your business.

Learn how Blue Stingray uses Odoo. To explore more of the features and flexibility of Odoo ERP/CRM, send us a message and connect with an Odoo expert.