Tired of using an inadequate business management system for their company, Control System Labs (CSL) searched for an ERP provider to help centralize their islands of information, create a tailored RMA process, and help them with job management. In their search, they stumbled upon a client testimonial video that showcased Bista Solutions’ work on another client within a similar industry, and they were sold! 

As a 4x Best Odoo Partner in North America, the Bista Solutions team used their experience and skill set to right certain wrongs in order to help CSL experience the full benefits of Odoo ERP. In the end, all the goals were met as per the requirements.

Control System Labs was founded by two electrical engineers in 1970 in the heart of Buffalo, New York. Gary Fredricks and Ed Bialek created the company to perform repairs on industrial electronic controls for Original Equipment Manufacturers, service companies, and end users from around the world. With a mission in mind, the two succeeded in completing over 100,000 repairs for over 10,000 customers – and celebrated 50 years in business back in 2020. With their customers ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, the Plastics Industry, Utility Companies, Machine Shops, Construction companies school districts, and any company in between – they can help any individual or business that needs industrial and business electronics repaired. 

Prior to using Odoo ERP, Control System Labs was using the Alpha system. Though it completed the tasks CSL needed once upon a time, it wasn’t sufficient for this growing company. In fact, what they were using could have been classified as an outdated system. Not only was it unintuitive, but users struggled to switch between two screens, it had multiple islands of information, a poor RMA and shipment process, and it was not an easy system to maintain or customize. Faced with several roadblocks such as these, it was no surprise that CSL went looking elsewhere for an ERP that would meet their needs.

As an electronic repair company, Control System Labs receives a lot of gadgets and electronic items on a daily basis. That is why it was imperative that the receiving team keep records of the products being sent (including their serial number), the type of damage they were dealing with, along the relevant customer information. In order to facilitate this, implementing an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) process was one of the key requirements.

Considering how important particulars are with each product, the staff at Control System Labs needs to track each “job” with a considerable amount of detail. As such, a workflow configuration was needed in order to ensure that each and every step of the “job” was being thoroughly recorded (ie. a warranty repair workflow, or a regular, in-house workflow). This would help staff follow breadcrumbs and see the previous tasks of the job that led to its current standing, as well as see what stages are remaining in order to complete the job.  

Another requirement was a centralized system that could manage all of Control System Labs’ jobs/tasks. For example, if the company received a job via RMA to repair an item, they would need to confirm it in order to proceed forward with the actual repair. This job could also be broken down into multiple tasks (sub-jobs). Each “task” or sub-job may be assigned to different people at the company, and individual components may be a part of different workflows. Being able to see the RMA information, as well as being able to assign different people and workflows to different tasks was important.

There were many other requirements, including a complete remodel of their website and e-commerce, a Ship Engine Integration (being able to choose which shipping cost to select based on affordability and urgency), integration payment methods that their customers use (i.e. authorize.net), as well as easily being able to access their “jobs” or “tasks” via barcode.

All of CSL’s requirements were met over the course of the implementation.

Though the governments decided to put gatherings and events on hold during the recent pandemic, the world continued on the best it could. Companies went forth with tasks, and as such required an optimal business management system to ensure everything was carried out smoothly. 

Unfortunately, Control System Labs (CSL) did not have the luxury of relying on their old ERP system to get the job done. Not only was their system outdated, but it also couldn’t perform a proper RMA process; which was a key requirement of their business.

That’s why the CSL President, Mr. Gary Fredricks, went looking for an ERP that could do it all. Upon searching, Mr. Fredricks stumbled upon a Bista Solutions Client Testimonial Video. Intrigued, as the client in the video was from a similar industry as his own, Mr. Fredricks clicked play and the rest is history.

In early 2021, Mr. Fredricks was introduced to Mr. Priyesh Solanki, who would be the project manager for this Odoo ERP implementation. Since the pandemic was alive and well during 2021, all conversations, from the discovery call to the business analysis as well as the implementation were held virtually. 

Though that may seem strange to people, it is worth noting that not one day has gone by – since the contract began between CSL and Bista – that Mr. Fredricks and Mr. Solanki have not spoken. In fact, both their calendars are filled up with daily sync-up calls where progress can be discussed, questions can be asked and answered, and training and support can be done, among other miscellaneous things. The Bista Solutions team believes that our clients are not just clients, they are our partners and should be treated as such.

After months of discussion, collaboration, and development, CSL went live with its Accounting in December of 2021. The Bista team helped redesign and implement custom developments that were tailored to CSL’s website and e-commerce; which went live in March and April of 2022. The last thing to go live was Operations, which happened around the end of May 2022. This is not to say that those were the only components being worked on. The client migrated from a completely different ERP system, so Odoo out-of-box apps were also implemented.

With over a year in the bag, there is no sign of the partnership ending between the Bista team and the CSL team. In fact, they were supposed to go live with their implementation before the end of the year in 2021. However, Mr. Fredricks really enjoyed working with Mr. Solanki and the Bista team and admired the level of work being done so he continued adding additional requirements.

While the support is ongoing, the Control System Labs’ team is pleased with everything the Bista Solutions team has done thus far. In addition to creating an optimal environment within the Odoo ERP via tailored solutions, the Bista team has also met each and every requirement that the client had. This includes ensuring a reliable ERP that would centralize all islands of information was implemented. Furthermore, the interface had to be both user-friendly and intuitive, along with quick and easy access to user profiles, for the staff to use and understand. Also, in order to measure key performance indicators, reporting and analytical tools were a necessity. 

While all the key requirements were met, the biggest and greatest part of this process had to be the RMA app; which was customized to fit the company’s specific needs.

At the moment, Mr. Fredricks and his staff are using the old system as well as Odoo in parallel. This is to complete any older jobs that they have received via their old system. Any new jobs are being received by the Odoo ERP system. It’s no surprise to mention that the CSL team is thoroughly pleased with their new system, and the efforts of the Bista team. The next steps include either migrating to Odoo V16 next year or implementing “phase 2” of the requirements (all of CSL’s needs that were marked as unimportant but the team wanted to implement in the future).  

Needless to say, this partnership is far from over.

The following has been taken from an appreciative email that Bista Solutions’ received from the Control System Labs’ President, Gary Fredricks.