Connection with Odoo

Software improvement 0- Wishlist (curation)
#1

What is the need / problem ?

There is a potential user that has its own e-commerce and management software (with Odoo) , who would need OFN only for aggregating orders. They would need to connect their actual e-commerce to OFN in order to have their products’ list (changing every week with no constance) always updated on OFN and to receive back from OFN orders, aggregated by hub/shop (something similar to the existing report for “order cycle by supplier”), directly on their software.

Who does it impact ?

At the moment this connection would impact very positivly the Italian instance, that woul be used by some more users connected with this cooperative of producers, but I’ve heard about interest in this interoperability also for Katuma and French instance

What is the current impact of the problem ?

It’s not a problem, only a not fully developed opportunity

What is the benefit of focusing on this ?

It’s a very specific case that could anyway be very usefull for spreading the use of OFN among cooperatives using Odoo.

Potential solutions that will solve the problem ?

[brainstorming to list feature candidates]
They would need, in details, for connecting their Odoo with OFN. I don’t actually know if some of those connection could be done with existing API):

  • From Odoo to OFN - to automate the updating of their list (product name, code, price) on OFN in base on changes on their own website; We could then support each group to create their own accont on OFN and to open their order cycle (I don’t think this could be automatic…).
  • From OFN to Odoo - to receive, at the end of an order cycle, the information of the cumulative order (something very similar to the existing report for “TOT order cycles by suppliers”) directly on their own management software, connecting the Name of the group (Name of the hub/shop on OFN) with their cumulative order (Name of products, code, quantity) and the expected delivery date

Selection of a feature candidate

[value x ease matric if needed]

T-shirt size of our selected feature candidate

Metrics to measure if need is satisfied after feature is implemented

Feature owners

Epic/projet where you can follow implementation

Connected wishlist and discovery discussions*

[list precedent discussions]

1 Like
#2

Hi @Ire :wave:

Two thoughts on this:

  1. Can you use the product import functionality to import your products from Odoo to OFN:
    https://guide.openfoodnetwork.org/basic-features/products-1/product-and-inventory-import

  2. Can you use a report that you download from OFN and then import into Odoo? What is missing from the Order Cycle Supplier Totals?
    If you can explicitly state what is missing from Order Cycle Supplier Totals then there is a chance we can explore putting this report on the OFN API.
    Note that OFN can only update our API. We cannot write the connection between your instance and Odoo.

#3

I just would like to add that we need to understand what particular module of Odoo we are looking at here. Is it just the basic accountability module? Is it more? And if more which modules maintained by whom?
From what I’ve studied on POS so far those answers are not easy to find…

and I don’t think it is in the best interest of OFN to develop something specific to Odoo. It will be a pain to maintain, unless someone starts Odoo modules compliant with datafoodconsortium.org. If you know Odoo maintainer who could be interested by this in Italy let me know @Ire

#4

Hi @lin_d_hop and @Rachel
Thank you
I have invited Mario, IT responsable for Galline Felici (GF), to join this discussion to give you further details.
There’s only another information I would like to introduce: since GallineFelici is working in France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, if this connection can work out, it shouldn’t be only for italian instance, but also for the others.
I try to answer to your 2 points, @lin_d_hop:

  1. That’s quite ok, but GF has two formats for exporting the list (excell and json, that is a format asked by an italian project working in the same direction of Data food Consortium) and I think that the main problem would be for the cathegories above all. And since this updating should be done constantly (everyday?) we should try not to have many manual change to do, I think.
  2. That report is quite fine, but for us it would be enough having 2 columns, or at least having this 2 columns as first ones (product code - that is not present in the actual report, and it would be better than product name, 'cause it’s univoc - and quantity)
#5

Hi @Ire

  1. You could create a spreadsheet tool to map categories at the click of a button. This is very easy and requires only a knowledge of spreadsheets. Whatever solution you create you’ll need to do a category mapping that will be less than perfect. A fully automated integration solves this problem no better than a spreadsheet tool.

Of course having to import products every day is an annoying task. But paying someone to do this task for 10 minutes each day would be cheaper than developing the integration. You could pay someone to do this task for years and not spend as much money. It is worth bearing that in mind :slight_smile:

  1. ‘Product code’ and ‘Quantity Ordered’ both exist in the Pack By Supplier report. Does this report meet your requirements?
"Reactive Rails"
#7

Hi everybody,
nice to meet you.
Streight to the point:
We have the categories already on our exporting LGF --> OFN file, so that shouldn’t be a problem. About the way to import, it is a repetitive task to be done on several languages at least once a day, I think it is worth to have a machine doing it. I just checked with our tech partner, a beta-version API featuring this could be released in late January, can it be a solution? In this case the information needed are already in JSON in the webpage, so we can take the first steps on this path if we want to.

For the file to be imported OFN --> LGF the task is supposed to be done by the buyer him/herself, who’s only need the xls file. Then he/she will take charge of its upload (and most important, verification and confirmation of the order). So, OFN and LGF don’t really comunicate in this process. In this first version it is supposed to have the first column with the product code and the second with the quantity, the rest is not considered. Can you send me a copy of the “pack by supplier” report? If it already contains the information, it becomes only a matter of format.

#8

I like this thread! Thanks @lre for posting.

I think we should encourage the integration with specific solutions if we have enough interest, traction and, maybe more important, if we think they are strategic. I think Odoo stands as a very nice candidate for a custom integration to OFN.
Technically, this does not mean it’s something internal to the OFN solution, it can be an external module that just knows how to talk to the OFN api as well as to Odoo.
It doesnt even mean the OFN global team does it.
I think we should leave this door open. We can communicate: please do it, we can support it for example by adapting some stuff on our API to make it happen.

In terms of how to do it, we should also leave our doors open. Yes, we can encourage DFC but we should make growth and cooperation the priority, not the following of a specific standard.

1 Like
#9

@luisramos0 the thing is, so far everybody expect OFN gloabl team to do it (I’ve spend my summer interviewing the Odoo community). Odoo has already a click and connect module. So you have to read my answer with this in mind. What I wanted to express is that a specific module will be something very expensive for OFN global to build. Odoo is not the only POS or accountability solution we are asked to be integrated with…

#10

Hi!
Hi!

  1. Hope what Mario wrote could be a way…
  2. For @MarioLGF, here there are the fields in the existing report Lynne suggests (in Italian): [Hub Fornitore Codice Nome Cognome Prodotto Variante Quantità Controllo Temperatura?]
    I tought the other report “Order Cycle Supplier Totals” would be better, just adding the products’ codes, but I’m not a technical and maybe it’s easier to get the totals by hubs from the Pack By Supplier report, as Lynne suggested, even if the quantities are for individual orders there.

Even if the technical solution is at the end an external module (and probably this was what @enricostn proposed, too?), can it be something to work on? At the moment, Galline Felici should solve their need soon and should understand if connecting with OFN could be a solution (and I think it is, it’s seems everything’s almost done! :upside_down_face:) and an opportunity for everyone or not.
I don’t know well the processes in globalOFN, but I’m wondering if it could be an opportunity both for GF and OFN if GF works autonomously to this “connection module” with some developer connected to OFN (Coopdevs?), with a lower budget than developing a new tool, I hope…and giving back to the community the developed module, that could be usefull for other similar cases. What do you think?

PS What does it means DFC?

#11

@Ire
You can also use both reports and join them. Or just sum over the Product Variant. That’s how I use them :slight_smile:

OFN [edit: OFN Core Delivery Team] can explore working on our API to ensure the necessary operations are available. We cannot guarantee a time estimate and need to understand in more detail what is required.

OFN [edit: OFN Core Delivery Team] doesn’t have the resources to maintain an external integration (connector module) between OFN and Odoo. Your plan sounds like a good one @Ire. The planning/scoping of this piece of work will inform the work that needs to be done on the OFN API.

DFC = Data Food Consoritum - OFNs work toward an open standard for food sales/distribution platforms. http://www.datafoodconsortium.org/

#12

Hi everyone!

Some Katuma member also need this. With @Eugeni we’ll try to bring here our thoughts.

1 Like
#13

I think we should be clear about what is OFN here. The OFN community should include anyone who is willing to work on this and bring this and other integrations forward. We encorage that.
The OFN global team, as the core team responsible for the develpment of the OFN ecommerce app, is what you are refering to and, in fact, does not have the resources to maintain an external integration.

I hope my point is clear. I think this type of initiatives should be owned by OFN as a larger community. For example, personally I dont have time to work on this but will be happy to support with guidance any developments done in this area. I think this is crucial for the growth of OFN.

1 Like
#14

@enricostn do you have some rough details of what the requirements would be? Are we just talking about a couple of API endpoints that do things like (for example) fetch the week’s orders and display them in a specific format?

I realise there might be several different use-cases being talked about in this thread though, maybe we can split them up and clarify what they actually look like.

#15

Yep, would be nice to have a first MVP of requirements with basic use cases. We’re working on it.

1 Like
#16

I think there’s a misunderstanding in the title, our point is not exactly “connection with odoo”.
Let me take a step backward:

All of our consumers need to collect and manage orders, as OFN do. Some of them has their own aggregation tool, a few others rent the service from professional websites. A sensitive number is looking desperately for something doing that, some others would probably love it, if it’s properly offered.

Our idea is to give a chance to anyone who can develop a solution.
Our goal is to offer a tool that can be useful for all the different situations, from the lonely web-manager who spent some nights customizing a magento instance for his/her very small community, held up by own engagement, coffee and the gratitude of some friends to a community like yours.
In our experience the main issue is alignment of data. Considering different actors with different needs, when we planned our tool we focused on “the simpler, the better”. So we reduced the requirements to the very very essentials.

With this approach our only technical need is that the two pricelists are aligned when the order is copied from OFN to LGF.
If you could switch the updating process of the list of products from push to pull, you can use it in the different instances of OFN (Italy, France, Germany…), and it can be suitable for any supplier who can produce and publish a csv on the web.