Two-tier ERP is one option: the group keeps its main system for group finance and control, and Odoo runs the work around it: country teams, subsidiaries, carve-outs and new ventures. It is quick to set up, can grow, and feeds the group system on agreed terms.
Step 2 of 3
Everything the unit needs locally, feeding the group core:
Local books, tax and close, mapped to group accounts.
Quotes, orders, contracts and invoicing.
Warehouses, vans and stock by site.
Customer tickets with service levels.
Engineers and crews planned by skill and place.
Time and cost against each project and site.
Start with one subsidiary or carve-out. Run it as tier two, connected to the core and accepted against agreed criteria. Then send your people from group down. Challenge it. Challenge us. You might be surprised what you find.
There is no reason Odoo can't run a multi-billion group. What holds groups back is the years and cost of unwinding an incumbent, not capability. That is why we start alongside the core.
From 35 years of delivery: a chemical manufacturer's version upgrade across its countries took six years. Tier two means the operations around it don't have to wait. Upgrading the core isn't modernizing
Two-tier ERP means a business unit runs on an operating platform suited to its size and pace, while the group keeps its core ERP for consolidated finance and group-wide control. The two are connected by agreed data flows, so the unit can move quickly and the group still receives consistent information.
Data or decision · Owned locally or by group · How it flows
Customers · Local, with group key accounts shared · Local customers stay local; group key accounts are created centrally and synchronized.
Products · Group core catalog, local additions · Core products come from the group; local items are created under agreed rules and flagged for review.
Prices · Local within group guidelines · Group sets list or transfer prices; the unit sets selling prices within agreed limits.
Chart of accounts · Group structure, local detail · The unit's accounts are mapped to group accounts for reporting.
Consolidation · Group · The unit submits mapped results; the group consolidates in its core ERP.
Intercompany · Shared · Both sides record transactions with matching references and reconcile before close.
Reporting · Local operations, group management · The unit runs its own operational reports and sends agreed measures that the group combines into management reporting.
Each journey shows who does what, the information that follows the work, and how decisions improve. Existing systems you want to keep stay in place.
Two-tier ERP. Your group core stays the system of record. Odoo runs this unit and feeds the core. How two-tier works
Which records the country owns, and which come from the group.
The group core is unavailable at the cut-off. Journals are held and resent, with the failure visible to both teams.
Every journal sent to the group core is reconciled before the country closes the month.
The objective. The country team wants to trade from launch day, and group finance wants the country's results in group reporting from the first month.
The group core is unavailable at the cut-off
Journals are held and resent, with the failure visible to both teams.
An engineer needs a part that is not in the van
A transfer is raised from the nearest store or warehouse, and the job is rescheduled if it can't arrive in time.
A ticket breaches its service level
It escalates to the duty manager, and the breach shows in the weekly report.
Why it matters. The country trades from launch day on a system sized to it, and the group sees the same numbers it sees from every other country.
Odoo 20 documentation: Multi-company (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗ · Chart of accounts (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗ · Helpdesk (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗ · Helpdesk SLAs (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗ · Planning (field service) (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗ · Timesheets (Odoo 20.0) opens odoo.com ↗
Open this journey on its own page
Two-tier ERP. Your group core stays the system of record. Odoo runs this unit and feeds the core. How two-tier works
Which costs belong to each site, and what is capitalized.
A site overspends its budget line. The next order needs approval, and the variance shows on the project.
No equipment order is placed without a project and an approved budget line.
The objective. The country lead wants every site costed as it happens, and the group wants the new company in consolidated results without waiting for a core rollout.
A site overspends its budget line
The next order needs approval, and the variance shows on the project.
Weather stops a crew
The job is rescheduled and the crew is planned onto another site.
Equipment arrives damaged
It's held for inspection and returned or written off with a reason, not booked to the site.
Why it matters. Each site is costed as it happens, crews are planned against real work, and the new company reports on the group's timetable.