The verdict in three sentences
For a Berlin B2B distributor, a standard ERP like Odoo or SAP Business One covers 80 % of needs: stock, purchasing, sales, with a rollout to scope. Custom at 80 000-200 000 EUR only pays when your customer pricing, multi-warehouse rules or EDI break radically from the standard. The real question is not standard vs custom, but what share of your value sits in the uncovered 20 %.
Standard vs custom TCO over 5 years
A standard ERP mixes recurring licensing with upfront rollout. 2026 order of magnitude for a 40-seat distributor:
| Line item | Standard ERP (Odoo/SAP B1) | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| License / seat / month | 25-90 EUR | 0 EUR |
| Initial rollout | 40 000-150 000 EUR | in the build |
| Build investment | — | 80 000-200 000 EUR |
| Maintenance / year | 15-22 % license | 15-18 % of build |
| Pricing adaptation | via development | native |
| Customer EDI | module + dev | native |
| 5-year TCO (40 seats) | 170 000-290 000 EUR | 150 000-270 000 EUR |
At 60 EUR/seat/month for 40 seats plus 80 000 EUR rollout, the standard ERP lands near 224 000 EUR over 5 years. A custom build at 160 000 EUR plus 65 000 EUR run over 5 years is around 225 000 EUR: the gap then turns on business fit, not sticker price.
Modules and operational impact
The ROI of a distribution ERP comes from fewer stockouts and reliable pricing.
| Module | Indicative cost (dev/rollout) | Measured 2026 effect |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-warehouse stock | 16 000-36 000 EUR | -20 % stockouts |
| B2B customer pricing | 13 000-29 000 EUR | -50 % pricing errors |
| Purchasing/replenishment | 11 000-25 000 EUR | -15 % overstock |
| Customer EDI | 13 000-27 000 EUR | -60 % order re-entry |
| B2B ordering portal | 15 000-31 000 EUR | +12 % self-service orders |
| Margin reporting | 8 000-19 000 EUR | per-line margin visibility |
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Mini case study
Stefan runs a 40-person industrial-supplies distributor in Berlin with 3 warehouses. Stockouts cost 4 % of revenue (12 M EUR), or 480 000 EUR of lost sales a year. A multi-warehouse stock and replenishment module (34 000 EUR) cuts stockouts to 2.4 %, recovering about 192 000 EUR of revenue and roughly 40 000 EUR of net margin. Added to the end of pricing errors, the project pays back in under a year.
FAQ
Odoo or SAP Business One for a distributor? Odoo is more flexible and cheaper to start, SAP B1 reassures on large volumes and international scope. The choice depends on your size and your accounting-standardization needs.
When does custom beat a standard ERP? When your business rules (pricing, cascading discounts, multi-warehouse, EDI) demand so much development on the standard that you pay twice: license and adaptation.
How long for an ERP rollout? Budget 6 to 12 months for a well-integrated standard ERP, 8 to 14 months for a full custom build in 2026. A stock + purchasing scope alone ships faster, in 4 to 6 months.
Is customer EDI essential? It becomes so as soon as your large customers require it. Without EDI you re-key orders by hand, with an error rate that damages the relationship.
Can we start standard then move to custom? Yes, and it is a prudent strategy: start on a standard ERP, isolate the high-value pain point, then build that module custom connected to the ERP.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of warehouses, your pricing rules and an indicative budget: we'll price standard vs custom ERP TCO over 5 years. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
