Overview
United Volleyball Supply, LLC (operating as VolleyballUSA.com) is a light manufacturing company based in Redmond, WA, that produces specialized volleyball sports equipment used by schools, universities, and professional sports teams across the country. As their business grew, so did the complexity of their operations—and the limitations of their existing systems became increasingly apparent.
Challenges
The company faced a series of operational and technical hurdles that were directly impacting productivity and customer satisfaction:
- Manual order processing: Orders were being tracked and managed on paper, leading to delays and errors.
- Departmental silos: Poor communication between sales, production, and fulfillment created bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
- Lack of real-time visibility: Customers were frequently requesting order updates, but the team struggled to extract accurate information from their systems.
- Technical instability: Frequent system crashes, backup failures, and limited support from existing platforms created risk and frustration.
At the time, the company was using BigCommerce for their online storefront and QuickBooks for accounting and basic operations. These tools had served them well early on but were no longer meeting the needs of a growing manufacturer.
Solution
Golden Ticket Engineering implemented a fully integrated Odoo ERP and E-commerce system tailored to the specific needs of a manufacturing and distribution operation. Key elements of the solution included:
- ERP Integration: Centralized all core operations—sales, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, and accounting—into a single system, eliminating manual processes and siloed data.
- Custom E-commerce Rebuild: Instead of migrating the existing BigCommerce site, the online store was rebuilt from scratch within Odoo, preserving the original design while enhancing functionality, performance, and maintainability.
- Production Scheduling Algorithm: A custom operations research algorithm was developed to optimize production scheduling. This allowed the company to provide real-time order statuses and reduce lead times by dynamically prioritizing tasks based on resource availability.
- Cloud Deployment on Microsoft Azure: The entire platform was deployed to Azure for high availability, security, and scalability, eliminating the downtime and backup issues they had previously experienced.
Results
The new system transformed the way United Volleyball Supply operates:
- Faster order fulfillment due to optimized production workflows
- Real-time visibility into order and production status—for both customers and internal teams
- Improved customer satisfaction through accurate updates and faster delivery
- Streamlined internal operations, reducing manual errors and wasted effort
- Increased system reliability, with zero downtime since moving to Azure
Conclusion
By transitioning to Odoo and Azure, United Volleyball Supply moved from a patchwork of outdated tools to a cohesive, cloud-based platform that supports their growth and enhances their ability to serve customers. Golden Ticket Engineering’s tailored approach not only solved their immediate challenges but laid a foundation for scalable, data-driven operations moving forward.
E-Commerce
The decision to rebuild the online store within Odoo rather than migrate the existing BigCommerce platform was driven by a desire for tighter integration and greater flexibility. This approach allowed the team to maintain the familiar look and feel of VolleyballUSA.com while seamlessly connecting the storefront to back-end operations like inventory, order management, and production scheduling. By consolidating these systems, customers experienced a smoother and more reliable purchasing process, with immediate feedback on product availability and shipping timelines.
Additionally, the new e-commerce platform was optimized for performance and scalability. Leveraging Odoo’s modular architecture, the site now supports a variety of advanced features, including personalized product recommendations, dynamic pricing based on customer segments, and automated promotions. The enhanced user experience has led to increased conversion rates and customer retention, while the centralized data model provides valuable insights into buying patterns that help drive smarter marketing and inventory decisions.
Odoo ERP System
Implementing Odoo ERP transformed United Volleyball Supply’s fragmented operations into a unified, efficient workflow. By centralizing sales, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, and accounting within a single platform, the company eliminated the need for manual data entry and reconciliations across multiple systems. This integration enabled real-time data synchronization, ensuring that every department had access to accurate, up-to-date information at all times.
The ERP system also introduced automated workflows tailored to the unique demands of light manufacturing and distribution. For example, inventory levels are continuously monitored and automatically trigger purchase orders when stock falls below predefined thresholds, preventing costly stockouts and production delays. The manufacturing module was customized to handle complex bill-of-materials and multi-stage production processes, streamlining shop floor management and improving resource utilization. Overall, Odoo’s modular design allowed the company to adapt quickly as operational needs evolved, supporting both current efficiency and future scalability.
Operations Research Algorithm
To tackle the complexity of managing multiple production lines with varying resource constraints, Golden Ticket Engineering developed a custom operations research algorithm tailored to United Volleyball Supply’s manufacturing workflow. This algorithm dynamically prioritizes production tasks based on real-time factors such as machine availability, labor capacity, and order deadlines. By optimizing the sequence and allocation of jobs, the system maximizes throughput while minimizing idle time and bottlenecks on the shop floor.
The algorithm also enables the company to provide customers with accurate, real-time updates on order statuses by linking production progress directly to the ERP system. This visibility not only improves internal coordination between production and sales teams but also enhances customer confidence through transparent communication. As a result, lead times were significantly reduced, and the overall efficiency of the manufacturing process improved markedly—helping the company meet growing demand without sacrificing quality or delivery speed.
Azure Architecture
