If you’ve ever stopped at a gas station or convenience store, chances are you’ve purchased candy, snacks, tobacco products, or beverages from them. These small storefronts are often stocked with a large variety of popular, tasty snacks and goods, including name-brand items. M. Maskas & Sons, a B2B wholesale distribution business, supplies gas stations and convenience stores with a large selection of products for their customers. Sporting an inventory of thousands of products and a large network of vendors, M. Maskas & Sons prides itself on delivering quality goods to its customers with reliable and efficient service.
Founder Matthew Maskas
Over 100 years ago, Matthew Maskas immigrated to the United States from Greece in pursuit of a better life and more opportunities. He began making homemade chocolate, selling it to locals out of the basement of his home. Chocolates turned into a variety of products for his customers, and in 1920, the distribution side of the company was born. Through the decades, M. Maskas & Sons has proudly been a family-owned and operated business, with current Vice President Brian Maskas being the great-grandson of founder Matthew.
With over a century of experience in the distribution industry under its belt, M. Maskas & Sons continues to serve storefronts across the country with high-quality goods and services. As technology continues to boom and become an increasingly integral part of running a business, the company turned to Odoo as an ally for its operational needs.
Old school struggles: the pre-Odoo era at M. Maskas & Sons
Bob Maskas, Matthew Maskas's son
For almost 100 years, from 1920 until 2018, M. Maskas & Sons used pen and paper to keep track of all of its information. While this method was familiar to the team, it was difficult to manage data and track things such as inventory levels in real time. Brian Maskas had known for a while that the company needed a change but didn’t pull the trigger until 2018. At that time, he began researching a variety of ERP options, spending many months searching for the perfect fit.
What ended up locking Odoo in as the company’s #1 choice was Brian’s introduction to Odoo Partner Red Lab Media. The Partner immediately gave M. Maskas & Sons confidence in Odoo and its ability to help the company transition smoothly over to an ERP. Soon after, M. Maskas & Sons and Red Lab Media began setting up the company’s database from the ground up, transferring information over from pen and paper to online. Brian recounts the implementation process and experience working with Odoo Partner Red Lab Media:
It was a lot of work, but our partner was right there to help us and show us. Because learning Odoo, we needed somebody to guide us because there is a lot in there. Red Lab Media was a great fit for that. So I’m very glad we chose them.
M. Maskas & Sons officially went live with Odoo in 2018. They built out the products first, then moved to accounting and, recently, email marketing. Brain points out that he continues to learn more about Odoo’s features and capabilities, integrating the software’s newest features into the business.
Smooth Operations: Odoo Delivers the Goods for M. Maskas & Sons
The transition from pen and paper to Odoo’s software has made a tremendous impact on M. Maskas & Sons’ business operations. One major test of this success was two years ago when M. Maskas & Sons acquired another company. Brian says that “Odoo didn’t miss a beat” during the acquisition, with Odoo’s Website and eCommerce applications picking up a lot of the extra workload that came with the change:
Without the eCommerce platform, it wouldn't have been manageable for us, taking on that many new customers at one time and transitioning them over. We used the Website, the eCommerce app to be able to have them put their orders in and see all the products we carry, and see what was similar to the old company they worked with.
Brian explains that Odoo was instrumental in saving valuable time and manpower for the team as they dealt with the influx of new customers. For example, with Odoo’s customer portal, M. Maskas & Sons’ customers are able to view real-time inventory numbers on their own, at any time of the day or night; this is especially useful for gas stations and convenience stores, which are often 24/7 businesses.
Additionally, as a company that distributes a number of tobacco products, M. Maskas & Sons is required by law to report data weekly to manufacturers and certain authorities. Brian explains that Red Lab Media was key in helping the company set up fields and other features to complete this process.
As Vice President, Brian says that the most beneficial part of Odoo is probably the overall integration and comprehensive nature of the system:
The most helpful thing is having everything in one place where I can view anything– from the sales orders going out or the invoices going out that day, to the accounting, and everything being integrated in one place.
M. Maskas & Sons has proudly been a part of the fabric of the distribution industry in America for the past century and looks forward to continuing to serve gas stations and convenience stores for years to come. As the company continues to grow, Odoo is prepared to support the business's changing needs and new endeavors:
“We definitely wouldn't have been able to grow as much as we have in the past 6 years without Odoo. It streamlined our processes.”
Location/Region: Tarentum, PA
Industry: Distribution
Apps implemented: IoT box, Knowledge, Accounting, Purchase, Sales, Website, Email Marketing, Discuss
Software Replaced: N/A
Number of users: 2
Company size: 4
Hosting type: Odoo online
If you’ve ever stopped at a gas station or convenience store, chances are you’ve purchased candy, snacks, tobacco products, or beverages from them. These small storefronts are often stocked with a large variety of popular, tasty snacks and goods, including name-brand items. M. Maskas & Sons, a B2B wholesale distribution business, supplies gas stations and convenience stores with a large selection of products for their customers. Sporting an inventory of thousands of products and a large network of vendors, M. Maskas & Sons prides itself on delivering quality goods to its customers with reliable and efficient service.
Founder Matthew Maskas
Over 100 years ago, Matthew Maskas immigrated to the United States from Greece in pursuit of a better life and more opportunities. He began making homemade chocolate, selling it to locals out of the basement of his home. Chocolates turned into a variety of products for his customers, and in 1920, the distribution side of the company was born. Through the decades, M. Maskas & Sons has proudly been a family-owned and operated business, with current Vice President Brian Maskas being the great-grandson of founder Matthew.
With over a century of experience in the distribution industry under its belt, M. Maskas & Sons continues to serve storefronts across the country with high-quality goods and services. As technology continues to boom and become an increasingly integral part of running a business, the company turned to Odoo as an ally for its operational needs.
Old school struggles: the pre-Odoo era at M. Maskas & Sons
Bob Maskas, Matthew Maskas's son
For almost 100 years, from 1920 until 2018, M. Maskas & Sons used pen and paper to keep track of all of its information. While this method was familiar to the team, it was difficult to manage data and track things such as inventory levels in real time. Brian Maskas had known for a while that the company needed a change but didn’t pull the trigger until 2018. At that time, he began researching a variety of ERP options, spending many months searching for the perfect fit.
What ended up locking Odoo in as the company’s #1 choice was Brian’s introduction to Odoo Partner Red Lab Media. The Partner immediately gave M. Maskas & Sons confidence in Odoo and its ability to help the company transition smoothly over to an ERP. Soon after, M. Maskas & Sons and Red Lab Media began setting up the company’s database from the ground up, transferring information over from pen and paper to online. Brian recounts the implementation process and experience working with Odoo Partner Red Lab Media:
M. Maskas & Sons officially went live with Odoo in 2018. They built out the products first, then moved to accounting and, recently, email marketing. Brain points out that he continues to learn more about Odoo’s features and capabilities, integrating the software’s newest features into the business.
Smooth Operations: Odoo Delivers the Goods for M. Maskas & Sons
The transition from pen and paper to Odoo’s software has made a tremendous impact on M. Maskas & Sons’ business operations. One major test of this success was two years ago when M. Maskas & Sons acquired another company. Brian says that “Odoo didn’t miss a beat” during the acquisition, with Odoo’s Website and eCommerce applications picking up a lot of the extra workload that came with the change:
Brian explains that Odoo was instrumental in saving valuable time and manpower for the team as they dealt with the influx of new customers. For example, with Odoo’s customer portal, M. Maskas & Sons’ customers are able to view real-time inventory numbers on their own, at any time of the day or night; this is especially useful for gas stations and convenience stores, which are often 24/7 businesses.
Additionally, as a company that distributes a number of tobacco products, M. Maskas & Sons is required by law to report data weekly to manufacturers and certain authorities. Brian explains that Red Lab Media was key in helping the company set up fields and other features to complete this process.
As Vice President, Brian says that the most beneficial part of Odoo is probably the overall integration and comprehensive nature of the system:
M. Maskas & Sons has proudly been a part of the fabric of the distribution industry in America for the past century and looks forward to continuing to serve gas stations and convenience stores for years to come. As the company continues to grow, Odoo is prepared to support the business's changing needs and new endeavors:
“We definitely wouldn't have been able to grow as much as we have in the past 6 years without Odoo. It streamlined our processes.”
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