From Lab Bench to Logistics: Blue Ocean Technologies Streamlined Operations with Odoo

Location/Region: Toronto, CAN
Industry: Biotech R&D
Apps implementedInventory, Manufacturing, Quality, and Purchase
Software Replaced: Excel spreadsheets
Size of the company: 10  
Hosting type: Odoo Online


In the world of biotech research and development (R&D), precision and speed are non-negotiable. For Blue Ocean Technologies, a startup based in Toronto, managing inventory, quality control, and purchasing with Excel spreadsheets quickly became a bottleneck. That's when the team discovered Odoo. Since adopting its apps, they have transformed their workflows from chaotic and manual to streamlined and efficient, making room for what they do best: innovate life-saving diagnostic tools.

Blue Ocean Technologies is a biotech R&D startup focused on creating a portable blood analyzer for use in emergency and trauma settings, including ERs and potentially military environments. Their innovation centers around point-of-care diagnostics, a field  with decades of critical relevance, from glucose monitoring to rapid infectious disease testing. While its importance has been spotlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, point-of-care technologies have long been essential for delivering real-time, bedside diagnostic solutions in emergency, remote, and decentralized healthcare settings.

The company’s roots trace back to academic research. It was co-founded by CEO Alexandros Sklavounos, based on his PhD work in Professor Aaron Wheeler’s lab at the University of Toronto. Initially developed in an academic environment, the technology evolved into a commercial venture when Alex turned his research into a startup. Blue Ocean now also offers R&D consulting services and has expanded its scope through the acquisition of Sci-Bots Inc., a hardware company founded in 2016, also also spun out from Prof. Wheeler’s lab, which specializes in droplet control systems and accessories for digital microfluidics.

"Our focus is and always has been developing cutting-edge diagnostics that can be used when and where they’re needed most."

Mina Stefanovic
Project Manager at Blue Ocean Technologies

The Challenge: Inventory Chaos and Costing Gaps

As the company acquired Sci-Bots in 2024, they inherited new hardware lines and a growing client base. Their inventory system? A single Excel spreadsheet. Hence, before Odoo, their team struggled with traceability, frequently losing track of products.

Quality control suffered from inconsistencies across departments. And managing the cost and valuation of components for accurate pricing? Nearly impossible with spreadsheets alone.

"Before Odoo, inventory was tracked inconsistently across team members. We had growing demand and multiple contractors, and Excel just couldn’t keep up."

Mina Stefanovic
Project Manager at Blue Ocean Technologies

How Odoo Became the Missing Link


The Blue Ocean team started researching software solutions that were easy to implement and scalable for a startup. Odoo quickly stood out as the next step in inventory management, with its straightforward interface and flexibility. They began with a single subscription, experimenting with its features before committing to full deployment and professional training.

Once implemented, Odoo’s Inventory, Manufacturing, Quality, and Purchase apps became central to Blue Ocean’s operations:

 Traceability and Serial Management: One of the biggest game-changers was traceability. With serialized inventory and detailed quality tracking, the team can now immediately locate a product, trace it back to specific QC test results, and address customer issues in seconds.

 Real-Time Cost Estimation and Valuation: The Purchase app also brought a significant upgrade. Previously, cost analysis and bill of materials calculations were done manually in Excel, often inconsistently. Now, with landed costs and valuations automatically generated in Odoo, the team has clear, reliable insights into their financials.

 Streamlined Stock Management for a Distributed Team: Managing inventory across contractors used to be frustrating and time-consuming. Odoo’s structured workflow and delivery sub-apps now allow team members to easily monitor incoming and outgoing stock, ensuring accuracy and reducing human error.

 Quality Assurance That Scales: Contractors can now log QC test results directly into the system, ensuring uniformity and traceability. This has enhanced collaboration and transparency across the production pipeline.

 Improved Autonomy and Less Bottlenecks: Tasks that used to require input from multiple team members, including specialized technicians, are now self-service. This allows other team members to focus on R&D, strategy, and product development.

"It would take days to trace a product. Now, with a few clicks, the team can find what a customer bought, when was delivered, and what the QC results were."

Mina Stefanovic
Project Manager 

What’s Next for Blue Ocean Technologies


Looking ahead, the Blue Ocean Technologies and Sci-Bots team is expanding its hardware ecosystem with new chips and accessories for DropBot, Sci-Bots’ open-source droplet control platform. These include heaters and advanced camera integrations for fluorescence/chemiluminescence detection, all designed to simplify workflows for scientists and enthusiasts.

As new products are introduced, Odoo will be even more critical. The team plans to rely more heavily on its cost estimation features to fine-tune pricing strategies and improve financial forecasting. With purchasing data now being tracked properly, they’ll use Odoo to estimate the full cost of these new accessories from the outset.

"As we roll out new accessories, Odoo will be essential in helping us track all components and calculate costs more accurately. It’s already proven invaluable in just a few months."

Mina Stefanovic
Projects and Development Manager.

Whether you are in biotech, manufacturing, or consulting, Odoo’s suite of apps offers scalable solutions for growing teams. If your current tools are holding you back, consider following Blue Ocean Technologies' lead: upgrade your workflows, reduce manual tasks, and let your team focus on what matters most: innovation.

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