How Apagen Helped Unify a Multi-Company Media Network through Odoo

Client Overview

• Industry, Size, Location: A diversified Media Group in South Asia, with over 1,200 employees and multiple business units spread across metropolitan and regional hubs.

• Core Business Activities: Print publishing (newspapers & magazines), radio broadcasting, TV news & entertainment channels, and digital media operations.

• Market Relevance: A well-recognized player with cross-platform influence, serving millions of readers, listeners, and viewers daily. The group’s ability to sell cross-media advertising packages made it a vital partner for major brands and advertisers.

The Challenge

Initial Situation:

• Each vertical had its own standalone systems, processes, and reporting formats.

Problems:

• Print circulation and ad bookings managed in spreadsheets.
• Radio ad slot sales disconnected from finance.
• Broadcast scheduling tools not linked to invoicing.
• Digital ad campaign performance tracked separately, delaying client reporting.

Consequences:

• Revenue leakages due to duplicate/overlapping ad bookings.
• Lack of consolidated reporting for management.
• Slow decision-making and inability to offer integrated ad packages efficiently.

Objectives & Expectations

Business Goals:

• Create one unified ERP platform to integrate all verticals.
• Streamline advertising sales, invoicing, and financial consolidation.
• Reduce operational inefficiencies and manual errors.

Stakeholder Expectations:

• Faster turnaround in ad bookings.
• Single source of truth for financial and operational data.
• Improved agility to respond to advertisers’ multi-platform campaigns.

Success Metrics:

• 30–40% reduction in ad booking time.
• Improved DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) by at least 20%.
• Real-time consolidated reporting across all verticals.

Scope of Work

Departments Covered:

• Sales, Finance & Accounting
• Production/Editorial
• Inventory (for Print)
• Digital Campaigns, and Broadcasting.

Processes Automated:

• Ad booking workflows (print, radio, TV, digital).
• Financial integration across companies.
• Circulation and print stock management.
• Campaign ROI reporting for digital.

Complexity:

• Multi-company, multi-location setup.
• Cross-media package handling.
• Compliance with broadcasting regulations and media-specific tax rules.

Solution Implementation

ERP Modules Used:

• Odoo CRM, Sales, Invoicing, Finance, Inventory, Project Management, and Custom Ad Booking Module.

Key Configurations:

• Centralized advertiser/agency database.
• Slot & space management tools for radio and print.
• TV scheduling integrated with billing.
• Digital campaign tracking linked to invoicing.

Automation/Integrations:

• Automated invoicing workflows.
• Real-time consolidated dashboard.
• Circulation management tied to print stock forecasting.

Execution Challenges

Roadblocks:

• Resistance from editorial and sales teams accustomed to legacy tools.
• Variability in workflows across verticals.
• Integration complexity with legacy broadcast scheduling software.

Resolutions:

• Conducted extensive user training & adoption workshops.
• Standardized processes while allowing role-based flexibility.
• Built custom connectors for broadcast scheduling.

Results & Business Impact

Quantitative:

• 40% faster ad booking and approval cycle.
• 25% increase in ad sales revenues (radio & TV) due to better slot utilization.
• 20% improvement in DSO through automated invoicing.

Operational Improvements:

• Consolidated reporting for all four verticals.
• Improved cross-selling of multi-platform ad packages.
• Better circulation planning reduced print wastage by 15%.

Strategic Benefits:

• Enabled group-level decision-making with real-time dashboards.
• Positioned the media group for future expansion into OTT and digital-first platforms.

Client Feedback

"Apagen’s Odoo ERP solution transformed the way we operate as a group. For the first time, we can see consolidated insights across print, radio, TV, and digital in one place. It has empowered our teams to work smarter, close deals faster, and serve advertisers better."

— CFO, Media Group

Key Innovations

• Custom-built Media Ad Booking Engine inside Odoo.
• Cross-platform campaign bundling with centralized billing.
• Tailored connectors for broadcast scheduling integration.
• Multi-company, multi-location financial consolidation with compliance automation.

Apagen’s Odoo ERP implementation helped the Media Group move from siloed operations to a unified digital backbone.

With processes now standardized and data centralized, the group is better equipped to scale, launch new platforms, and drive higher profitability.

Next steps include:

• Advanced analytics for ad performance.
• Integrating OTT and subscription-based models.
• Ongoing optimization of workflows as media consumption evolves.

Are you also looking to streamline your Media group of companies?

We already have helped this client with their vision. To know more, drop us an email at sales@apagen.com or call us on +91 9971800665.