From the heart of Ocala, Florida, Meeple Movers has become a thriving hub for board game enthusiasts, offering a unique mix of retail, rentals, and a café experience. Founded by Jon and Sonya Tyler, the business started as a real estate holding company but transitioned into the modern board game industry—a passion sparked by rediscovering board games a decade ago.
With over 3,600 new games published annually, the board game market is fast-moving, and Meeple Movers needed an efficient way to manage its evolving inventory.
“What began as an online store in 2020 has expanded into a 1,350 sq. ft. physical space, where customers can purchase, rent, and play board games, take part in events, and enjoy a membership program.”
Managing a hybrid business model with retail, rentals, and café operations required a seamless system, but Meeple Movers struggled with multiple software solutions that didn’t integrate. Initially, they used BigCommerce for online sales, then shifted to Shopify, only to find its POS system inadequate for in-person retail.
To compensate, they implemented Lightspeed POS, but encountered significant integration failures, leading to a patchwork of nine different software solutions connected by unreliable third-party integrations. “By the time we had everything sort of working, we were spending $10,000 a year on software and connectors,” Jon Tyler, co-owner, said.
The inefficiencies didn’t stop there. Shopify’s tablet-based POS system lacked customization and visibility, frustrating employees. Inventory management became a logistical nightmare, requiring significant manual input to keep track of Meeple Movers’ ever-changing product catalog. With the store receiving thousands of new board games yearly, updating and managing inventory was consuming excessive time.
Then Odoo happened
In April 2023, Meeple Movers implemented Odoo, seeking a cost-effective, integrated solution that could handle POS, inventory, and purchasing in one platform. They evaluated multiple ERP solutions but selected Odoo for three key reasons.
The first reason was stability and scalability: Unlike other platforms that were less than two years old, Odoo provided a proven, open-source system. The second was data portability, as the ability to export and manipulate data made vendor ordering and reporting much easier. The third was seamless customer experience, as a single platform allowed customers to log in, make purchases, reserve tables, and register for events, freeing up valuable staff time.
“Having a single system where customers can manage everything on their own—reservations, purchases, subscriptions—has saved us countless hours.”
Efficiency, automation, and cost savings made the difference. Since adopting Odoo, Meeple Movers has seen dramatic improvements across its daily operations:
Improved POS and Sales Tracking: With Odoo’s 24-inch touchscreen POS, employees can customize the interface, access real-time data, and process transactions much faster. The previous tablet-based system made it difficult to navigate inventory, while Odoo’s setup allows for one-click actions, drastically reducing transaction time. Sales reporting has become more accurate and insightful, enabling better decision-making.
“Before Odoo, inventory audits took two full days. With Odoo’s barcode scanning system (v17 update), the process now takes just five hours—a 75% reduction in time. This improvement alone has freed up valuable time for staff to focus on customer service and event planning.”
Also, the ability to add or modify information on the fly has resulted in a minimum savings of 20 hours per month in purchase order processing.
“Additionally, the Odoo IoT box and kitchen printer have transformed café operations. Previously, order fulfillment was slow due to manual processes. Now, orders are sent directly to the kitchen, cutting down processing time and ensuring smoother service for customers.”
Game on: Coming up
With Odoo’s suite of applications, Meeple Movers has eliminated the need for third-party connectors, reduced software costs, and optimized daily operations. The ability to customize reports, manage memberships, track sales, and streamline inventory—all within a single platform—has positioned Meeple Movers for continued growth.
“We do so much more now with Odoo. We have tons of apps downloaded, and everything just works together seamlessly,” Jon said.
Just as Odoo transformed Meeple Movers' retail and café operations, it can provide businesses across industries with the tools needed to streamline processes, improve efficiency, and scale effectively. Whether in retail, hospitality, or manufacturing, Odoo’s integrated, customizable platform offers a smarter way to do business.
