Features of Odoo ERP for the Manufacturing Industry

by Alex Forsyth Developer

In a manufacturing business, Odoo ERP development can help in organising and managing the production of goods, streamlining the workflows and operations. Let’s explore the features of Odoo for the manufacturing industry here in this article now.

Manufacturing is when you turn raw materials into finished products. For companies that make lots of different things, keeping track of all the manufacturing orders is important. Using a good ERP system like Odoo makes managing manufacturing easier. Odoo Manufacturing has tools to handle things like production complexity, bills of materials, planning orders, and tracking work progress.

Here's how Odoo Manufacturing works - you create a manufacturing order for a product, then move it through different stages in production until it's finished. You can customise the manufacturing process to fit your company's needs using different concepts like routing. Odoo also lets you manage scrap and undo production if needed. Different users can oversee the manufacturing process to keep everything running smoothly.

Compared to other ERP systems like SAP or Microsoft Dynamics, Odoo Manufacturing has unique features like handling byproducts, routing, using a single bill of materials for multiple product versions, scheduling tools, and more. Odoo stands out with features such as equipment management, work instructions, maintenance requests, and production calendars.

Now let's look at each feature in Odoo Manufacturing one by one.

Odoo ERP is like a smart helper for businesses, making it easy to manage everything important in one place. It is super useful for manufacturing because it has features that make production and shop floor control easy.

Quality Management & Regulatory Compliance:

The main problem in manufacturing when it comes to quality is the lack of clear rules. If there are no set standards for quality control, things can get messy and unpredictable, leading to wasted time and materials. To tackle this, an ERP system with a Quality Control feature can be a lifesaver. This feature lets companies create detailed plans for quality checks, including how tests are done, what standards are expected, and what to do if something goes wrong.

Using the Quality Checks feature within the ERP system, you can perform quality checks at different stages of manufacturing and when moving inventory. This helps QC Inspectors automate how often they check quality, saving time and labor costs while improving accuracy and speeding up production.

With Odoo, there is also a handy tool called Quality Alerts. This lets QC Inspectors quickly flag any quality issues they find and assign them to the right team or person for fixing. They can then use Quality Worksheets to fill out forms, take pictures, or scan barcodes, making quality checks thorough and efficient.

Production Planning, Product Lifecycle Management & Production Scheduling:

Making sure a product goes smoothly from idea to market is super important. Odoo ERP has features that help manufacturing businesses handle testing, teamwork, and refining products.

One handy tool is the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) module. It lets companies tweak things like materials or the product itself during manufacturing, marketing, and even after it is launched. Predicting how much demand there will be for a product is often tricky. That's where Odoo 17's AI-powered Demand Forecasting comes in. It uses smart technology to analyse past data and predict how much of a product will be needed in the future. This makes planning production much more accurate.

Once you have a forecast, the Master Production Schedule tool in the Manufacturing app helps plan production based on that forecast and how much extra stock you want to keep. This way, you can make sure you are making enough without overdoing it.

Warehouse and Inventory Management:

When manufacturers cannot see or control their inventory well, they can't track losses from unexpected events. Odoo helps by tracking inventory movements across warehouses, using barcode scanners or tablets to record operations in real-time.

You can also manage inventory better with Reordering Rules in Odoo ERP. This feature automates replenishment orders based on demand forecasts or minimum stock rules, ensuring you always have materials to meet customer demand.

In Warehouse Management, Odoo allows creating and organising multiple warehouses, optimising space and improving inventory management.

Procurement and Supply Chain Management:

For supply chain and procurement, Odoo's Purchase Management streamlines purchasing activities and maintains good relationships with vendors for timely deliveries. The Vendor Consignment feature manages consignment stock, reducing excess inventory. Drop-shipping is another option to sell products without stocking them, cutting costs and increasing flexibility.

In manufacturing, Advanced Routing optimises production processes, reducing lead times and improving resource flow. Odoo ERP’s manufacturing features for inventory management enhance supply chain management further.

Odoo streamlines operations, boosts innovation, and saves time by automating tasks in manufacturing businesses. It accelerates product delivery and adapts to tech changes, meeting customer needs faster. Odoo is flexible and can be customised to fit your business model, overcoming digitalisation challenges in manufacturing.

Alex Forsyth is an expert in Odoo ERP development, associated with an official Odoo gold partner in Australia, Envertis. In this article, the author has shared the features of Odoo for manufacturing businesses that make it the best ERP software for this industry.