Planning by spreadsheet
Production schedules live in spreadsheets that can't see live stock, open purchase orders or machine capacity.
Industries · Manufacturing
Manufacturing ERP software that connects the shop floor to the balance sheet
From the bill of materials through finished goods to the invoice, we implement Odoo Manufacturing or build custom systems so planning, production, quality and costing work from the same data.
What is manufacturing ERP software?
Manufacturing ERP software plans and records production: what to make, from which components, on which machines, in what order, at what cost and to what quality standard. It is most valuable when it is connected to inventory, purchasing, sales and accounting, so a customer order can drive material requirements, production and costing without re-keying data.
Operational problems we see most often
Unknown true cost
Material, labour and overhead aren't captured per order, so margins are estimated rather than measured.
Stock surprises
Components run out mid-production, or excess raw material ties up cash because reorder points are guesses.
No traceability
When a customer reports a defect, finding which batch of components went into which product takes days.
Quality on paper
Inspection results are written down and filed, so recurring issues are noticed late.
Reactive maintenance
Machines are fixed after they fail, disrupting the schedule instead of being serviced on a plan.
What the system needs to cover
Production management
- Manufacturing orders
- Work orders per operation
- Shop-floor tablet view
- Scrap and by-product recording
Planning
- Material requirements planning
- Reordering rules & make-to-order
- Work-center capacity
- Master production schedule
Bills of materials
- Multi-level BOMs
- Kits & variants
- Routings and operations
- Engineering change control
Inventory & warehouse
- Raw material, WIP and finished goods
- Lot and serial number tracking
- Multi-step receipts and deliveries
- Barcode operations
Procurement
- Purchase requests from shortages
- Vendor pricelists & lead times
- Subcontracting
- Landed costs
Quality & maintenance
- Quality control points
- Inspection checklists & alerts
- Preventive maintenance schedules
- Equipment failure history
From customer order to recognised margin
One connected flow, where each step creates the data the next step needs.
- 01
Sales order
A confirmed order for a manufactured product creates demand.
- 02
Planning
Requirements planning checks stock and proposes manufacturing and purchase orders.
- 03
Procurement
Missing components are purchased or transferred from another warehouse.
- 04
Production
Work orders run on work centers; operators record time, consumption and scrap.
- 05
Quality
Inspection points block or pass products before they move to finished stock.
- 06
Delivery & invoice
Finished goods ship, the invoice is created, and actual cost flows to accounting.
Work the system can do for you
Automatic replenishment
Reordering rules generate purchase or manufacturing orders when stock drops below a minimum.
Shortage alerts
Planners are notified when a scheduled order lacks components, before the line stops.
Preventive maintenance
Maintenance requests are created on a schedule or after a set usage interval.
Quality alerts
Failed checks create a quality alert assigned to the right person automatically.
What it connects to, and what it reports
Integrations
- Barcode scanners & label printers
- Weighing scales
- Machine or IoT data via API
- E-commerce and B2B order portals
- Courier & logistics providers
- Accounting and banking
Reports managers use
- Production cost per order versus standard
- Work-center utilisation and overall equipment effectiveness
- On-time completion and delivery
- Scrap and rework by product and cause
- Component consumption versus BOM
- Inventory valuation and ageing
Access control, auditability and growth
Role-based access
Operators see their work orders; costing and supplier prices stay with managers and finance.
Multi-plant ready
Multi-company and multi-warehouse structures support additional plants without a new system.
Audit trail
Stock moves, quality results and changes to BOMs are recorded with user and time.
Pilot one line first, then scale
Map the floor
Walk through how orders, materials and work actually move today, including the informal steps.
Clean the BOMs
Bills of materials, units of measure and routings are corrected before anything is imported.
Pilot one line
Run a single product family end-to-end on the new system before scaling.
Roll out & train
Extend to remaining lines with shop-floor training on the devices operators will use.
Measure
Compare planned and actual cost and time, then tune routings and reorder rules.
Solutions and technologies for this industry
Sources and further reading
Official documentation and guidance if you want to read more about this topic.
Manufacturing software questions
What is manufacturing management software?
Manufacturing management software plans and tracks production (bills of materials, work orders, capacity, materials, quality and cost) and connects it to inventory, purchasing, sales and accounting so the business works from one set of data.
Is Odoo suitable for manufacturing companies?
Odoo Manufacturing covers bills of materials, manufacturing and work orders, work centers, requirements planning and subcontracting, with Quality, Maintenance and PLM apps available in Odoo Enterprise. It suits many discrete and light process manufacturers; highly specialised processes may need custom modules.
Should we build custom manufacturing software or use an ERP?
Most manufacturers are best served by an ERP such as Odoo for standard planning, inventory and accounting, with custom development only for processes that are genuinely unique, such as a specific machine integration or costing rule.
Can the system track lots and serial numbers?
Yes. Components and finished products can be tracked by lot or serial number, so you can trace which supplier batch went into which finished unit and which customer received it.
Can operators use tablets on the shop floor?
Yes. Work orders can be started, paused and completed from a tablet at the work center, recording time, consumed components and quality checks as the work happens.
Next step
Bring your production data into one system
Tell us what you make and how you plan it today. We'll show you how it maps onto Odoo, and where custom work is genuinely needed.