Odoo Manufacturing & MRP: How to Plan, Track, and Optimize Production

Manufacturing businesses face a constant challenge: producing the right quantity at the right time while minimizing waste and meeting quality standards. Odoo's Manufacturing and MRP (Material Requirements Planning) modules provide an integrated production management system that connects planning, execution, quality control, and maintenance in a single platform.

What Is Odoo MRP?

Odoo MRP is a material requirements planning module that calculates raw material needs based on demand (sales orders, forecasts, or min/max rules), available stock, lead times, and bills of materials. It automatically generates manufacturing orders, purchase orders, and transfer orders to ensure production can proceed without material shortages.

Combined with the Manufacturing module, Odoo provides complete shop floor management including work order scheduling, time tracking, quality checks, and production analytics.

Core Concepts: BOMs, Work Centers, and Routings

Bills of Materials (BOMs)

A BOM defines the components and quantities needed to produce a finished product. Odoo supports several BOM types:

• Standard BOM: Fixed list of components for a single finished product.
• Kit BOM: A virtual product composed of multiple items shipped separately (no manufacturing order created).
• Multi-level BOM: Finished product requires sub-assemblies, each with their own BOMs. Odoo resolves the full component tree automatically.
• BOM with variants: A single BOM template covers multiple product variants, with conditional components based on selected attributes (size, color, configuration).

BOM configuration tips:

| Field | Purpose | Example | |---|---|---| | Product | Finished good | Wooden Table | | Quantity | Output per production run | 1 unit | | Components | Raw materials/sub-assemblies | 4x Table Leg, 1x Tabletop, 12x Screw | | Operations | Work center steps | Cutting, Assembly, Finishing | | Ready to Produce | Flexible or Strict | When all components available or partial |

Navigate to Manufacturing > Bills of Materials to create and manage BOMs.

Work Centers

A work center represents a physical location or resource where operations happen: a CNC machine, an assembly station, a paint booth, or even a manual workbench. Each work center has:

• Capacity: How many operations can run simultaneously
• Working hours: Operating schedule (shifts, breaks, holidays)
• Cost per hour: Used for production cost calculation
• Time efficiency: Percentage factor to account for real-world throughput vs. theoretical capacity

Accurate work center definitions are essential for realistic production scheduling. Configure work centers under Manufacturing > Configuration > Work Centers.

Routings

Routings define the sequence of operations required to produce a finished product. Each operation in a routing specifies:

• The work center where it takes place
• Expected duration (setup time + per-unit production time)
• Quality check points (if quality module is enabled)
• Description and instructions for operators

Example routing for a custom furniture product:

1. Cutting at CNC Machine (15 min setup + 8 min/unit)
2. Assembly at Assembly Station (5 min setup + 20 min/unit)
3. Sanding at Finishing Area (0 min setup + 10 min/unit)
4. Painting at Paint Booth (10 min setup + 15 min/unit)
5. Quality Inspection at QC Station (0 min setup + 5 min/unit)

Setting Up Production Planning

Manual Manufacturing Orders

The simplest approach is creating manufacturing orders manually:

1. Go to Manufacturing > Operations > Manufacturing Orders
2. Select the product and BOM
3. Set the quantity and planned start date
4. Confirm the order to reserve components
5. Start production when materials are available
6. Record produced quantities and close the order

Automated Production with MRP

For demand-driven manufacturing, enable MRP to automate production scheduling:

1. Configure reorder rules on finished products with the "Manufacture" route
2. Set minimum and maximum stock levels based on demand forecasts
3. Run the scheduler (automatically every day, or manually via Inventory > Operations > Run Scheduler)
4. MRP generates manufacturing orders when stock falls below the minimum threshold

MRP considers the full supply chain: if a sub-assembly is needed and its stock is also low, Odoo creates a cascading chain of manufacturing and purchase orders to fulfill the complete requirement.

Production Scheduling

Odoo 18 includes an improved production scheduling engine that considers:

• Work center availability and capacity
• Component availability dates
• Manufacturing lead times
• Operation sequence and dependencies
• Priority levels of manufacturing orders

The Manufacturing Planning view provides a Gantt chart showing scheduled operations across work centers, helping production managers identify bottlenecks and rebalance workloads.

Shop Floor Execution

Work Order Tracking

When a manufacturing order with a routing is confirmed, Odoo creates individual work orders for each operation. Shop floor operators interact with work orders through:

• Work Order tablet view: A simplified interface designed for touchscreen use at each work center. Operators see their queue, start/pause timers, record quantities, and report issues.
• Barcode integration: Scan product barcodes to load the correct work order. Scan component barcodes to verify correct materials are being used.
• Time tracking: Automatic timer records actual production time per operation, feeding into cost analysis and capacity planning.

Production Quantities and Scrap

During production, operators record:

• Produced quantity: Actual units completed (may differ from planned quantity)
• Component consumption: Actual materials used (adjust for waste or substitutions)
• Scrap: Defective units or wasted materials, categorized by scrap reason

Scrap tracking feeds into quality analytics, helping you identify recurring issues and their root causes.

Quality Control Integration

Odoo's Quality module integrates directly with manufacturing to enforce checks at critical production stages.

Types of quality checks:

• Pass/Fail: Simple accept/reject decision (e.g., visual inspection)
• Measure: Record a numerical measurement and compare against tolerances (e.g., dimension check, weight)
• Take a Picture: Photographic evidence of product condition
• Worksheet: Step-by-step inspection checklist

Setting up quality control points:

1. Go to Quality > Control Points
2. Define the trigger (manufacturing operation, receipt, delivery)
3. Select the product or product category
4. Choose the check type and frequency (every unit, every batch, percentage sampling)
5. Assign a responsible quality team

Quality data integrates with manufacturing analytics, providing defect rate tracking, SPC (Statistical Process Control) charts, and supplier quality scorecards. For advanced quality workflows, our Odoo customization team builds industry-specific inspection processes.

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) Integration

Odoo's PLM module manages engineering changes to BOMs and products:

• Engineering Change Orders (ECOs): Propose, review, and approve changes to BOMs, routings, or product specifications through a structured workflow.
• Version control: Track BOM revisions with full history. Compare versions to see exactly what changed.
• Effective dates: Schedule BOM changes to take effect on a future date, allowing production to plan for transitions.
• Document management: Attach CAD files, specifications, and test reports to products and BOMs.

PLM prevents unauthorized changes to production data and creates an audit trail for quality and compliance purposes.

Production Cost Analysis

Odoo calculates manufacturing costs based on:

• Material cost: Component quantities x unit cost from purchase or standard costing
• Labor cost: Actual time tracked per operation x work center hourly rate
• Overhead: Fixed costs allocated per unit or per work order

Compare planned vs. actual costs for each manufacturing order to identify cost overruns and efficiency gains. Use the manufacturing cost analysis report to track trends over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can Odoo MRP handle make-to-order and make-to-stock production? Yes. Configure products with MTO (Make to Order) or MTS (Make to Stock) routes. You can even combine both: maintain safety stock via MTS while fulfilling custom orders via MTO. Hybrid strategies are configured per product or per product variant.

Q: How does Odoo handle subcontracting? Odoo 18 includes a dedicated subcontracting workflow. Send raw materials to a subcontractor, track production progress, and receive finished goods back into your warehouse. The subcontractor receives a portal view showing pending orders and can report completion.

Q: What about maintenance scheduling for production equipment? The Maintenance module integrates with manufacturing to schedule preventive maintenance based on calendar intervals or usage metrics (e.g., every 500 machine hours). Corrective maintenance requests can be created directly from work orders when operators detect equipment issues.

Optimizing Your Production with Odoo

Odoo Manufacturing and MRP transform production from reactive firefighting into proactive planning. Start with accurate BOMs and work center definitions, then layer on MRP automation, quality control, and PLM as your operation matures.

Key performance indicators to track:

• OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness): Target >85%
• On-time delivery rate: Target >95%
• Scrap rate: Target under 2% of production volume
• Planned vs. actual production time: Target within 10% variance

For Odoo implementation of manufacturing workflows, or to optimize an existing Odoo manufacturing setup, contact our team for a production efficiency assessment. We have helped manufacturers across industries reduce lead times, cut waste, and improve throughput using Odoo's production management tools.