ERP for manufacturing: from order to post-calculation.
Manufacturers need reliable bills of materials, realistic dates and cost transparency. We bring planning, shop floor and accounting together in one system – step by step, without bringing production to a halt.
Where manufacturing usually gets stuck.
A customer calls and asks when the order will be ready. The production manager walks into the hall to find out. The bill of materials is in Excel, the drawing in CAD, the feedback on a job ticket – and purchasing hears about the missing part when the machine is already standing still.
That is not an organisational failure; it is a lack of continuity. As long as planning, shop floor and accounting work from different versions of the truth, dates remain estimates and costs remain a gut feeling.
This is what we hear most often:
- BOMs and drawings live in Excel, CAD and ERP – out of sync
- Delivery dates are promised without reliable capacity planning
- Shop-floor feedback arrives late or on paper
- Quality checks aren't linked to lots and suppliers
- Post-calculation shows months later whether an order was profitable
Odoo and SAP building blocks for manufacturing.
You don't have to convert the whole factory at once. Start with the building block that hurts most on your shop floor – the rest grows with you.
BOMs & variants
Multi-level BOMs, variants, phantom assemblies, kits and consigned parts – with versioning and change management. Engineering, purchasing and production work from the same version – not from three copies of the same list.
Routings & scheduling
Work centres, operations, setup and run times, capacity planning and manufacturing orders with date calculation. You can see whether a date will hold before you promise it.
PLM & engineering change
Engineering change orders with approval workflow, linking CAD data and documents to products and BOMs. Every change is traceable: who, when, why – and from which order it applies.
Quality
Inspection plans, incoming and in-process checks, lot traceability, blocked stock, complaints and supplier rating. Checks are attached to the operation, not filed in a folder. If there is a complaint, you find lot and supplier in a few clicks.
MES & machine integration
Feedback of quantities, times and downtime from machines or MES into the ERP; shop-floor terminals on tablets with barcodes. Which machines and systems can be connected, and how, is something we clarify in the analysis.
Costing & controlling
Pre- and post-calculation per order, material and manufacturing overheads, reconciliation with SAP CO where group rules apply. You see where costs are heading while the order is still running – not months afterwards.
A rush order in production – before and after.
Before: A regular customer needs a special batch at short notice. Sales confirms the date because it will work out somehow. Production planning hunts for the current bill of materials, purchasing chases material by phone, and the shop floor pushes other orders back. Whether the effort paid off, nobody really knows in the end.
After: Sales creates the order and sees straight away which material is missing and which work centres are busy. Purchase suggestions are generated automatically. The shop floor reports quantities and times on a tablet, and the post-calculation is there when the goods leave the building. The date is promised because it is feasible.
The example is deliberately generic and not a customer reference. What it looks like in your business is something we clarify in a conversation.
How we work.
Analysis
We walk through your production with you – from order entry through production planning and the shop floor to dispatch. Preferably on site, because you can't understand a production hall in a video call. Result: a clear list of what works and where it gets stuck.
Concept
You receive a solution proposal: which building blocks, how bills of materials and routings are structured, which machines or systems are connected, in what order and with what effort. No black box, no surprises.
Implementation
We implement in short stages – for example bills of materials and manufacturing orders first, then scheduling and quality. Your key users test with real orders before anything reaches the shop floor. Training at tablet and terminal is part of it.
Operations
After go-live we stay available: support, new reports, additional work centres and updates. Small adjustments we handle hands-on and on fair terms.
What manufacturers ask us before they start.
Yes. Odoo runs productively with a single module. Many manufacturers find bills of materials and manufacturing orders, or purchasing and warehouse, a good place to start. Scheduling, quality and maintenance follow in later stages – each stage ends with something you can actually use.
We migrate them in a structured way: products, bills of materials, routings, suppliers and open orders. Before that we tidy up with your engineering and production planning teams – outdated versions and duplicates stay behind.
That depends on which interfaces your machines and systems offer – we check this in the analysis and give you an honest answer. Where a direct connection isn't worthwhile, your team reports back via tablet and barcode at the work centre.
That depends on the scope – a serious figure is only possible after the analysis. We work in stages, and each one ends with something that is in productive use. You see results early and stay in control of pace and budget.
No. Odoo can run as the plant system alongside SAP: production is managed in Odoo, while master data and postings are synchronised with the group system. More on this under SAP and Odoo.
How seamless is your manufacturing today?
In 30 minutes we clarify where you stand, what is worth doing and what a sensible next step looks like. No obligation, no slide show.