Odoo for manufacturing & engineering
Odoo ERP for UK manufacturers who want control from quote to cash.
We implement Odoo Manufacturing, Inventory, Quality and Accounting as one connected system, so you plan against real capacity, know your true job costs and can trace every batch.
- Odoo Partner
- ISO 27001 and ISO 9001
- UK-based team
- Fixed milestones
and email
One database
Sales
Manufacturing!
Shop Floor
Inventory!
Purchase
Quality
Maintenance
Accounting!Production plan rebuilt in Excel every Monday
The challenge
The problems we hear from manufacturers every week.
Growth exposes the cracks in spreadsheets and ageing ERP systems. These are the issues that quietly cost you margin and on-time delivery.
Most of our manufacturing clients came to us with at least three of these.
Spreadsheets run the shop floor
Production plans live in Excel, so one change ripples through the week and nobody trusts the version in front of them.
Stock you cannot rely on
Inaccurate inventory means shortages mid-run, over-ordering to compensate and cash tied up in the wrong components.
Missed delivery dates
Without real capacity planning, promises to customers are guesses and expediting becomes a daily firefight.
Unknown true job costs
Labour, materials and overheads are reconciled weeks later, so you quote blind and discover losses after the fact.
Quality and traceability gaps
Batch, serial and inspection records are scattered, making audits, recalls and ISO evidence slow and stressful.
Disconnected systems
Sales, production, purchasing and accounts use separate tools, so data is re-keyed and errors multiply.
How Odoo runs your factory
One system for every step, from the plan to the shop floor to the books.
We implement Odoo around how you actually manufacture. Pick an area to see what changes for your team.
Odoo Manufacturing
Plan production
Plan every order against real capacity, not a spreadsheet.
- Multi-level bills of materials, kits, by-products and variants
- Work centres with capacity, working hours and time off
- Master Production Schedule to plan from forecast demand
- Manufacturing orders scheduled with component availability shown
One change to the plan ripples through the week, and nobody trusts the version in front of them.
The schedule updates itself when orders, stock or capacity change.
Odoo Shop Floor
Run the shop floor
Give every work centre a tablet with live work orders and instructions.
- Operators see the next job, step-by-step instructions and drawings
- Time and quantities recorded as work happens
- Lots and serial numbers captured at each step
- IoT boxes connect devices such as scales and measuring tools
Paper job cards come back days later, if at all.
Progress, scrap and labour time are visible in real time.
Odoo Quality
Control quality
Build checks into receipts and operations, so quality is recorded, not chased.
- Quality control points on receipts, operations or deliveries
- Pass/fail, measurement, photo and instruction checks
- Quality alerts assigned to teams with root cause and actions
- Results linked to the lot, operation and operator
Inspection sheets live in folders and audits mean days of digging.
Every check sits on the record it belongs to, ready for audits and ISO evidence.
Odoo PLM
Manage engineering change
Control BoM and routing changes with approvals and version history.
- Engineering change orders (ECOs) with approval stages
- Versioned bills of materials and operations
- Drawings and documents attached to the product
- Changes applied to production only once approved
Engineering changes are emailed around and the shop floor builds the old revision.
Everyone builds from the approved version, with a full change history.
Odoo Maintenance
Keep machines running
Plan maintenance so breakdowns stop derailing the schedule.
- Equipment register linked to work centres
- Preventive maintenance on a schedule, plus corrective requests
- Maintenance downtime blocked in the production plan
- Reliability indicators such as MTBF and MTTR
Machines are fixed when they break, and production finds out last.
Planned maintenance is in the schedule before it starts.
Odoo Inventory and Barcode
Control stock
Know what you have, where it is and what you need to buy.
- Multi-warehouse and multi-location stock
- Lot and serial number traceability, forwards and backwards
- Reordering rules and routes such as make to order
- Barcode scanning for receipts, picking and stock counts
Stock counts are guesses, so you over-order to stay safe.
Accurate stock levels and full batch genealogy for recalls.
Odoo Purchase
Buy and subcontract
Turn shortages into purchase orders before they stop production.
- Requests for quotation generated from reorder rules and orders
- Vendor prices and lead times used in planning
- Subcontracting with component resupply to the subcontractor
- Receipts matched to purchase orders and bills
Buyers chase shortages discovered mid-run.
Purchasing is driven by real demand and lead times.
Odoo Accounting
Know your true costs
See the actual cost of every manufacturing order, not an estimate.
- Component, work centre and labour costs on each manufacturing order
- Work-in-progress and inventory valuation entries
- Standard, average or FIFO costing
- UK VAT reporting in the same database
Job costs are reconciled weeks later, so losses are found after the fact.
Margins by product, customer and order, as work happens.
Shop Floor, Quality, PLM and the Master Production Schedule are part of Odoo Enterprise.
However you manufacture
Odoo fits the way you make things.
Most manufacturers run more than one mode. Odoo handles each with its own route, so every product follows the right flow.
Build to forecast and keep popular products on the shelf.
- 1Forecast
- 2Reordering rule or MPS
- 3Manufacturing order
- 4Stock
- Reordering rules trigger manufacturing and purchase orders when stock falls below minimum
- The Master Production Schedule plans production from forecast demand
- Finished goods and components valued in real time
Start production only when a customer orders.
- 1Sales order
- 2Manufacturing order
- 3Components reserved
- 4Delivery
- Make to order routes create a manufacturing order from each confirmed sales order
- The sales order and manufacturing order stay linked for traceability
- Customers get delivery dates based on real availability
Build products to each customer's specification.
- 1Configured quote
- 2Variant BoM or ECO
- 3Project tasks
- 4Manufacturing order
- Product variants with BoM lines that apply only to the chosen options
- Engineering change orders in PLM for custom designs
- Engineering time tracked in Projects and timesheets against the order
Combine approaches product by product, in-house or outsourced.
- 1Route per product
- 2In-house or subcontract
- 3Quality check
- 4Stock or ship
- Routes set per product, so stock lines and custom lines run side by side
- Subcontracting with components resupplied to the subcontractor
- One-, two- or three-step manufacturing to pick, produce and store
Follow one order
Watch one customer order flow through your entire business.
In most growing businesses, a single order is re-typed five or six times: from an email, to a spreadsheet, to the warehouse, to accounts. Every handover adds delay and a chance to get it wrong. With Odoo ERP implemented by a UK Odoo partner who designs the whole flow, the order is entered once and every team sees it instantly, from first enquiry to cash in the bank.
Press play, or pick any stage to see what changes
Stage 1 of 8 · Enquiry
Odoo CRM: every enquiry captured and followed up
BeforeEnquiries arrive by email, phone and web forms, then live in inboxes and notebooks. Some are never followed up.
With OdooEvery enquiry lands in Odoo CRM automatically, is assigned to the right person and has its next activity scheduled before anyone forgets.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Leads captured from your website and inbox
- Pipeline with scheduled activities and reminders
- Win and loss reporting by source
Stage 2 of 8 · Quote
Odoo Sales: professional quotes in minutes
BeforeQuotes are built in Word or Excel, prices are checked by hand and approvals are chased by email.
With OdooQuotes are built from live price lists and stock, accepted online with an e-signature, and confirmed into a sales order in one click.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Customer price lists and discounts
- Online quote acceptance and e-signature
- Margin visible on every line
Stage 3 of 8 · Stock and buying
Odoo Inventory and Purchase: stock that plans itself
BeforeNobody is sure what is really in stock, so sales over-promise and buyers over-order to be safe.
With OdooConfirmed orders reserve stock instantly. Reordering rules raise purchase orders for anything short, so buyers act on facts, not guesses.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Real-time stock across every warehouse
- Automatic reordering rules
- Supplier prices and lead times on every order
Stage 4 of 8 · Make
Odoo Manufacturing: production that runs to plan
BeforeProduction plans live on a whiteboard, bills of materials sit in spreadsheets and product costs are a guess.
With OdooManufacturing orders are created from real demand, with bills of materials, work centres, quality checks and actual costs tracked as you build.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Multi-level bills of materials and routings
- Quality checks at the right step
- Real cost per product, not estimates
Stage 5 of 8 · Dispatch
Odoo Barcode and shipping: pick, pack and ship without errors
BeforePickers work from printed lists, mistakes are found by customers and couriers are booked on separate websites.
With OdooYour team picks and packs with barcode scanners, shipping labels come from integrated carriers and customers receive tracking automatically.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Scan-based picking, packing and receiving
- Carrier labels and tracking from Odoo
- Lot and serial number traceability
Stage 6 of 8 · Invoice and cash
Odoo Accounting: invoiced on delivery, paid faster
BeforeInvoices are typed up days later, bank lines are matched by hand and the VAT return takes a week.
With OdooInvoices are created from what was delivered, bank feeds reconcile automatically and Making Tax Digital VAT returns go straight to HMRC from Odoo.
Odoo apps at this stage
- HMRC-recognised for Making Tax Digital VAT
- Automatic bank reconciliation
- Online payment links on every invoice
Stage 7 of 8 · Aftercare
Odoo Helpdesk and Field Service: aftercare that wins repeat business
BeforeSupport requests get lost in a shared inbox and engineers turn up without the right history or parts.
With OdooTickets are tracked against SLAs, engineers see full customer and product history on their phone, and repairs are invoiced straight away.
Odoo apps at this stage
- SLA tracking and customer portal
- Mobile job sheets for engineers
- Repairs and parts invoiced on completion
Stage 8 of 8 · Insight
Odoo dashboards and AI: decisions in real time
BeforeMonth-end reports are stitched together from five systems and are out of date by the time anyone reads them.
With OdooLive dashboards and spreadsheets read straight from one database, and Odoo AI agents can draft, summarise and update records for your team.
Odoo apps at this stage
- Live dashboards across every department
- Spreadsheets linked to real ERP data
- AI agents that work inside your Odoo
How many times is your order re-typed today? In a free 30-minute call, a certified Odoo consultant will map your quote-to-cash flow and show you where the time goes.
What changes
What changes when your operation runs on one system.
The outcomes manufacturing clients typically see once the new platform is embedded.
Schedules you can trust
Capacity-based planning replaces spreadsheets, so delivery dates are realistic and met.
Leaner inventory
Accurate stock and reorder rules reduce shortages and free up working capital.
Margins you can see
Live job costing shows profitability by product, customer and order.
Audit-ready traceability
Batch and quality records are captured as work happens, not reconstructed later.
How we deliver
A clear, proven path from first workshop to go-live.
Every engagement follows SCALE, our five-phase delivery framework, so you always know what happens next, who is doing it and what it costs.
Scope
We map your quote-to-cash and production flows on site, including BoMs, routings and costing.
Craft
We design the target process and a phased roadmap, tackling the biggest bottlenecks first.
Assemble
We configure MRP, inventory and finance, migrate item and BoM data and connect your other tools.
Launch
Your team is trained by role, we run a parallel period and go live with hands-on support.
Evolve
We track adoption, tune planning parameters and add modules such as quality or PLM as you grow.
Related solutions
Services manufacturers often combine.
Odoo ERP implementation
Full ERP rollout with manufacturing, inventory and accounting, delivered in fixed milestones.
Learn moreBI, reporting and analytics
Board-level dashboards across production, stock and finance.
Learn more
ERP project rescue
Already on Odoo but it is not working? We review, fix and stabilise it.
Learn moreTry before you commit
Start a free Odoo trial
Explore Odoo Manufacturing, Inventory and Accounting yourself, then talk to us about fit. Starting your trial through Thoughtlogik links it to us as your partner, so help is on hand from day one.
FAQs
Questions manufacturers ask us about Odoo
Can't see your question? Book a free call and speak to a certified Odoo consultant.
Is Odoo a good ERP for UK manufacturers?
Yes, for most small and mid-sized manufacturers. Odoo combines manufacturing, inventory, purchasing, quality and accounting in one database, with UK VAT reporting built in. It suits make to stock, make to order, configure to order and mixed operations, and grows with you as you add apps.
Which Odoo apps does a manufacturer need?
Most start with Manufacturing, Inventory, Purchase, Sales and Accounting. Depending on your process, we add Shop Floor for operators, Quality for inspections, PLM for engineering change, Maintenance for equipment and Barcode for warehouse scanning.
Do we need Odoo Enterprise?
For manufacturing, usually yes. Shop Floor, Quality, PLM and the Master Production Schedule are part of Odoo Enterprise. We will confirm the right edition and number of users in a free consultation.
Can you migrate our BoMs and stock from our current system?
Yes. We migrate products, bills of materials, routings, open stock with lots and serials, customers, suppliers and open orders, whether you are moving from Sage, an older ERP or spreadsheets. Data is cleaned and tested before go-live.
Do you support make to order and engineer to order?
Yes. Odoo uses routes to run make to order and make to stock side by side, and supports configured products with variant bills of materials. For engineered products we use PLM change orders and Projects to track engineering work against the order.
How long does a manufacturing implementation take?
It depends on the number of sites, products, integrations and how much data needs cleaning. After the scoping workshop we agree a phased plan with fixed milestones and pricing, starting with the biggest bottlenecks first.
Can Odoo integrate with our existing tools?
Yes. Odoo connects to e-commerce, shipping carriers, EDI and other systems through its APIs and connectors, and IoT boxes link shop-floor devices such as scales. We design and test every integration as part of the project.
Start your project
Ready to modernise your manufacturing operations?
Tell us about your business and goals. A certified consultant will get back to you within one working day with practical next steps.
- Free, no-obligation consultation
- UK-based Odoo partner
- Clear plan, milestones and pricing