1. Company profile
"Krishna Steel Furniture Pvt Ltd" (fictional): office chairs, storage cabinets, custom desks.
- 60 employees, 15 Odoo users; one plant with 6 work centers (cutting, bending, welding, powder coating, assembly, packing).
- 40 % standard catalogue (make-to-stock), 60 % customer-specific sizes (make-to-order).
- Powder coating is partly subcontracted.
- Today: Excel BoMs, a whiteboard for planning, Tally for accounts.
2. Pain points
Wrong material issues, no real product cost, late deliveries, no idea of WIP, rework not tracked.
3. Apps
Sales, CRM, Purchase, Inventory, Manufacturing, Quality, PLM, Maintenance, Barcode, Accounting, Planning (shifts), Sign (drawing approval), Documents.
4. Key design decisions
| Topic | Decision |
|---|---|
| Product configuration | Catalogue items as variants (size ร colour) with one BoM per template and variant-specific lines ("Apply on Variants") |
| Custom sizes | Product configurator + Product with custom attribute values; engineering creates a BoM per order via PLM ECO if needed |
| Routes | Standard: Manufacture + reorder rule (MTS). Custom: MTO + Manufacture |
| Manufacturing steps | 2 steps (pick components โ produce) so stores issue material |
| Work centers | Each with capacity, cost/hour, OEE target, working schedule; work-order dependencies for parallel ops |
| Costing | Category FIFO or AVCO, automated valuation; work-center cost per hour on the BoM operations |
| Subcontracting | Powder coating as an operation-level subcontract (BoM type subcontracting for the coated sub-assembly) with resupply |
| Quality | QCP on receipt (sheet thickness), in-process (weld check, Pass-Fail), final (measure dimensions) |
| Maintenance | Preventive maintenance on press brakes every 250 h; equipment linked to work centers |
| By-products | Steel scrap as a by-product (value at scrap rate) |
5. Step-by-step configuration
- Manufacturing > Settings: Work Orders โ, Work Order Dependencies โ, By-Products โ, Unlock MO โ, Quality โ, MPS โ, Subcontracting โ, Lots & Serials (serial for chairs: warranty).
- Work centers: Cutting (capacity 1, โน600/h, setup 10 min), Welding (capacity 2), Powder Coating (subcontract), Assembly (capacity 4), Packing. Alternative work centers for overload.
- Products: raw materials (sheet steel in kg, tubes in m, castors in units), semi-finished (frame), finished (chair). Correct UoM categories (kg, m, units).
- BoMs:
- Chair = Frame (sub-BoM, manufacture) + seat + castor ร5 + screws (kit or consumable).
- Operations: Cut 6 min โ Bend 4 min โ Weld 12 min โ Coat (subcontract) โ Assemble 8 min โ Pack 2 min.
- BoM Miscellaneous tab: Operation dependencies (Assembly blocked by Coating).
- By-product: steel scrap 0.3 kg.
- Warehouse: Manufacture = Pick components then manufacture (2 steps).
- Routes on products: catalogue = Manufacture + reorder rule; custom = Replenish on Order (MTO) + Manufacture; raw material = Buy + reorder.
- Quality control points: Receipt of steel sheet (Measure thickness 1.2 ยฑ 0.05 mm); Weld operation (Pass-Fail with photo); Final (Instructions).
- MPS for catalogue items: monthly forecast, safety stock.
- Planning: shifts for operators; Shop Floor on tablets at each work center (employees log in with badge/PIN).
- PLM: ECO types "New product", "BoM change"; approvals by the engineering head.
6. To-be process
- Sales quotes with the configurator โ SO confirmed โ MO auto-created (MTO) with the deadline from the customer commitment date.
- Planner opens MO Gantt / work-order Gantt (v20) โ plans by capacity.
- Stores validate the Pick Components transfer (barcode).
- Operators use Shop Floor: start the timer, register production, quality checks, scrap with replenish.
- Coating goes out to the subcontractor (resupply transfer) and comes back.
- Final QC โ finished goods into stock โ delivery โ invoice.
- MO Overview shows real vs expected cost; production analysis by work center (OEE).
7. Costing logic
Product cost = ฮฃ component cost + ฮฃ (operation time ร work-center cost/h) (+ subcontract fee). In Odoo 20, the MO overview shows provisional cost during production and real cost when done; subcontracted receipts without a PO are valued from the vendor pricelist.
8. KPIs
OEE per work center, on-time MO completion, scrap %, cost variance (expected vs real), WIP value, lead time quote โ delivery.
9. Pitfalls
- Don't model every screw. Use consumable products or a kit for low-value hardware.
- Keep routings realistic; wrong times make planning useless.
- Train supervisors to close MOs daily; open MOs distort stock and WIP.
- Odoo 20 forces flexible consumption on all MOs. Review your consumption-control habits.
10. Version notes
| v18 | v19 | v20 |
|---|---|---|
| Shop Floor app, BoM overview, MPS | MO Gantt, operation costing (real vs fixed), multiple serials per MO, employee cost into valuation | Continuous production, work-order Gantt & Kanban, split MOs, compare BoMs (PLM), single Produce button, backorder planning, auto lot/serial on close |