Short answer: Odoo Manufacturing (MRP) is the production module of Odoo ERP. It manages bills of materials (BoMs), work centers, manufacturing orders and work orders, planning, quality control, equipment maintenance and product costing in one system. When a sale is confirmed, it calculates the materials needed, reserves them in stock, schedules the order against machine capacity and works out the cost of the finished goods automatically.
For many plant managers the day is spent putting out fires. Nobody is sure which stage an order has reached or whether there is enough raw material for next week, and staff performance is judged by eye. Excel and a foreman's notebook work while volumes are small, but as orders grow, mistakes start costing customers and money.
This article explains how the Odoo Manufacturing module is built and which problem each part solves. It is based on a walkthrough by Deep Vision's Odoo expert Abdulloh Najmiddinov, who has 8 years of hands-on manufacturing experience, using a demo beverage company called "Fresh Drinks". For the industry-level view (which modules a factory needs and how to run the project), see Odoo ERP for manufacturing companies.
What is the Odoo Manufacturing (MRP) module?
Odoo Manufacturing is the Odoo app that plans the journey from raw materials to finished goods, tracks its execution and calculates its cost. MRP stands for Material Requirements Planning or, more broadly, Manufacturing Resource Planning.
It shares one database with Sales, Inventory, Purchase and Accounting: production sees an order once the sale is confirmed, shortages trigger purchase requests, and finished goods cost reaches the books automatically.
The core concepts:
- Bill of materials (BoM): what a product is made of and which operations it goes through.
- Work center: where the work happens: a line, a machine, a workshop or a crew.
- Manufacturing order (MO): an instruction to produce a given quantity.
- Work order: a single operation within an MO, such as "mixing" or "bottling".
- Related apps: Quality, Maintenance, PLM and the Master Production Schedule (MPS).
Which problems does Odoo Manufacturing solve?
In Abdulloh Najmiddinov's experience, most manufacturers struggle with the same three problems:
- No planning: it is unclear when an order will start and finish.
- No resource control: material consumption and stock levels are not tracked accurately.
- No workforce visibility: who worked how long and how many units they produced is not recorded anywhere.
The sections below show which part of the module addresses each one.
Video: see Odoo Manufacturing in action
Abdulloh Najmiddinov walks through planning, the MRP module and employee reports on a real interface, using the soft drinks producer "Fresh Drinks" as the example.
Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=jGwhrpef7G8
What is a bill of materials and how do you set one up in Odoo?
A bill of materials (BoM) is a product's recipe: which raw materials, in what quantities and through which operations, are needed to make one unit. All production accounting in Odoo rests on it.
In the Fresh Drinks example, the BoM for a bottle of lemonade or cola is entered once: water, sugar, flavouring, the bottle and other components, each with an exact quantity. Whether the next order is for 50, 100 or more units, the system calculates the materials needed and consumes the right components from stock.
How to set it up:
- Open the finished product and enable the Manufacture route.
- Add the components with quantities and units of measure (kg, litre, piece). Odoo converts units, so sugar can be bought in kilograms and consumed in grams.
- Define the operations (mixing, bottling, packing), each linked to a work center with a standard duration.
- Separate semi-finished goods. If the syrup has its own BoM, you get a multi-level structure.
- Record by-products and waste so they are accounted for too.
One BoM can cover several product variants (size, flavour). Besides standard manufacturing there are kits and subcontracting BoMs, and the PLM app manages BoM versions if recipes change often.
What is a work center and why do you need one?
A work center is the digital twin of a place where work is done: a machine, a line, a workshop or a team. It tells the system where an operation happens, how long it takes and what it costs.
On a work center you configure:
- Working hours: shifts and days off.
- Capacity: how many units can be processed at once.
- Time efficiency: actual speed compared with the standard.
- Setup and cleanup time: changing a line over between products.
- Cost per hour: equipment and labour cost that flows into product cost.
- Alternative work centers: where work goes if the main machine is busy.
- OEE target: the goal for overall equipment effectiveness.
In a beverage plant these could be "mixing tank", "bottling line" and "packing", each with its own production time per product.
How do manufacturing orders and work orders work?
A manufacturing order (MO) says "produce this quantity by this date"; work orders are the tasks for each operation inside it.
In practice the flow looks like this:
- A sales manager or production specialist enters the product and quantity, or the MO is created automatically when the customer's order is confirmed.
- The order is confirmed and released to production; the system checks and reserves the components.
- A work order is created for each operation and queued at its work center.
- Operators start, pause and finish work on a tablet or shop-floor computer and record the quantity they produced.
- The system calculates the completion percentage per machine and the expected finish time.
- When the MO is closed, materials are consumed from stock and finished goods are received.
Operators see instructions on screen and can use barcode scanners. Partial batches create a backorder for the rest, and defects are recorded as scrap. The director sees at any moment when each order started and when it will finish.
How do you plan production in Odoo?
Production planning means sequencing orders by deadline, material availability and work center load. It answers the question "what do we start first?".
Say your sales team signs three contracts in one day: the first customer expects delivery in 5 days, the second in 3, the third in 7. On paper or in Excel this is hard to get right, and one mistake can cost a customer.
Odoo handles it like this:
- Deadline-driven scheduling. Each MO carries the deadline from the sales order, and orders are sequenced to meet their deadlines.
- Automatic duration calculation. If you know the approximate or exact time per unit, Odoo multiplies it for any quantity (1,000 units, 2,000 units and so on) to give the total order time. Durations can also be updated from time actually tracked on recent work orders.
- Gantt chart by work center. You see when each machine is busy and can drag operations to reschedule.
- Replenishment rules. With make-to-order (MTO), each sale creates its own MO; min/max reordering rules keep a stock buffer.
- Master Production Schedule (MPS). A weekly or monthly plan based on demand forecasts suggests what to buy and produce.
If materials are short, Odoo proposes a request for quotation (RFQ) to the supplier. Stock levels, lots and locations are covered in our article on the Odoo Inventory module.
How is quality control organised?
Odoo Quality builds mandatory checks into chosen production steps and records non-conformities. An order cannot be closed until its planned checks are done.
Types of checks:
- Pass / fail: a simple visual inspection.
- Measurement: for example sugar content or bottle volume, with tolerances.
- Take a picture: documenting packaging or labels.
- Instructions: steps the operator must follow.
When a defect is found, a quality alert goes to the responsible team. Combined with lot and serial number tracking, you can trace which materials went into a faulty batch and which customers received it.
Abdulloh Najmiddinov notes that the remark heard most often after go-live is that production errors drop sharply. Before, a worker would often finish a part, discover later that a mistake had been made at some stage, and spend another 3–4 days reworking it. Once every stage is controlled in the system, that rework practically disappears.
How do you schedule equipment maintenance?
The Maintenance app keeps an equipment register, plans preventive and corrective repairs and links them to work centers.
- Preventive maintenance: for example, a line inspection every 30 days is scheduled automatically.
- Repair requests: operators report a breakdown straight away, including from the work order screen.
- Calendar: so maintenance does not clash with the production plan.
- Statistics: MTBF (mean time between failures) and MTTR (mean time to repair).
Unplanned stoppages fall, and planners know in advance when a machine will be down.
How does Odoo calculate product cost?
Product cost = components consumed + time at work centers × cost per hour (plus employee hourly cost if you track it). Odoo calculates it automatically when each MO is closed.
- Standard cost. "Compute Price from BoM" on the product gives a planned cost; the BoM structure report shows each component's share.
- Actual cost. Cost analysis per MO shows variances: overconsumption, scrap, long setups.
- Valuation methods. Standard price, average cost (AVCO) or FIFO; with automated valuation, journal entries are posted for you.
- Currency. Materials imported in dollars or another currency are converted to sum at the exchange rate, and freight and customs can be allocated to product cost.
Agree the costing policy with your chief accountant. For the accounting side, see the Odoo Accounting module.
How can you track employee productivity?
Odoo records who worked on each work order, for how long and how many units they produced, so productivity is measured with numbers rather than impressions.
You can view the data for any period, from a year down to a single hour, and see:
- how much time each employee worked;
- how many units each employee produced;
- the reasons for downtime and the OEE figure.
For hourly or piece-rate pay, export this data to Excel or pass it to payroll. Full payroll under Uzbek law needs separate configuration or an integration.
What should manufacturers in Uzbekistan take into account?
Local manufacturers also need to handle product marking, e-invoicing, foreign currency and, often, an existing 1C database.
- Asl Belgisi marking. Digital marking is mandatory for certain product groups, including beverages. Deep Vision has a ready-made Asl Belgisi module for Odoo; check the current list of covered goods with official sources. See our Asl Belgisi guide.
- E-invoices and MXIK (IKPU) codes. Sales invoices go out through Didox, and we have a ready module for that too: Didox integration.
- Working alongside 1C. If accounting stays in 1C for now, choose early between integration and a phased migration.
- Shop-floor conditions. Operator screens are simplified, tablets are used on the floor, and alerts can be sent to Telegram through an integration.
Implementing Odoo Manufacturing: a step-by-step plan
- Map the process from order intake to dispatch.
- Clean up master data: product names, units of measure, MXIK codes.
- Build BoMs for best-sellers first, then add the rest.
- Set up work centers and operations and check standard times against real measurements.
- Load opening stock from a physical count.
- Pilot on one line and train operators.
- Go live across the plant, then add Quality, Maintenance and MPS.
Full methodology: Odoo ERP implementation guide.
Checklist: is your plant ready?
- Are recipes and consumption standards written down for every product?
- Do you have a list of work centers, shifts and machines?
- Has stock been confirmed by a physical count?
- Do operators have tablets or computers on the floor?
- Have you decided where quality checks happen?
- Is there an internal project owner, such as the production manager?
- Are your marking and e-invoicing requirements clear?
Community or Enterprise: which edition do you need?
Odoo Community includes the core Manufacturing app: BoMs, manufacturing orders, work orders and work centers. Quality, PLM, MPS and the tablet shop-floor interface are part of Enterprise. Edition differences change over time, so check the current list on odoo.com. Full comparison: Odoo Community vs Enterprise.
How can Deep Vision help?
Deep Vision is an official Odoo Gold Partner in Tashkent, with 7 certified specialists and 26 client projects listed in the Odoo partner directory. On manufacturing projects we draw on Abdulloh Najmiddinov's 8 years of hands-on production experience.
- Process analysis, BoM and work center setup, data migration.
- Integration with Sales, Inventory, Purchase and Accounting; ready modules for Asl Belgisi and Didox.
- Training for operators and managers, support after go-live.
- Typical project length: 2–6 months, depending on scope.
Service details: Odoo implementation. Want to know which setup fits your plant? Fill in a short brief.
Frequently asked questions
Is Odoo Manufacturing free?
The core Manufacturing app is available in Odoo Community with no licence fee. Quality, PLM and MPS require an Enterprise subscription. Either way, budget for setup, hosting and training.
What is the difference between MRP and ERP?
MRP covers production planning and material requirements. ERP runs the whole company: sales, inventory, purchasing, finance and HR. In Odoo, MRP is a module inside the ERP.
What is a BoM in simple terms?
A product recipe: which materials, how much of each and which operations are needed for one unit. You enter it once, and consumption for every order is calculated automatically.
Does Odoo calculate product cost automatically?
Yes. Each order's cost is calculated from component values and time spent at work centers, and you can compare planned with actual cost.
Is Odoo Manufacturing suitable for a small workshop?
Yes, if your products follow recipes and you need stock control. Start with BoMs and manufacturing orders; add work centers and quality control later.
How long does implementation take?
Usually 2–6 months depending on scope; most of the time goes into master data and BoMs.
Does Odoo work with Asl Belgisi marking?
Standard Odoo has no Uzbek marking support, but Deep Vision's ready-made Asl Belgisi module connects it to Odoo.
Can hourly or piece-rate pay be calculated?
Yes. Odoo records each employee's time and output, which can be exported to Excel or passed to payroll through configuration.
Conclusion
Odoo Manufacturing tackles three core production problems: no planning, no resource control and no objective measure of people's work. BoMs, work centers, work orders, Quality and Maintenance each close one gap, and product cost is calculated automatically. Success depends less on the software than on clean data and a well-run implementation.
Do these problems sound familiar? Fill in a brief for a free consultation or call +998 77 093 00 07.