Odoo Metal ERP

When it comes to the metal industry, there are complex requirements that need to be accommodated, and unique challenges that need to be conquered, in order to facilitate the production line. Additionally, in order to optimize business processes key components such as inventory management, particularly when it comes to tracking and identifying products is crucial to a company’s success. A great way to manage these elements is via business management software. Particularly ones that can eliminate multiple islands of information and provide real-time data for managerial level decisions. These software, also known as enterprise resource planning (ERP), essentially manage and integrate business processes of an entire company through a single system. This not only helps streamline operations, it can also provide higher-ups with real-time data; a key component in making managerial-based decisions.

Odoo ERP

Odoo, also known as On-Demand Open Object, is an enterprise resource planning that combines a suite of business management software tools that can be used company-wide. Though ideal for SMEs, Odoo works for all business types and caters to practically all industries across the globe. In addition to having 30 enterprise apps (licensed) and over 18,000 Community apps (free and open-source), Odoo is known for its cost effective and modular solutions. With the majority of its apps being open-sources, developers can easily tweak them in order to tailor them to a specific company. This means, with Odoo, you don’t have to change your company to fit an ERP – instead, Odoo works around your company’s needs and requirements. Furthermore, with countless integrations available, no matter what other platform you may be using to meet your business needs, the platform can be seamlessly integrated into Odoo.

Each app helps companies with one part of their business; and there are specific apps for specific issues. For example, the Sales team may require an app that helps boost sales, while an Accounting team may require an app that helps manage finances. Likewise, there are apps that amplify marketing, build a website, among many other things. Apps are also segregated by company departments in order to ease the search (i.e. Human Resources apps include apps created to facilitate recruitment, to manage employees work hours, and such).

Odoo for the Metal Industry

As established, Odoo works for a plethora of verticals; the Metal Industry being one of them. Let’s take a real-life example: where the client is within the metal industry and their task is to purchase different types of metals from vendors, customize them, and then ship it off to customers. Now, without an ERP system the workflow can get messy – particularly if things are not tracked and managed correctly.

So what kinds of Odoo integrations can be implemented for this client?

Measure Quality of Metal

When you are working with metals, their quality matters. Especially to customers who are purchasing the metal at a certain price point due to its ‘quality’ over another. As such, a key feature for the metal industry is a quality control report.

When customers place an order from a metal manufacturer, they expect a quality report that states how much of each type of metal is present in the product ordered. An ideal quality report needs to be descriptive and specific, stating the exact percentage of metal (i.e. 10% silicon, 40% phosphorus, 5% carbon, etc.) present in the ordered placed.

This establishes that the vendor is supplying high quality metals, while the client is getting exactly what they are paying for. Fortunately, while not an out-of-the-box functionality, Odoo has the capability to get this done.

Finance & Accounting

• Automate Inventory

Let’s turn to numbers. When it comes to manufacturing or inventory, companies within the metal industry need to work with numbers in order to gauge what’s happening within the company in real-time, and make decisions accordingly. Not only can Odoo automate a manufacturing order, any time raw materials get used, that number is automatically removed from the ‘current inventory’ – updating it in real-time. This allows whoever is overseeing the quantity of products to make decisions on whether the inventory needs to be restocked without guessing or estimating how long the current stock will last.

• Customized Production Accounting Entries

The client also had another issue that was rectified with Odoo. The manufacturing orders were not reflecting all the costs accumulated. For example: Product A would cost $12.00 and Product B would cost $10.00, however the final price on the production accounting entries would appear as $24.00. That extra $2.00 was a cost incurred at a sorting workcenter, however the production accounting entry did not reflect that. With Odoo infinite customization possibilities, that issue was solved. Ultimately, the customization allowed the client to get a production account in the work center as well as separate accounting entries.

• Real-Time Database Updates

Metals prices aren’t static. In fact, every time they fluctuate, so do the buy prices. As a company in the metal industry, you want the updates made in real-time so that precise cost prices can be calculated. Odoo metal ERP can be customized in a way to allow the ERP system to update every time there is a price change. Additionally, supplier contracts and special pricing (per season or per sale) can also be stored within the system against the supplier record.

Custom Barcode

Another fantastic addition via the Odoo ERP was a custom barcode for the client’s products. It is important to note that this isn’t necessarily an out-of-box functionality. In fact, Odoo’s Barcode is not only well-verse for operations and inventory, it is also flexible and adaptable for manufacturing. This is all due to Odoo’s open-source apps and ability to customize almost anything – which facilitates marking, as well as managing and tracking products. If you’re curious to learn more about custom Odoo barcodes, click here.

Lot Number Tracking

This Odoo Metal ERP customization allows companies within the metal industry to have the same lot number throughout the manufacturing process. This means that the exact same lot number will be carried over to the product, in spite of every additional step. Not only does this make tracking easy, it also creates a hierarchy that company individuals can use to retrace their steps if needed.

Business Intelligence

The biggest outcome of this ERP implementation was the company’s ability to access real-time data in order to make management decisions.

Detailed MRPs

Odoo allows users to create detailed material resource planning with little to not effort. In fact, the Odoo Metal ERP essentially does all the heavy lifting while, in turn, providing you with detailed chemical compositions in the metal and cross-references it with key details (i.e. sales orders, inventory levels, etc.). This relevant information lets individuals within the company prioritize their workload, optimize resources and increase efficiency.

There are countless other benefits of implementing Odoo, including chemical and materials management, warehouse and distribution, MRP and production scheduling as well as customer and supplier management and much more.

Bista Solutions | Trusted ERP Partner

Here at Bista Solutions, we have nearly two decades of experience implementing ERP solutions across various industries. Additionally, the Bista team has won Odoo Best Partner across North America for its fourth time this year. So you can rest assured, our team has the knowledge, experience and expertise to help you reach your goals. Take a look at our client video testimonials; particularly our clients at Allied Metals.

If you would like more information on how Odoo ERP can benefit companies within the metal industry, or how Odoo ERP can specifically benefit your company – don’t hesitate to give our team a call at +1 (858) 401 2332. You can also reach us via our contact form.