6 Manufacturing Challenges and How Odoo MRP Solves Them

Manufacturers today have to deal with various challenges from demand forecasting, inventory management, and production planning, to quality control and cost analysis. These challenges can affect the manufacturing business’s productivity, profitability, and reputation.

To cope with these challenges, manufacturers need a robust and integrated ERP solution that can streamline the entire process, optimise resources and cost, and enable them to make better decisions. This is where Odoo MRP comes in, a solution specifically designed for manufacturing businesses to cover all aspects of production from design to delivery. 

We are going to explore the six challenges that are driving manufacturers to take on digital transformation projects and examine why Odoo MRP is the best technology ROI for manufacturers in tackling their pain points. 

6 manufacturing challenges and how Odoo MRP takes the lead in addressing them

Manufacturing Challenge #1: Inaccurate Production Planning & Scheduling

Production planning and scheduling are critical aspects of manufacturing. If the production plan is inaccurate or unrealistic, it can lead to various problems such as delays, bottlenecks, idle time, excess inventory, customer dissatisfaction, etc. However, manufacturers often must deal with:

• Inadequate or unreliable data on inventory levels, demand forecasts, production capacities, and resource availability;
• Lack of real-time data across departments (i.e., production line, warehouse);
• Inadequate visibility into the status of ongoing production and real-time data;

How Odoo MRP lays these challenges to bed:

Odoo MRP allows manufacturers to better plan and schedule their production, including:

• Gain a comprehensive view of the entire planning process and easily adjust the manufacturing schedule as needed;
• Access to all available resources and proactively plan your production;
• Monitor the availability of items in the warehouse and production timelines with precision;
• Use the MRP Scheduler to plan your work at each work center, based on their OEE and capacity.

Manufacturing Challenge #2: Quality Uncertainty

Quality stands as a paramount factor exerting a significant impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty. Poor quality can result in defects, rework, scrap, returns, complaints, etc. which can affect the reputation and profitability of the manufacturing business.

Manufacturers today face some issues such as:

• Inadequate data management systems, hindering traceability and making it difficult to identify and rectify quality issues;
• Poor communication between different departments or teams, leading to misunderstandings and quality control problems;
• Variations in the quality of raw materials or components supplied by external vendors;

How Odoo MRP helps manufacturers solve this pain point

Odoo enables manufacturers to ensure the quality of their products with its Quality modules and features such as:

• Allows manufacturers to define their quality standards, procedures, policies, etc., and create quality control points at different stages of the production process;
• Perform quality checks and record the results and actions;
• Report and track any quality issues that occur during the production process and take corrective and preventive actions;
• Analyse the quality performance and trends with reports and dashboards;

Manufacturing Challenge #3: Cost Control Issue

Managing operational costs is an ongoing challenge for manufacturers. Cost impacts on the profitability and competitiveness of the manufacturing business. High costs can result from various factors such as waste, inefficiency, overstocking, understocking, etc. that can affect the bottom line of the manufacturing business.

How Odoo MRP enables manufacturers to control cost more efficiently

• Track the cost of each manufacturing order based on the cost of the components and the cost of your operations (labor or material).
• Odoo MRP seamlessly integrates with the Accounting module, enabling manufacturers to record and manage their financial transactions and track data on the costs and revenues of the production process.

Manufacturing Challenge #4: Manage the production process

The manufacturing process can be complex and dynamic, depending on the type, size, and complexity of the products. The manufacturing process can also involve various activities such as design, engineering, fabrication, assembly, testing, packaging, etc. It can affect the quality, efficiency, and profitability of the manufacturing business. Manufacturers often struggle with:

• Lack of a clear and consistent process flow and sequence;
• Manually manage production activities and operations;
• Lack of flexibility and adaptability to the changes in demand, supply, or specifications;

How Odoo MRP streamlines manufacturing operations

• Manage production orders for products or BOMs and assign them to different work centers or production lines;
• Track the status and progress of production orders with real-time data and alerts;
• Manage routings for products or BOMs and define the sequence and duration of each production operation or activity;
• Use barcodes to enhance the efficiency of the manufacturing processes;
• Centralise work centers and define their capacity, availability, efficiency, cost, etc. 

Manufacturing Challenge #5: Engineering Changes Issues

Engineering changes are inevitable in manufacturing. It can be driven by various factors such as customer feedback, market demand, technological innovation, quality issues, cost reduction, etc. Engineering changes can affect the manufacturing business in various ways such as increased product quality and customer satisfaction, or reduced production costs.

However, manufacturers often deal with managing their engineering changes due to:

• Lack of a standardised process for initiating, reviewing, approving, and implementing engineering changes;
• Lack of good connection between the engineering team and the production team;
• No traceability and visibility of the engineering changes and their impact on the production process;
• Lack of proper documentation and records of the engineering changes and their history;

How Odoo helps to manage engineering changes

Odoo offers manufacturers the PLM module to manage their engineering changes, which is a process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from conception to retirement.

• Easily compare differences between versions to track changes;
• Monitor changes with a great Kanban process for Engineering Change Orders (ECOs).
• Keep tabs on product versions and ECOs along with their respective documents;
• Consolidate different ECOs linked to the same Bills of Materials (BOMs);
• Store plans and worksheet on BOMs and routings for convenient access;

Manufacturing Challenge #6: Equipment Maintenance

Equipment is the backbone of the production process and it needs to be in good condition and working order to ensure the quality and efficiency of the products. Equipment failure can result in downtime, waste, defects, accidents, etc. that can affect the productivity and profitability of the manufacturing business.

Some challenges of manufacturers in managing their equipment maintenance include:

• Lack of preventive and predictive maintenance plans and schedules;
• No visibility and control over the equipment status and performance;
• Poor communication between the maintenance team and the production team;
• Lack of proper documentation and records of the maintenance activities and history

How Odoo reduces downtime with proper maintenance

Odoo MRP seamlessly integrates with the Maintenance module that allows manufacturers to:

• Define equipment, categories, serial numbers, locations, etc., and track their status and performance;
• Create preventive and predictive maintenance plans and schedules for equipment based on time intervals;
• Create work orders for maintenance and assign them to technicians;
• Analyse maintenance performance with key metrics such as downtime, costs, quality, etc.

Conclusion

The manufacturing industry faces a multitude of complex challenges, from optimising resource allocation and managing inventory effectively to ensuring equipment reliability and adhering to ever-evolving regulatory standards. Odoo MRP stands as a comprehensive solution to address critical manufacturing challenges. Its integrated features streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and optimise production processes. 

With Odoo MRP, businesses can overcome these challenges, achieve operational efficiency, and remain competitive in the ever-evolving manufacturing landscape. If you want to see Odoo MRP in action, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our experts will help you explore how Odoo MRP fits into your business.