With its smooth integration with the Inventory, Sales, Purchase, and Accounting modules, Odoo 18's Manufacturing feature is more robust and intuitive than before. It supports a number of manufacturing techniques, such as subcontracting, make-to-order, and make-to-stock. Companies can effectively manage production from beginning to end with better scheduling, real-time tracking, and quality control. Additionally, the module offers comprehensive reporting for improved decision-making, maintenance integration, and barcode support. All things considered, Odoo 18 offers a scalable and adaptable solution for contemporary manufacturing processes.
In certain production situations, after a manufacturing order (MO) is confirmed, modifications to the raw material needs may occur. Production teams may discover, for example, that more materials are required as a result of unforeseen waste, design modifications, or quality problems. Once an MO has been verified in Odoo 18, it is locked to preserve data integrity and stop unwanted modifications. To enable the required changes, authorised users, such as administrators, can unlock the MO. Flexibility is guaranteed while crucial production data is still under control thanks to this unlock feature. Users are unable to modify raw material quantities without unlocking, even if doing so is necessary to finish the production. This control preserves traceability and helps prevent unintentional mistakes. Thus, the ability to unlock a verified MO is essential for maintaining process consistency while responding to real-time production demands.
Allowing a user to change the quantity of raw materials in a confirmed manufacturing order is therefore crucial. The following main ideas highlight why it's crucial to let a user change the amounts of a confirmed manufacturing order in Odoo 18:
- Production Flexibility: Enables material quantities to be changed in response to unforeseen circumstances or current production demands.
- Error Correction: Allows users to correct errors made when creating a BoM or MO for the first time without having to start again.
- Material Variability: Assists in controlling variations in the size, quality, or usability of raw materials that impact consumption.
- Decreased Downtime: Avoids having to reschedule and cancel manufacturing orders for minor adjustments, which helps to minimise delays.
- Accurate Inventory Control: Precise inventory control guarantees that stock levels correspond to real consumption, facilitating improved procurement and planning.
- Improved Traceability: Maintains a log of all modifications made following confirmation, which is crucial for compliance and audits.
- Facilitates Customisation: Beneficial for products that are manufactured to order or customised for a customer and do not adhere to standard material specifications.
- Cost control: Assists in monitoring actual material use, cutting down on unreported expenses, and enhancing overall budgetary control.
This blog post will discuss how to lock a confirmed manufacturing order in Odoo 18. Locking guarantees that important manufacturing details cannot be altered once an order has been verified. Throughout the manufacturing process, this procedure aids in preserving accuracy, control, and uniformity.
Before starting, let's check the Access rights of the Odoo 18 Manufacturing module. In Odoo 18, access rights specify what a user can do in the system, including creating, modifying, deleting, and reading records. To provide data security and appropriate workflow control, these privileges are allocated according to user roles or groups. The two access rights in Odoo 18 Manufacturing are Administrator and User.
Open the Settings and open the User from the Users & Companies menu. A list of users is shown there.
Here, the first user is Mitchell Admin. The user Mitchell Admin has Administrator access. With complete control, an administrator can set up routings, manage bills of materials, configure the manufacturing module, and change confirmed orders as needed. These two positions contribute to security and guarantee that only authorised individuals are able to make significant modifications to the manufacturing process.
The second user is Marc Demo with access rights as a User. A user can browse, generate, and process manufacturing orders with basic access, but they are not able to change system settings or use advanced capabilities. For production workers or shop floor employees who manage daily operations, this position is perfect.
Consider a scenario where Mitchell Admin, a Production Planner, creates and verifies a manufacturing order (MO) to produce 100 units of Coffee Powder for a company using Odoo 18. One hundred units of raw material, Coffee Bean, are specified in the Bill of Materials (BoM) utilised in this MO. Later, shop floor supervisor Marc Demo discovers that 120 units of raw material, Coffee Beans, are actually required for correct production because of a change in supplier batch quality.
However, Marc Demo is unable to directly alter the raw material quantities because the MO has already been verified and locked. Marc Demo must ask the Manufacturing Administrator to unlock the MO or make the necessary adjustments because they only have "User" access rights. By limiting access to crucial changes to authorised people, this configuration preserves production process control and traceability.
So, to add a new manufacturing order, right-click on the Operation button and choose Manufacturing Orders from the list. Create a new production order and confirm the order. Here, the administrator created a Manufacturing order for the production of Coffee Powder. Here, the component is 100 Kg of Coffee Beans.
The order is created by Mitchell Admin, but if the user Marc Demo logs in, then the user can also view the created manufacturing order.
But in some cases, the user needs to add some changes to a confirmed manufacturing order. Here, the user Marc Demo can’t alter the raw material quantities at all. In such situations, Odoo 18 Manufacturing includes a feature named Unlock Manufacturing Orders.
So, go to the settings, remind the user with access rights as the Administrator gets the Configuration menu. Enable the Unlock Manufacturing Orders and save.
By turning on the Unlock Manufacturing Orders function, which enables regular manufacturing users to change the amounts they want to utilise without requiring prior consent.
So, after enabling the Unlock Manufacturing Orders, I logged out from the Mitchell Admin and again logged in as Marc Demo. Then open the previously created manufacturing order once more.
So this time, the Marc Demo can alter the quantities simply by clicking on the quantities, as shown in the above screenshot.
In summary, Odoo 18's Unlock Manufacturing Orders feature provides more control and flexibility throughout the production process. It permits authorised users to modify confirmed orders as needed without interfering with business operations. In dynamic industrial settings where last-minute adjustments can be inevitable, this is quite helpful. Odoo 18 guarantees accuracy and efficiency in manufacturing operations management by fusing security and flexibility.
To read more about How to Manage Manufacturing Orders with Odoo 18, refer to our blog How to Manage Manufacturing Orders with Odoo 18