Manufacturing2 min read
Manufacturing ERP Guide: BOMs, MRP, Shop Floor and Costing
A practical guide to manufacturing ERP: modelling BOMs and routings, making MRP trustworthy, shop-floor data capture, costing, quality and traceability.
Solution · Operations
Manufacturing management from BOM to finished goods
Manufacturing management ties together what you make, how you make it, when it needs to be made and what it costs. Without it, planning happens in spreadsheets and costs are estimates.
Overview
Why this area matters
In an ERP, manufacturing shares data with inventory, purchasing, sales and accounting, so material shortages, capacity and cost are visible as orders arrive.
01Typical problems
Signs the current setup has run out of road
01
Shortages discovered on the floor
Jobs start before materials are confirmed.
02
Inaccurate BOMs
Engineering changes not reflected in the system.
03
Capacity guesswork
Overloaded machines and idle ones in the same week.
04
Costs unknown
No actual-vs-standard by order.
02Capabilities
What a well-built setup includes
01
Multi-level BOMs
Sub-assemblies, kits, variants and by-products.
02
Routings and work centres
Operations with times, capacities and costs.
03
MRP
Demand-driven proposals for production and purchasing.
04
Shop-floor control
Operator interfaces for work orders, time and scrap.
05
Quality checks
Inspection points at receipt, in-process and final.
06
Costing
Material, labour and overhead with variance analysis.
03Workflow
How the process runs end to end
- 01
Demand
Sales orders and forecasts create requirements.
- 02
Plan
MRP proposes manufacturing and purchase orders.
- 03
Release
Orders released when materials are available.
- 04
Execute
Work orders tracked on the shop floor.
- 05
Close
Output, scrap and costs recorded.
04 — Technical notes
Design decisions worth getting right
Planning quality depends on data: accurate lead times, BOMs and stock. We recommend running MRP in recommendation mode first and reviewing proposals with planners before automating.
Costing configuration — standard versus actual, overhead absorption and scrap handling — should be agreed with finance, because it determines every margin report.
Where it applies
Industries, integrations and services
Integrations
Odoo applications
Services
How we deliver it
Insights
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Does MRP replace planners?
No. MRP proposes; planners decide. It removes manual calculation so planners focus on exceptions.
Can we track labour per operation?
Yes, through work orders with time tracking on the shop floor.
Can we subcontract operations?
Yes, with subcontracting flows that track materials sent and goods received.
Next step
Planning production in spreadsheets?
We will map your production into an ERP model.