Odoo Inventory Management – Ultimate Guide

Inventory management is a crucial aspect of a supply chain. Efficient inventory management ensures optimum stock levels to fulfill customer demand successfully.

Odoo is an enterprise resource planning software that enables you to manage and track your entire business. It offers multiple business applications, including an inventory management module. This blog explores Odoo inventory management, features, benefits, and how it works.

What is the Odoo inventory management module?

Odoo ERP provides an inventory module that enables you to manage and track your stock level in real-time. The module includes advanced features that ensure you have sufficient stock to fulfill your customer demands.

Odoo’s inventory management also includes warehouse management for real-time inventory management. It uses real-time data synchronization, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) for demand forecasting and integrations with IoT devices.

Odoo inventory management empowers businesses with automated stock replenishment, barcode scanning, and multi-warehouse support, reduces stockouts, accelerates operations, optimizes routes, and gains real-time visibility.

Four types of inventory in odoo

You can create different types of inventory locations, such as:

• Internal locations – The exact storage location within your company, such as a warehouse, stockrooms, or retail stores.
• Customer locations – Odoo automatically transfers stock from your internal warehouse to a customer location, indicating that it has been sold.
• Supplier locations – The location from which your stock comes.
• Virtual locations – Odoo places inventory in transit in virtual locations.

Features of the Odoo inventory management module

The Odoo inventory management module offers advanced features to enhance stock control, optimize warehouse operations, and fetch real-time stock level insights. The features of the Odoo ERP inventory module are:

Warehouse organization

You can define your entire warehouse layout, including racks, bins, and locations, to efficiently manage storage and stock movement, streamline order picking, and warehouse workflows. Odoo enables you to implement putaway rules, advanced storage strategies, and automated removal policies to improve space usage and reduce order processing time.

You can also manage multiple warehouses on a single platform. Odoo inventory enables tracking and management of product movement and the transformation process.

Create locations within the warehouse.

You can specify locations within the warehouse, like floors or shelves. A single location can not be connected to multiple warehouses; however, various locations can be linked to one.

Putaway rules

You can define putaway rules to ensure that products are stored in the correct location in the warehouse, helping to keep products in the appropriate area when received.

Reordering rules

You can specify reordering rules, such as the minimum and maximum quantity for each product, the preferred method of replenishment (“buy” for buying from a vendor or “manufacture” for producing internally), and whether Odoo should create orders or merely recommend them. This feature ensures that you never go out of stock.

Quality control

You can define your quality control processes and conduct quality checks on incoming and outgoing products to maintain product integrity and customer satisfaction. This ensures product quality at various stages of the product.

Routes

You can configure and create operational routes for the product movement in sales orders, purchase orders, and manufacturing operations. You can optimize routes based on your implemented business strategies.

Defining these routes is crucial to determining the product flow within the organization. You can choose the preferred route from the default rules, such as “Push” and “Pull,” and further configure them to align with your business operations.

Batch and serial number tracking

You can assign or auto-generate a batch and serial number to your inventory to ensure accurate stock counts and its journey throughout the supply chain. Serial and batch numbers are unique identification numbers used to track and trace products throughout their lifecycle.

Traceability

You can track the movement of products within the company and while shipping to the customers. Odoo allows you to allot different serial and lot numbers for multiple products. When products are purchased, these numbers are allotted to them specifically. The system ensures that a single lot or serial number is not assigned to numerous products.

Scrap management

Using the Oddo inventory module, manage your useless, damaged products or materials for recycling. Unlike waste, scrap management is essential due to the financial value of expired or defective products. This helps reduce costs and ensures perfect conditions for products stored on the warehouse shelf.

Barcode scanning

Odoo supports IoT device integrations, including barcode scanners. The system generates barcodes that are pasted on individual products or batches. These barcodes are scanned using a scanning device or mobile camera to read and decode product or batch information. They play a critical role in product traceability and quality-related recalls.

You can enable barcode integration in the inventory settings to get access and scan products with an integrated IoT device. You can create different barcodes for various products or simply print the image of the generated barcode.

Benefits of using the Odoo inventory module

Managing your inventory using Odoo ERP offers benefits that can help you improve customer satisfaction, order processing, and lower storage costs. The benefits of implementing the Odoo inventory module in your business are:

Streamlined processes

The system automates inventory management processes, eliminating human effort and error, speeding up order fulfilment, and improving operational efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Accurate inventory records

Automating inventory management, real-time tracking, and up-to-date inventory records provides accurate stock counts. This can help you mitigate inventory data discrepancies and optimize stock levels.

Enhanced customer satisfaction

Ensuring product availability and fast order fulfillment offers an exceptional customer experience, enhancing customer satisfaction rates.

Real-time control and visibility

Odoo inventory management tracks and monitors stock movement, order status, and warehouse performance. Real-time tracking provides instant notifications, barcode automation, and accurate demand forecasting, empowering you to make informed decisions.

Cost saving

Efficient inventory management and advanced reporting optimize the stock levels, preventing stockouts and overstocking, and minimizing the chances of stock obsolescence.

Improved decision-making

Real-time inventory tracking and predictive reporting enable businesses to make informed purchasing, production, and sales decisions.

Compliance and traceability

The batch and serial number tracking feature empowers businesses to comply with regulatory requirements and offer traceability throughout the supply chain.

How does Master Software Solutions help you?

Master Software Solutions is an IT service provider offering one-stop Odoo consulting services, including implementation, Odoo ERP migration, customization, module development, and support and maintenance. We are an official Odoo Ready Partner with extensive knowledge and skills in Odoo ERP implementation and customization.

Schedule a call to discuss your business needs and how we can assist you.