Manufacturing Orders and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Manufacturing orders are the bread and butter of any company that creates its own products. Every customer order translates into a manufacturing order that must be fulfilled.
This is one of the most fundamental—yet critical—functionalities of an MES-class system. The challenge is often scale: too many orders make it easy to lose track. Why?
- Difficulty in controlling what to produce and when. For small-scale operations, a notebook or a simple Excel sheet might suffice. For larger volumes, more advanced tools are essential.
- Scheduling chaos. At high production volumes, scheduling without an MES leads to disorder. Small changes (e.g., unexpected issues) quickly snowball into problems and wasted time.
- Lack of transparency. It is hard to navigate manufacturing orders (and related sales orders) when everything is only noted in a physical ledger.
Look at the list above. Does it reflect what is happening in your company? When you feel that production chaos is setting in, it’s time to explore MES systems. Often, a simple tool that displays a structured list of orders, their status, and the availability of sub-components (whether they are in stock and ready for production) can save a significant amount of time, money, and stress.
Adapt IT relies on Odoo as a manufacturing management system. In addition to many other features, this system allows for precise tracking of manufacturing orders.
Looking for implementation? >> Check out what do we offer for manufacturing companies <<
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MES – What do manufacturing orders look like in Odoo?
Single Manufacturing Order View
Manufacturing orders in Odoo store all the vital information needed for production, including:
- The product being manufactured
- Quantity
- Deadline (scheduled date)
- Component status (is everything in stock to start production?)
- Planned operations (based on the BoM) along with expected production time
- Change history (who modified what in the order)
You can see all this information in the detailed manufacturing order view:
Image 1. View of a table top manufacturing order including manual processing operations.
Production Planning: Gantt Chart and Scheduling in Odoo
Odoo allows you to present manufacturing orders in list, calendar, and Gantt views. Thanks to a powerful search engine—which allows grouping, filtering, and searching by any field—you can quickly locate specific orders for any given customer. Calendar and Gantt views allow you to easily schedule and analyze the production plan.
Image 2. List view of orders showing dates, status, and component availability.
Image 3. Gantt view of manufacturing orders over a one-week period.
The views above are primarily designed for management. If you manage production, you will use them to schedule work according to your established workflow. You can also use automation to generate a production plan in just a few clicks. Odoo will calculate it based on set priorities, order dates, work hours, and equipment availability.
Manufacturing Order Flow and the Shop Floor Tablet View
Crucially, Odoo provides a dedicated view for the production hall where orders are displayed as cards. The Operator Panel (Shop Floor) ensures clear task distribution across the factory floor.
Image 4. Manufacturing orders in the Shop Floor module—a dedicated view for the production hall.
In this panel, operators can log the start and end of specific orders. This ensures the system always contains real-time data, allowing you to estimate equipment efficiency (OEE) and actual production costs. The Production Operator Panel also provides access to:
- Quick access to assembly/production/work instructions
- Technical documentation
- A button to report workstation issues (e.g., breakdowns)
- Quality Control – forcing the entry of specific parameters
The Foundation for Improvement – More Odoo MES Capabilities
Tracking manufacturing orders is a fundamental feature that saves time and restores control over production. Odoo used as an MES offers much more. If you are interested in implementing Odoo in your company, contact us. We have the experience to propose a solution that actually solves your workflow problems and helps you manage production effectively.