Understand where traceability is lost
You might think you have everything under control, but traceability can slip away before you even realize it—and it all starts with your data.
Often, your information is spread across multiple tools: Excel files, a partial ERP, and shop floor–specific systems. Each works independently, but none bring all the information together, making it hard to get a clear picture.
Your teams end up re-entering the same data multiple times, and the more re-entry there is, the more errors creep in. A batch recorded incorrectly or production time logged in the wrong order can throw off your entire view of the shop floor.
Without a single source of truth—a reliable place where all data is centralized—you’re working with incomplete information. You may think you’re controlling production, but some deviations go unnoticed: scrap, delays, and extra costs hide in the gaps caused by fragmented data.
When you lack visibility on your work orders, deviations go unnoticed
Even with centralized data, it’s still challenging to track the actual progress of each work order. You may plan production on paper, but on the shop floor, some operations take longer than expected or occur in a different sequence.
Without detailed tracking, scrap, material usage, and the actual time spent on each task are discovered too late. Planned timelines and shop floor reality gradually drift apart, causing production to slowly deviate from your forecasts.
These deviations often remain invisible until they escalate: delayed deliveries, excess material consumption, or batches that need to be redone. The longer you wait to detect them, the harder and costlier they become to fix.
By continuously monitoring work order progress, you can track production step by step, know exactly what’s happening, and anticipate deviations before they impact your margins.
When decisions come too late, costs skyrocket
When what’s happening on your production floor escapes your real-time view, you’re left reacting after the fact. A wrong batch, a missed deadline… and these small incidents add up, weighing heavily on your results.
It’s a true domino effect: a poorly produced batch causes a delay, the delay leads to extra costs to catch up on the schedule, and those extra costs ultimately eat into your margins.
But it’s not just about money. When decisions are made too late, your teams face daily stress, meetings pile up to handle urgent issues, and confidence in your data and processes starts to erode.
How to achieve end-to-end traceability, from raw material to finished product ?
To achieve full traceability, you need to track every step of your production and centralize all information. In practice: as soon as materials arrive on the shop floor, they are recorded in the system. Transformations, assemblies, and quality checks are logged in real time, with all relevant data available at each stage.
Batches, operations, and consumables are linked to costs and volumes. You know exactly how much material was used, how many hours were spent, and where scrap occurs.
For this tracking to be reliable and effective, you need an integrated system that centralizes data from the shop floor to the office. This gives you a complete view of every production step, allowing you to quickly detect deviations and control your costs and lead times.
Centralize your production with Odoo Manufacturing, MRP, and Quality
Centralizing your production means putting all your information into a single system—up-to-date and accessible to everyone. With Odoo, this is achieved through three modules that work seamlessly together:
- Manufacturing (including MRP)- Execution and planning: This module covers both the execution and planning of your production. You can track work order progress in real time—completed tasks, ongoing steps, and make quick adjustments if needed. The integrated MRP ensures that raw materials and components are available when required and that your orders stay aligned with your production capacity. This gives you a complete and reliable view of your shop floor.
- Quality - Inspections and non-conformances:This module manages quality checks and non-conformances. You can quickly detect anomalies, document scrap, and take action before they impact overall production.
By combining these three modules, you consolidate all your information into a single, coherent system. You gain a single source of truth to manage your production, monitor costs, and secure your deadlines.
Manage your production with clear, real-time visibility
Once your data is consolidated and reliable, managing production changes completely. You gain an instant view of the shop floor: what’s in progress, what’s on track, and what’s starting to cause issues. No more waiting for reports or delayed updates—information is available the moment you need it.
Simple metrics and targeted alerts help you stay focused on what matters. As soon as a task takes longer than expected, material usage deviates, or a quality check flags an issue, you see it immediately and can take action without delay.
For example: if a station slows down on an ongoing batch, the deviation appears instantly. You can identify the specific operation and adjust before the delay affects subsequent orders. Problems are addressed during production, not after your schedule is already disrupted.
When traceability and real-time monitoring are lacking, It’s hard to see what’s really impacting your costs and lead times. By centralizing your data and continuously tracking production, you regain control over your margins and decision-making. Visibility becomes a tangible asset for managing your production efficiently every day.
Partner with Captivea, an Odoo integrator, and leverage your information to act quickly while securing your costs and deadlines.