Driving Growth of Machine Manufacturers With Certified Odoo Experts

Today, i will showcase how Odoo experts along with Odoo consultants are a boon that help in driving growth like they did it for our injection molding machine manufacturer client.

The very first thing that hit me when me any my Odoo consultant sat across the table with our client for discussion was that he did not talk about any of the workflow logics or modules, he said “our machines are completely precise but the planning part is not”.

He talked about how there were delays in the production of machines, tool changeovers were taking too long as nothing was pre-planned, and they were not able to get a helicopter view in real time across their shop floor. Well, this helped us uncover what was the actual problem.

You can also check our ERP manufacturing videos that showcase various solutions and trends.

Let’s Check the Actual Bottlenecks

The precision manufacturer produces injection molding machines that are then used for packaging, consumer goods, and automotive components. Everything was engineered perfectly but there was a broken information flow.

The structure that they had setup for their bill of materials was a complete mess. For example, when a production order was raised for a 350T injection molding machine, their BOM was not able to capture the respective tooling kit and the sub assemblies that were required for the mold carriage system.

So, their planning team without understanding the complexities and issues like missing or wrongly linked critical components that would come up down the line, would release the job to the production.

So, this would for sure have consequences like – the production operators will have to pause the production line, supervisors running here and there to find the right mold plates, and procurement team having no visibility about what the production team is in need of.

The results this would bring in are crucial which include long hours of downtime, material being stuck in limbo, and mismatch of dispatch deadlines.

Problems with their In House Team

One great move that i would appreciate was that they had decided to implement Odoo ERP. But after they evaluated everything they understood that they were not having the bandwidth and specialized skill to model their manufacturing complexity inside Odoo.

The client has a great internal IT team who were specialized in networking, security, and daily operations, but were not Odoo experts that could help in – multi level BOM structuring for their complex assemblies, configuration of production workflows that can help them with real machine building flows, or linking procurement, inventory, and production timelines in a seamless manner.

Their time line for going live as getting delayed and every week that they lost out was directly affecting their production backlogs.

Apagen Staff Augmentation with Odoo Experts

So, the client asked us and checked our staff augmentation services and instead of hiring a full internal team he augmented their in house resource with our functional consultant, technical developers, and testers which were expert in the Odoo with respect to manufacturing vertical.

We asked our team to sped first week checking and walking through their shop floor with their supervisors and understood how they were building their machines, how was the tool changeovers handled, and what are the steps that they take when a part is not in stock.

Everything changed after that, we started creating real production rhythm inside Odoo.

Customized Odoo Workflows to Match Actual Flows

Below i’ll mention actual processes that we restructured –

• BOM Structuring with Real-World Dependencies:
  For example, the BOM for a 350T machine wasn’t just a list of parts anymore. We created multi-level BOMs; base frame, mold carriage, hydraulic assembly, and electrical units, all logically sequenced. This ensured that when a production order was created, every tooling component, down to the last bush and plate, was traceable.


• MRP & Tooling Alignment:
  Earlier, the MRP was running in isolation. Now, the tooling calendar was integrated with the production schedule, so the planning team could see in advance if a particular mold was already blocked for another order.


• Procurement and Production Synchronization:
  Missing parts during production was a daily headache. We automated stock alerts and linked procurement triggers directly to BOM availability. So if a hydraulic cylinder wasn’t in stock, it was flagged before production started.


• Testing the Workflows with Real Orders:
  We didn’t just build and leave. Our augmented team worked side-by-side with their planners, testing these workflows with actual live orders. When a small error in sub-assembly routing popped up during testing, we fixed it in real-time. That agility is what in-house teams usually can’t achieve alone.

UAT Reflecting the Shop Floor

I still remember the UAT session, what we did was that we did not do it the usual way by clicking through screens but we dis a live production run using Odoo. The planner released the order, the system checked the BOM availability, warehouse team picked the right mold, and the production team started assembling without ever thinking that where is that part moment. After this, this was the first moment when the operations head looked genuinely relieved.

Business Outcome through Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation with Odoo developers helped them –

• Cut their ERP implementation time by over 60% when comparing to building an internal team
• Unplanned downtime caused by BOM errors and material gaps was eliminated
• They had a real-time production visibility right from when the mold was allocated to the final dispatch
• No more paper trails or manual follow ups
• Biggest win was not speed but confidence as the system now replicated their actual way of working and that too in a better way.

So, if you are a manufacture in injection molding where tooling, timing and traceability can make or break your schedule, let me tell you that no one else will say “ERP success is just not about buying software but modelling your real ground reality”.

Building such a system alone is really tough to do alone and our Odoo experts who are well versed move further without any hand holding.

To know more drop us a line at sales@apagen.com or call us on +91 9971800665.