Solution guide · Odoo
Odoo MRP for Plastics and Packaging Manufacturers in Africa
How we set up Odoo for injection, blow-molding and extrusion plants: machine and mold planning, scrap and regrind, maintenance, imported resin costs and customer specs.
- Odoo Manufacturing
- Maintenance
- Quality
- Inventory
- Purchase
- Accounting
This is a solution guide: it shows how we design and build this kind of system. It is not a client case study.
Where plastics plants lose money
In a plastics plant, margin is made or lost on the machine floor: resin prices, scrap rates, mold changes and downtime. Without one system, these costs stay hidden until month-end.
- Resin is imported in USD or EUR, but costs are booked late or at the wrong exchange rate.
- Scrap and regrind are estimated, not measured, so real material use is unknown.
- Mold changes and breakdowns are planned on a whiteboard.
- Power cuts and generator hours are not tied to the jobs they delay.
- Customer specs for color, weight and print live in emails, so wrong runs happen.
What we build in Odoo
We model each machine, mold and product in Odoo, so planners, operators, maintenance and finance work from the same numbers.
Machines as work centers
Each injection, blow-molding or extrusion line is a work center with its own capacity, shifts and cost per hour.
Molds and tooling
Molds are tracked as maintenance equipment with cavity counts and cycle times, and rules make sure each mold is booked on a machine that fits it.
Scrap and regrind
Operators record scrap by reason. Regrind goes back into stock as its own material, so you see true resin use per order.
Preventive maintenance
Maintenance runs on a schedule, breakdowns are logged against the machine and the job, and we can add triggers from machine counters.
Imported resin and landed costs
Purchase orders in USD or EUR carry freight, duty and clearing as landed costs, so every kilo of resin has a real cost.
Customer specs and quality
Each product stores its color, weight, size and print specs. Start-up and in-run quality checks catch drift early.
How a production job runs
- OrderA customer order or forecast creates a manufacturing order with the right recipe, color and spec.
- SchedulePlanners book machine time and molds, and see conflicts before they happen.
- RunOperators start the job on a tablet and record output, scrap and stops, including power cuts.
- CheckFirst-article and in-run checks are recorded. A failed check pauses the job.
- Pack and shipFinished goods are labeled, scanned into stock and shipped against the order.
- CostFinance sees actual resin, energy and labor cost per job next to the quoted price.
The system at a glance
| Area | Odoo app | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Manufacturing (MRP) | Work centers, work orders, routings, OEE |
| Equipment | Maintenance | Molds, preventive plans, breakdowns |
| Quality | Quality | Start-up and in-run checks, holds |
| Stock | Inventory and Barcode | Resin, masterbatch, regrind, finished goods |
| Buying | Purchase | Imports, landed costs, supplier lead times |
| Finance | Accounting | Multi-currency, job costing, margins |
OEE (overall equipment effectiveness) shows how much of each machine's time turns into good parts.
Typical rollout plan
- 2 weeksDiscoveryWe walk your floor, map machines, molds, products and costs, and pick the first lines to go live.
- 4–6 weeksSetupWe configure work centers, routings, maintenance plans and costing, and load your data.
- 3–4 weeksPilot lineOne line runs in Odoo first. Operators give feedback and we adjust screens and rules.
- 3–6 weeksRoll-outThe other lines follow, then maintenance and finance move fully to Odoo.
What to prepare
- A list of machines with capacity and hourly cost
- Molds with cavities and cycle times
- Product specs and bills of materials
- Resin and masterbatch suppliers with lead times
- How you calculate scrap and cost today
Common questions
Do operators need a computer at each machine?
No. Operators use shared tablets or phones with a simple work-order screen. Large buttons and barcode scanning keep data entry quick.
Can Odoo read data from our machines?
Odoo can receive machine counts through its IoT tools or a small connector. Many plants start with manual counts and add machine data later.
How does it handle exchange-rate swings?
Odoo books each foreign-currency bill at the day's rate and records exchange gains or losses when you pay. Landed costs make sure freight and duty reach the product cost.
Do we need Odoo Enterprise?
For most plastics plants, yes. Quality, Barcode and PLM are Enterprise apps, and they cover much of what a plant needs.
Running a plastics or packaging plant?
Send us your machine list and one product. We'll show you how it would run in Odoo.
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