In Odoo 18, the PLM Module has robust versioning features for both goods and Bills of Materials (BOMs). By effectively managing changes and iterations during a product's lifecycle, businesses can ensure accurate documentation and visibility. Businesses may maintain clear insight into product modifications, promote collaboration, and improve product management with the help of the PLM Module's simpler version control.
Let's see how the PLM Module aids in the versioning process.
Versioning inside the PLM module can be accomplished through ECO Changes. ECO Stages, ECO Types, and ECO Tags can be configured while the PLM Module is open in the Configuration tab.
Now let's check how to change the version of a product and the Bill of Material.
* ECO on Bill of Materials (BoM)
First, let's update the bill of materials version. First, create a new BoM for this process. From the Master Data menu, choose the Bill of Materials option. From there, users can choose to open an existing BoM or start a new one by clicking the NEW option.
Open the BoM created for the product TABLE. The Reference, BoM Type, and Company are shown there. Open the Bill of Material.
Choose a quantity, a product variant, and the manufactured product. The product in this instance is a table. A reference is added here. The selection of the Manufacturing BoM Type results in the formation of the Manufacturing BoM. Add components linked to the product's manufacturing to the Components tab.
The components tab shows the raw materials needed for the production of TABLE. Here TABLE TOP, TABLE LEG, Bolts and Screw are the components added.
Next tab is Operations, which shows a list of operations performed during the production process. Currently, there is only one operation added in the BoM.
The Miscellaneous tab of the BoM shows the version of the created bill of material. The current version of the BoM is Version 1 here.
Choose the Changes tab to include ECO Changes in the newly created BoM.
In the description field, describe it. Choose the appropriate selection, responsible individual, and type. Currently, the Bill of Material was chosen as the Apply on option. The relevant bill of materials will be immediately added to the BoM field when the manufacturing product is selected from the product tab. Next, click the "start revision." button.
The process for the ECO Change Order is currently in its NEW Stage. At this point, the Mitchell Admin wants to offer comments.
As shown in the screenshot above, add a Log note. Click on it and add a comment. Then click on the Log button. After that, the Approval tab shows the approval status as Commented after that.
Then change the stage to In Progress. Then the ‘In Progress’ stage needs Approval from the user. Click on the Approve button.
Then change the stage to Validated. There are two smart tabs named Documents and Revision V2. Either users can add any corresponding documents, or click on the Revision V2 tab.
Then the bill of material will open there, which is in the Archived stage. Users can add or remove the comments and operations.
Here, let's add one more operation named Packing. Add which to the operation tab and save. Then move back to the created engineering change order.
After adding changes to the BoM, click on the Apply Changes button to apply the added change to the BoM. Then the stage will automatically to Effective.
The final stage is Effective. So mandatory Approval is needed at this stage. Click on the Approve button to complete the process.
Then a new tab was added, which is named Operation Changes. As indicated the changes added to the BoM operation can be viewed there. So the user added a new Operation named Packing, which is visible there.
The Approval tab shows the added approvals, with Role, Approved By, Status, Approval Date, Approval Stage, and Requested Users.
While checking the BoM for the product TABLE, the newly added operation is now visible on the Operations tab.
Then click on the Miscellaneous tab to check the current version of the Bill of Materials. So as shown in the screenshot below, the Version is updated to 2 after completing the Engineering Change Order.
* ECO on Product
Let's handle that with a new product. From the dropdown option that appears, choose the product under the Master Data.
While clicking on the Products then the Kanban view shows the products. Product name, image price, and Onhand quantity are shown. Near the product name, the priority will be shown.
Open one product. The product name is BOX. All the details about the product are shown there. Click on the Inventory tab inside the product. The product version is shown inside the Inventory tab. The current version of the product is 1.
Now let's examine how the PLM Module managed product version updates. To do so, click on the Changes menu. The stages of the ECO are shown there. To add a new engineering change order click on the New button.
A fresh window opening. There, choose the ECO Type and write a description of the process. Second, both the Product and the BoM can be applied because there are two options. Since this is a product-specific application, select "Product Only." Next, select the newly created product BOX in the Product area. Mention the Responsible Person and the Company. There are two choices after the eco-changes take effect. One is on a particular date and as soon as feasible. Here the choice is made as quickly as feasible. Along with assigning the tag "Product." After adding the required data, click Start Revision to get the process started.
four pre-configured stages are present here. Right now, this is in the NEW stage. Then the other three stages are In Progress, Validated, and Effective. Users can simply change the stages.
In the In Progress stage, users can add changes to the product. The Document smart tab can be used to upload new documents to the product.
Click on the Document smart tab. The New and Upload buttons can be used to add documents.
Then click on the Apply Changes button to add the changes.
Then it will automatically change the stage to Effective. Which is the last stage of this ECO. Then, in this stage, the user needs approval.
Click on the Approve button to add the employee approval. Then the Approval tab shows the employee approval. Which is approved by Mitchell Admin and the status is Approved. Other details like Role, Approved By, Status, Approval Date, Approval Stage, and Requested Users are shown in the Approval tab.
The process is now finished because the ECO Change Order was reached at the very end.
After the ECO Change Order is finished, let's look at the final product version. To accomplish that, click the Master Data tab, then choose Products from the list, then search for the item Laptop. The product's second version was unveiled under the Inventory tab.
To sum up, the PLM Module will assist users in updating the Product and Bill of Material versions to increase their efficacy. The primary benefit is that the user finds the process easier to understand and can better manage it.
To read more about How to Revise the Version of Product & BOM With Odoo 16 PLM, refer to our blog How to Revise the Version of Product & BOM With Odoo 16 PLM.