The automotive industry has been blooming since the industrial revolution, with the need for more cars for transportation it has turned from being a luxury to an essential item in everybody's list of things. With Henry Ford's invention of the so-called automobile, which is considered as one of the greatest inventions of all times the aspects of all industries started to see a boom in their revenues. It has evolved from steam engines to electric-powered cars, lever-operated transmission to automatic transmission, and from drivered to driverless cars.
It can be said that it has seen the greatest advancements in all the operations of an automobile, the same as in the case of its manufacturing processes. Initially started off as hand-built machinery which took days of manufacturing to nowadays being manufactured within a matter of hours with automated machinery which can be self-operated or human-controlled. So is the methodology of planning and executing the manufacturing processes of the automobile industry. Industries have moved from a paper-based operation to Enterprise and resource planning (ERP) software to automate the administrative as well as the manufacturing process of the plant.
Odoo platform which is a one-stop ERP solution for all the business operations have been spiking up in the performance and operation of the manufacturing units among other ERPs. Since the platform is able to operate on all the aspects of business not only the manufacturing process the companies will be having a good advantage of using Odoo in their business.
The Odoo platform helps the user to manage the orders of the raw materials, inventory movement, manufacturing lanes, employees associated, perform quality checks at stages of operation, storing finished products in inventory, managing sales orders, delivery of products, generating invoices, obtaining feedback from the customers and performing repairs on the products.
In this blog, you will learn:
This blog will discuss how Odoo will be apt for running an automotive industry and how it can be configured for the various aspects of the company from the purchase of raw materials to the inventory to delivery of the products.
Working of Odoo ERP in Automotive Industry
To explain how the process works in Odoo let's have a clear understanding of the process. Initially, the raw material for the car is purchased and sorted to the ones to be processed or manufactured and the ones which can be added to the manufacturing process. The components are now stored in the inventory and when there is a request for manufacturing they are shipped or moved to the manufacturing facility on which they are allocated to the various manufacturing lanes. Upon manufacturing various initial quality checks are being performed and the components which are damaged are scraped and disposed of. The other finished products are shipped to a quality check center and are out for delivery or stored if the quality checks are passed. The products are delivered and on request for repair, they are performed.
Purchase of Raw materials or by-products
The Odoo platform has a separate purchase module to deal with the purchase of products for sales or manufacturing. The user can create a purchase order to a vendor and post it considering the product details. The vendors can be added to the platform in the vendor's menu. A single product can have multiple vendors in Odoo, providing the user with options on purchasing the products. Upon receiving the delivery the user can set to process the products and perform the quality checks for the finished products. The user has also the functionality of subcontracting for the by-products being manufactured. At creating instances the company may not be having the facility to manufacture certain products so the user can always opt for subcontractors to manufacture the by-product which can be assembled while manufacturing the main product.
Storage of Raw materials and by-products
As the raw materials and the byproducts are received and processed respectively they should be stored in the warehouse of the company. The Odoo platform allows its users to perform all the inventory baked operations for manufacturing and sales in the inventory module. The module allows the user to have multiple warehouses and allows them to manage effectively with additional tools of inventory adjustment in Odoo. Once the manufacturing orders are being generated the movement of products in the Odoo platform is based on the routes of operation created by the user. These are custom made routes of product movement within the company to create an effective method of operation.
Manufacturing of Products
The manufacturing process for the cars can be set up in various lines of operation which should be interrelated and the movement should be based on the product being finished on one line and moved to the other line. Initially, in the case of manufacturing cars, it can be set as forging, welding the chassis, painting the chassis, assembly of transmission, assembly of engine, electronic circuits assembly, interior assembly, doors assembly, etc. Employees can be assigned to each of the manufacturing lanes in the production units. The time duration for each of the lanes can be set by the user and can also assign the alternative work center for each operation. For manufacturing of the products should be set with the bill of materials which should include all the byproducts needed for the complete manufacturing of the car. This should include the nuts and bolts being used to the paint being sprayed on. Thus they can be reduced from the stock automatically to keep the inventory update.
Scrap Manufacturing order or products
When the products are not up to the standards and the specifications these should be scrapped so that they should not be added upon the inventory. The Odoo platform allows users to scrap the products at various stages of operation. The scrapping can be done based on the manufacturing order or based on products. If while manufacturing order of white cars as requested earlier and suddenly the customer is looking for silver cars the user can abort the manufacturing order by scrapping it. So the process won't continue and the half-done products can either be scrapped or recycled as per the company policy. The same is in the case of the quality checks being performed in which the user can scrap the products if its not specified to the requirement of the company.
Quality Checks for products
The Odoo platform allows the users to perform quality checks at various stages of manufacturing, which can be assigned to a respective employee. Performing checks on products being manufactured helps the users to determine the faults in machinery and the standard of the product specification. The quality checks for a car manufacturing process can be of the paint job, checks on the electronic circuits, brakes, transmission, windows, etc. Since it's a car there will be a final quality check which will allow the user to determine all the parameters of operation of the vehicle. The final quality check involves driving the car through a circuit that prevails in various climatic and terrain conditions to determine the performance of the vehicle. This is carried out by a specialized driver and the reports can be generated in Odoo based on the manufacturing order and the lot number of the products.
Sales and Delivery of the finished goods
The sales of the finished products can be done in Odoo with the help of sales quotations. Upon purchase request by the customer, the user can generate sales quotations for the requested product and variants being manufactured. The manufactured products can be listed out in the products menu of the module with the variants allocated with it. The product pricing for each of them can also be allocated with the user. In the case of cars, the variants should be based on the various segments of the same car with the color option . The segments can vary with their ears and the inbuilt accessories being provided. Usually, the manufacturers go for a sports version, high-end model, middle option, and the basic version of the car and again this can be customized as per the needs of the user.
The delivery of the products being ordered can be made as a pick up from a nearby store of the customer or can be shipped to the location. The user can always charge for the delivery or can provide it as free as a complement for the customer. Considering cars all the customers will opt for the showroom delivery or in certain instances will go on for door delivery.
Repair of Products
The Repairs and the services requested by the customers on the purchased products can be performed in the repairs module of the Odoo platform. The user can request the company for a repair on the products being purchased and provide a descriptive lead on the problem being faced by the customer. The user can view all the repair requests and the products allocated with it and allocate a respective employee for each considering the product specification. Considering cars the customers can request for roadside assistance from the company or deliver by hand to the company for the repairs to be conducted by the user. The customer can also ask for the roadside pick up of their vehicle if the company offers the type of customer assistance.
Human Resource Management at the manufacturing facility
Managing employees has to be done effectively in the manufacturing facility. The Odoo platform allows the users to post and hire the employees as per the respective field of operation. Based on the skill sets, certifications, licenses, experience, and qualification being described by the employee the user can analyze all the factors and allocate them to the various posts of the manufacturing facility ranging from the manager to the work center technician.
Feedback on the purchase of products and repairs are done
The feedback was given by the customers on the products and repairs and the services conducted by the user always helps the company to improve their products and the services to the customer satisfaction. In a car manufacturing company obtaining the feedback of the car being sold to the various customers can be considered as the basic needs while designing or planning to create a new model. The service feedback will help the user to improve the quality of analyzing the details provided by the customers and their satisfaction
Conclusion
The Odoo platform helps the users to have clear cut management and production strategy and perform all the follow-up activities of the cars after sales to various customers in a car manufacturing company. The platform is compatible with any models of manufacturing and the strategies of operation in the company. With the help of quality checks in Odoo and the feedback from the customers always helps the users and the companies to update and modify the quality of the cars as per the customer satisfaction and their needs.
If you are interested in Odoo Implementation for your business, kindly drop your message to info@cybrosys.com. Cybrosys Technologies leads the market of Odoo ERP solutions with more than 12 years of experience. We can guide your business better with Odoo support plans for executing your organization goals.