6.3 MRP planning, replenishment & subcontracting

Planning and Replenishing Production

Odoo's manufacturing planning ties demand to supply through routes, reordering rules, the Master Production Schedule, and lead times. Understanding how each of these proposes manufacturing or purchase orders is central to the roughly 12% Manufacturing weight, and the exam likes to test the boundary between an automatic reordering rule and a manual MPS.

The Manufacture route and reordering rules

A product's Routes (on its Inventory tab) decide how it is replenished. Selecting Manufacture tells Odoo that a shortage should be covered by a Manufacturing Order rather than a purchase. Combine Manufacture with Buy and Odoo uses the BoM and vendor data to choose; a component with only Buy generates purchase orders instead.

A reordering rule (min/max) automates replenishment: when forecasted stock falls below the minimum, Odoo replenishes up to the maximum, using the product's route — creating an MO for a manufactured product or an RFQ/PO for a bought one. These rules surface in the Replenishment dashboard (Inventory → Operations → Replenishment), where you can also trigger a one-off Order Once. Running the scheduler ("Run Scheduler") processes outstanding procurements in batch, and by default a scheduled action runs it automatically each night so shortages are covered without manual intervention. A reordering rule can be set to automatic (always maintained) or manual (a suggestion the planner confirms), which controls how aggressively Odoo launches replenishment.

Master Production Schedule (MPS)

The MPS (enable Master Production Schedule in Manufacturing settings) is a manual, forward-looking planning grid for make-to-stock production. It is ideal when you plan against a demand forecast rather than reacting to individual orders. For each product and time period the MPS shows:

You review the suggestions and click to replenish, which creates the MOs or POs. The MPS respects safety stock and lead times so quantities arrive on time. Unlike reordering rules, the MPS gives the planner explicit, period-by-period control over what to launch.

How MRP proposes orders

Whether triggered by reordering rules or the MPS, Odoo generates procurements that become MOs (for manufactured items) or purchase orders (for bought items), and it cascades down the BoM: launching an MO for a finished product creates indirect demand for its components, which may in turn trigger their own MOs or POs. This multi-level explosion is how a single top-level demand ripples through the whole supply chain.

Lead times

Correct scheduling depends on lead times, which Odoo adds together to backward-schedule start dates:

• Manufacturing Lead Time (Days to Manufacture) — the production duration for the product
• Purchase / Delivery Lead Time — a vendor's quoted days to deliver a component
• Security (safety) Lead Times — buffer days (Manufacturing Security Lead Time and Purchase Security Lead Time in settings) that start orders earlier to absorb variability
• Days to Prepare MO — time to gather components before manufacturing can begin

Odoo uses these to compute when to launch an MO or PO so the finished product is ready by its demand date.

Subcontracting

Subcontracting outsources production to a third party. You create a Subcontracting-type BoM listing the components and naming the subcontractor (a vendor). Odoo supports two main models:

1. Basic subcontracting — the subcontractor already has, or independently sources, the components. You simply issue a purchase order for the finished product; on receipt, Odoo records the subcontracted production automatically, and no MO is created on your side.
2. Resupply subcontractor — you supply the components. Adding the Resupply Subcontractor on Order route to the components makes Odoo generate a delivery that ships the raw materials to the subcontractor's location; they build the product and return it on the receipt.

In both models the finished product's cost can roll up component costs plus the subcontracting service price, and stock held at the partner is tracked in a dedicated subcontracting location.

Quality checks basics

The Quality app integrates with Manufacturing to enforce checks during production. You define a Quality Control Point (QCP) that specifies:

• The product(s) and the operation type or work order it applies to
• The check type — Pass–Fail, Measure (with a tolerance range), Take a Picture, or Instructions
• The frequency — every operation, periodically, or a percentage of orders

When the trigger fires (for example a manufacturing work order), Odoo raises a Quality Check the operator must complete on the Shop Floor. A failed check can create a Quality Alert for follow-up. Because checks embed directly into work orders, an operator cannot close the step without passing the check — inspection is built into the flow rather than bolted on afterward.

Bringing planning together

Demand (forecast or sales) → the route decides make-versus-buy → reordering rules or the MPS propose MOs/POs → lead times schedule the start dates → subcontracting handles outsourced steps → quality checks gate the output. Mastering how each tool proposes and schedules orders is the heart of Odoo 19 MRP planning.