The production processes within a company encompass multiple production stages, wherein the final product undergoes various machinery processes before reaching completion. The establishment of an efficient workflow and the assurance of uninterrupted operations entail the systematic organization of manufacturing processes to operate seamlessly at each work center.

The efficiency and productivity of manufacturing operations hinge on the practicality and organization of the workflow within the company. Another crucial element in manufacturing operations is monitoring, a function facilitated by Odoo ERP using lots and serial numbers. Odoo’s tracking mechanism specifically utilizes lots and serial numbers, ensuring the unique identification of products and preventing data overlap. Each assigned lot or serial number to a product is systematically managed, enabling users to customize it according to specific requirements.

Inventory => Configuration => Settings

Enable Lot & Serial Numbers and click on Save. Subsequently, to activate traceability for a particular product, navigate to the “Products” section.

Inventory => Products => Products

Open the specific product for which you intend to enable traceability. Inside the product details, move to the “Inventory” tab.

To activate traceability for a product being manufactured in Odoo, enable the routes as “Manufacture” and select the “Traceability” option for the respective product. Enabling traceability for a specific product signifies that the product will be monitored using lots and serial numbers, enabling you to track its movement and trace its history within the Odoo platform.

Once the traceability feature is activated in Odoo, users can assign distinct serial numbers or lots to the finalized manufactured products of the company. Users retain the flexibility to update quantities for each product and input details, including the allocations of serial/lot numbers.

Lot/Serial Number Management

Utilizing the purchase module, we can effectively handle the management of lots. Create a new purchase order for the product and proceed to confirm the purchase order.

Upon confirming the order, proceed to click on “Receive Products.”

In the “Operations” tab, select the three lines button located next to the graph.

Enter the lot/serial number and save.

Subsequently, validate the receipt. After validation, the stock will be added to the inventory. When you check the respective products, you will be able to observe the products with their associated lot numbers.

Inventory => Products => Lots/Serial Numbers

Additionally, you have the option to track the lot/serial numbers of the products directly from the inventory.

How to assign Serial numbers for products?

Activate the tracking by a unique serial number on the product form, and then proceed to generate a purchase order for that specific product.

Purchase

Confirm the purchase order and receive products.

In the “Operations” tab, select the three lines button located next to the graph.

In this step, you have the option to either individually assign a serial number or use the “Generate Serials” function. If you choose the latter, you can enter the first serial number, and the system will automatically assign it to all the quantities.

Then click on Generate.

Save it and validate.

Similarly, when reviewing the inventory for lots and serial numbers, you will be able to observe the assigned serial numbers for the respective products.

Sales

Create a sales order for the same product and observe how the products are deducted from the inventory, considering the presence of lot/serial numbers.

Once the sale order is confirmed, proceed to deliver the products to the customer by clicking on the delivery smart button.

In this stage, you will notice that the serial numbers are automatically chosen. If there’s a preference to manually assign a different serial number to the product, you can select it manually. Subsequently, validate the process, and the product will be deducted from the inventory.

Inventory => Products => Lots/Serial Numbers

Here you can see only one quantity remains in stock, and it is associated with the serial number SN-003.

Embracing product traceability through the efficient use of lot and serial numbers in Odoo not only streamlines inventory management but also enhances transparency and accountability, ensuring a seamless and reliable journey for your products from manufacturing to the hands of satisfied customers.