A third-generation CNC machine shop replaced spreadsheets and a brittle legacy MRP with Odoo - quoting, routing, shop-floor and finance on one backbone.
Client name protected under NDA · engagement details unchanged
Services delivered
Faster RFQ response
Reduction in stockouts
Improvement in on-time delivery
Visibility on job margin
01 / Background
A US-based precision metal manufacturer producing custom components for aerospace, defense and industrial clients. Quoting, BOMs, routings and shop-floor execution lived across spreadsheets, an aging MRP and tribal knowledge - making lead times unpredictable and margins hard to see.
02 / Challenges
Quoting custom parts required manual costing across spreadsheets, slowing response to RFQs and losing deals to faster shops.
Work orders were printed and tracked manually - no real-time visibility into machine load, operator time or scrap.
Raw bar stock and consumables were tracked by hand, leading to stockouts mid-job and idle machines.
Actual job cost - labour, machine time, material - was reconciled weeks after delivery, often too late to act on.
AS9100 and ITAR audits required traceability records that were scattered across folders, drives and email.
03 / Solutions
Configured Odoo Sales with rule-based costing for custom parts - material, setup, run-time and overhead rolled into one quote in minutes.
Modelled multi-operation routings per part, with setup and cycle times by work centre, so MRP planning reflects real shop capacity.
Operators clock in/out of work orders on tablets, log scrap and attach inspection photos - all flowing directly into job cost.
Min/max replenishment on raw bar stock and tooling; reorder rules trigger POs automatically before stockouts.
Analytic accounts on every work order - real-time view of margin per job, per customer, per part family.
Lot/serial tracking on raw material through finished goods, with inspection records and certs attached at each step.
04 / Stack & apps
05 / Outcomes
Rule-based quoting cut response time on custom RFQs from days to hours.
Live dashboards show machine load, operator hours and job status across the floor.
Job cost reconciles automatically - leadership sees true margin per job within 24 hours of close.
Lot-to-cert traceability satisfies AS9100 audits without scrambling through email and shared drives.
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