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My company is investigating the possibility of using Odoo 12 to track its inventory of raw materials. These are generally various kinds of sheet and bar stocks. They are procured in reasonably standard sizes, but once cut or modified, child pieces can reenter inventory at non-standard sizes.

Example: we buy a bundle of 20 120" lengths of 1"x1" aluminum tube. An order calls for 10 lengths cut to 115.75" and 10 lengths cut to 75.1875", and we fulfill it. The scrap from the first 10 are 4.25" long and can be recycled, but we'd like the other 10 pieces, each 44.8125" long, to be placed back in inventory to be used on a different order.

What we think we want: The ability to define a property/attribute of a part that can be any real number between two values. In the case of the example above, between 120" (the stock length) and 12" (the threshold for recycling).

I understand that there are extensions for the Inventory app that will populate a variant list in a step-wise fashion to emulate this function. Unfortunately when it comes to something like a sheet good, where you have length, width, thickness, and color, there are millions of possible variants for one sheet good when you get the physical measurements down to a useful resolution (in this case, maybe 0.05").

Has anyone else had to combat this inventory challenge while using Odoo? If so, did you use the part variant function provided by Odoo, or did you have to do some other customization to get a smooth and flexible system to work?

Thanks!

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Thanks Paresh and Lars for your answers. I'm looking into the possibilities of what you suggest. I apologize for not commenting on your answers individually, but I'm too new to the forum and can't post comments on answers yet.

Best Answer

Hi Bryndon:

If you need to track multiple combinations of dimensions, you have 2 options out of the box:

  1. Using product attributes that automatically create variants (by selecting Always for the Product Attributes). This will create all possible combinations of the attributes as mentioned by you and can get unmanageable quite quickly.

  2. Using product attributes that don't create variants automatically (by selecting Never for the Product Attributes). You would need to define Products (Templates not variants) for the combinations of attributes that you need only when you need them. You can do this by creating the product and specifying just 1 value for each of the attributes associated with that product. This will allow you to keep the number of products manageable as far as possible.

However, one of the downsides of option 2 is that the attribute values are not visible (for example, when you are in the Product Variants list view). However, you can always use the values in a filter to zero in on Products that have a particular attribute value. You cannot do this in the standard search box but by using Filters > Add Custom Filters

You may want to include the dimensions in the Product name so that users can easily identify visually.

Hope this helps.

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I woud not use variants in such cases.  Variants are master data. And to have master data for all of those possibilities will be to hard to manage. And they cannot be created on the fly. For the standard sizes, variants might be used.

I would choose to use LOT number tracing. On the lot number there is a field for free text. But you might also add fields for information in the lot number record.

But be aware: This will only be for information. There is nothing in Odoo for availability check on individual sizes. It is for variants.   But as I wrote for variants you will end up with to much master data, very hard to manage. One solution in Odoo might be that your standard sizes have variants, and then when cut you define it as non standard variant. But I am uncertain hw this will work in your logistics.  

So it also comes down to the size of the business and how much automation you want.

(I have worked 20 years in cable manufacturing, and that business got a similiar characteristics as you describe.) 


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