Canadian manufacturers often lose time when an entire batch must finish cutting, machining, assembly, inspection, and packaging before the next team can begin. Labour shortages, supplier delays, costly work-in-progress, and tighter delivery promises make that wait harder to accept.
With continuous flow manufacturing, completed portions of a Manufacturing Order, or MO, can move ahead while the rest of the order remains in progress. Odoo 20 Continuous Production supports this within one MO, so partial production does not need to become a string of separate orders. We focus here on operational value, traceability, and better production decisions.
How Continuous Production Keeps Work Moving
Odoo 20’s documented continuous production workflow allows completed partial quantities to pass from one work order to the next. If an MO covers 100 fabricated control panels, fabrication can report 20 finished panels. Those 20 panels can then move to wiring while fabrication continues with the other 80. The units become available in inventory as finished products when the manufacturing order (MO) is completed.
With that Continuous manufacturing still follows the routing sequence, available work centres, component readiness, and accurate reporting. With the goal of controlled handoffs of completed units.
For operations that can work independently on smaller lots, the benefits can include:
- Less queue time between work centres
- Earlier visibility into downstream capacity limits
- Faster response for made-to-order and high-mix production
- Better use of available labour and equipment
We often see this approach work best when paired with production scheduling practices that reduce avoidable wait time. Good scheduling determines when work should be released, while Odoo work orders show what has actually moved.
Set up Work Orders for Partial Production
Continuous Production is a standard feature in Odoo 20 Manufacturing. It requires Work Orders to be enabled and Continuous Production to be selected on the product’s bill of materials (BoM). The BoM should also define the operations and work centres used at each production step.
At a business level, the workflow is straightforward. You create or confirm the MO, open the work order for the current operation, and record the quantity completed there. Odoo can then make that completed quantity available to the following work order, while the remaining balance stays in progress at the first operation.
Exact screen labels, availability rules, and fields can differ by version and configuration, so verify the documented workflow against your version and configuration. The broader manufacturing process also helps place work orders in context.
Hosting matters when planning the rollout. Odoo Online can support the standard documented process, but it cannot host custom modules. Odoo.sh and on-premises deployments can support the same standard workflow and can also allow approved extensions. Custom dashboards, approval steps, or automated release rules should be treated as customization and are, not native Continuous Production features.
Track Progress Across Split Quantities
A partially completed MO remains one production order for the full planned quantity. That means 15 units might be finished at cutting, 10 might be active at bending, and the remaining units might still be waiting upstream. Seeing those quantities clearly helps supervisors manage the real condition of the shop floor.
Accurate reporting is production control, and thus we recommend monitoring:
- Quantity produced and quantity remaining at each work order
- Work-order status and time recorded by each work centre
- Component consumption, scrap, rework, and quality holds
- Quantity ready for the next operation
Consider an illustrative example. A Canadian equipment manufacturer is building 60 stainless-steel enclosure assemblies. Once 15 enclosures finish laser cutting, they move to bending. When 10 are bent, welding can begin on those units. Meanwhile, cutting and bending continue on the remaining quantity.
This staggered movement can reveal the true constraint. If bent parts pile up before welding, welding capacity may be the issue. If welded enclosures wait for inspection, quality review may be slowing delivery. Standardized workflows that expose production bottlenecks make these conditions easier to spot before a queue becomes a missed commitment.
Choose Continuous Production or a Backorder
Continuous production and backorders solve different problems. Continuous production keeps the original MO open and moves partial quantities through later Odoo work orders while upstream work continues. A backorder involves completing or closing the current MO for the quantity produced, then creating the remaining quantity to be made later.
Odoo continuous production usually fits when the BoM defines sequential operations, repeatable transfer quantities, downstream capacity, and a real need to reduce waiting between work centres. Fabricated metal products, electronics assembly, industrial subassemblies, and safely divisible packaged goods can be good candidates.
A backorder may be the better choice when the remaining quantity cannot continue as planned, such as when:
- A needed material is unavailable
- A customer changes the delivery requirement
- A major quality issue stops the run
- The production run is deliberately being split
We do not recommend treating a backorder as the normal answer to in-process handoffs. When the work is moving through a single routing as expected, continuous production provides a clearer view of the full MO. When the plan itself has changed, production planning decisions that balance capacity and delivery commitments can help determine whether a backorder is appropriate.
Protect Flow From Constraints and Bad Data
Partial production only helps when the physical process can support it. Each operation needs a practical handoff point, enough downstream capacity, required components, fixtures, inspection access, and available operators. Moving five finished units forward has little value if they immediately wait for a missing part or unavailable quality check. Standardized workflows that expose production bottlenecks make these conditions easier to spot before a queue becomes a missed commitment.
Traceability also matters. Where applicable, teams need accurate lot or serial number records, actual component consumption, scrap and rework quantities, and completion timing. In Odoo 20, flexible consumption is enabled by default for all manufacturing orders, so teams should record actual component quantities and review consumption warnings rather than rely on a BoM-level setting. Recording actual production and consumption helps keep work-order progress aligned with shop-floor reality.
Continuous manufacturing may add administration without much return for very short routings, single-piece work, or operations that cannot safely begin until every upstream unit is complete. Start with one routing where partial handoffs are meaningful, measurable, and easy for teams to report consistently.
Build a Practical Case for Continuous Production
Before changing a routing, map where whole-batch waiting creates delay. Define sensible transfer quantities, confirm material and quality dependencies, and decide which measures supervisors need to review each day. Continuous Production is most useful when it removes a real hold-up.
Review one constrained MO to assess its fit with Odoo 20 Continuous Production. If partial quantities can move safely, downstream teams have capacity, and reporting is reliable, continuous flow manufacturing may provide a clearer, faster path through production.
Improve Production Visibility Across Every Stage
Kodershop helps manufacturers align production reporting, inventory movement, and scheduling around the realities of partial quantities. Learn how Odoo 20 work orders can support clearer coordination between operations and downstream teams. For guidance on applying these capabilities to your manufacturing environment, contact us to discuss your priorities with our team.