Unlock Efficiency: Master Odoo 18 MTS MTO with This Powerful 5-Step Guide

Welcome, Odoo enthusiasts and supply chain strategists! Today, we’re diving deep into a game-changing functionality within Odoo 18 that promises to revolutionize your inventory and manufacturing processes: Odoo 18 MTS MTO. This powerful combination, often referred to as Make-to-Stock-and-Order (MTSO), allows businesses to achieve unparalleled flexibility in fulfilling customer demands while optimizing stock levels.

For a live demonstration of this concept, you can refer to the original video tutorial here: Odoo 18 Inventory | Make to Stock + Make to Order Combined Route Setup (MTSO).

Imagine a scenario where your sales team lands a big order, but your current stock isn’t quite enough. Do you scramble to manufacture the entire order, potentially overstocking if future demand dips? Or do you tell the customer there will be a significant delay for the full production run? Neither is ideal. This is precisely where the intelligent integration of Odoo 18 MTS MTO comes into play, ensuring you leverage existing inventory first and only produce or purchase what’s truly needed to cover the shortfall.

Why Odoo 18 MTS MTO is a Game Changer for Your Business

In the dynamic world of manufacturing and distribution, striking the right balance between having enough stock to meet immediate demand and avoiding excessive inventory costs is critical. Traditional Make-to-Stock (MTS) strategies aim to keep popular items readily available, ensuring quick delivery. Conversely, Make-to-Order (MTO) focuses on producing items only when a customer places an order, minimizing waste and offering customization.

The genius of combining these, creating an Odoo 18 MTS MTO strategy, lies in its ability to offer the best of both worlds. Here’s why it’s so impactful:

1. Optimized Inventory Levels: You reduce the risk of holding too much capital in slow-moving stock by only triggering new production or procurement for the exact deficit. This directly impacts your working capital and warehouse efficiency.
2. Faster Order Fulfillment: By utilizing available stock first, you can immediately fulfill a portion of the order, drastically reducing the overall lead time for your customers.
3. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: Quicker partial fulfillment and clear communication about the remaining quantity lead to happier customers and stronger brand loyalty.
4. Flexible Replenishment: Your Odoo system intelligently adapts. When a sales order is confirmed, it first checks your warehouse’s current stock. Only for the remaining, unfulfilled quantities does it then trigger the necessary manufacturing or purchase orders. This automatic, intelligent response makes your supply chain incredibly agile.
5. Reduced Waste and Obsolescence: For products with unpredictable demand or high customization, Odoo 18 MTS MTO helps prevent overproduction, minimizing material waste and the risk of obsolete inventory.
6. Streamlined Operations: This automation reduces manual intervention, prevents errors, and frees up your team to focus on more strategic tasks rather than constant stock checks and manual order adjustments.

This powerful capability is achieved through standard Odoo functionality, meaning you don’t need complex custom development. Let’s delve into how you can set this up in your Odoo 18 instance.

Prerequisites for Implementing Odoo 18 MTS MTO

Before we jump into the configuration, ensure you have the following in place:

• Odoo 18 Instance: A running Odoo 18 installation with the Inventory and Manufacturing modules installed and configured. If you’re new to Odoo, explore the official Odoo documentation for installation guides.
• Product Configuration:
  • Product Definition: A product (e.g., “Dining Chair”) set up in Odoo.
  • Bill of Materials (BoM): If your product is manufactured, a Bill of Materials must be defined for it. This specifies the components and operations required. Learn more about Odoo’s manufacturing capabilities.
  • Replenishment Strategy for Components: For the components used in your BoM, ensure their replenishment method is correctly set (e.g., “Buy” for purchased items, or “Manufacture” if they are sub-assemblies).
• Existing Inventory: You should have some existing stock of the finished product and its components in your warehouse to properly test the combined route.

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Setting up Odoo 18 MTS MTO

Let’s walk through the configuration using a practical example.

Scenario:

You manufacture “Dining Chairs.” Currently, you have 10 units of Dining Chairs in stock. A customer places an order for 15 Dining Chairs. Without Odoo 18 MTS MTO, Odoo might trigger a manufacturing order for all 15 chairs, ignoring your existing stock. Our goal is to configure Odoo to fulfill 10 chairs from stock and only trigger a manufacturing order for the remaining 5.

Step 1: Verify Your Existing Setup

The first step is always to ensure your foundational data is correct.

• Log in to your Odoo 18 instance.
• Navigate to the Inventory module.
• Check Product Stock Levels:
  • Go to Reporting > Inventory Report.
  • Group by Product or filter for your specific product (e.g., “Dining Chair”). Confirm you have 10 units on hand.
  • Also, verify that the components required for manufacturing the Dining Chair (e.g., “Wooden Legs,” “Seat Frame”) also have sufficient quantities on hand, or their replenishment rules are correctly set to ‘Buy’ if they are purchased.
• Review Product Details:
  • Go to Products > Products and search for your “Dining Chair.”
  • Under the Inventory tab, ensure the “Routes” section does not have an active MTO route at this stage, or if it does, understand its current behavior (which we are about to modify).
  • If applicable, verify that the Bill of Materials (BoM) for the Dining Chair is correctly configured via the Manufacturing tab.

Step 2: Identify the MTO Route

The core of our Odoo 18 MTS MTO setup lies in modifying an existing Make-to-Order (MTO) route.

• From the Inventory module, go to Configuration > Routes.
• You’ll see a list of predefined routes. Look for the MTO route that pertains to your warehouse. It’s often named something like “MTO” or “Make To Order” and will typically involve pulling products from a stock location to a customer location.
• For example, you might find a route named “Your Company – Warehouse: MTO” or “Pull products from Stock to Customers (MTO)”.
• Important: Make a note of which warehouse this route is associated with, as routes are often warehouse-specific. Double-click to open this route for modification.

Step 3: Modify the MTO Route’s Supply Method

This is the crucial step that transforms a pure MTO route into an intelligent MTSO mechanism, allowing for effective Odoo 18 MTS MTO operation.

• Once you’ve opened the MTO route (e.g., “MTO: Pull products from Stock to Customers”).
• Look for the Rules tab. Within this tab, you’ll see one or more lines defining the movement of products.
• Identify the rule that dictates how products are supplied from your stock location to your customer location. This rule typically has its Destination Location set to Partner Locations/Customers.
• Locate the field named “Supply Method” for this specific rule.
• By default, for a pure MTO route, this “Supply Method” might be set to “Trigger another rule”. This default behavior means Odoo will always trigger a new manufacturing or purchase order without first checking existing stock.
• Change the “Supply Method” from “Trigger another rule” to “Take From Stock If Available”. This single change instructs Odoo to prioritize existing inventory.
• Click “Save” to apply your changes to the route.

Step 4: Test the Combined MTS/MTO Route

Now that the configuration is complete, it’s time to test our Odoo 18 MTS MTO setup.

• Before testing, if you have any open sales orders, manufacturing orders, or purchase orders related to your previous tests, it’s a good practice to cancel them to ensure a clean test environment.
• Navigate to the Sales module.
• Create a New Sales Order.
• Add your product (e.g., “Dining Chair”) to the order lines.
• Set the ordered quantity to be greater than your current on-hand stock. For our scenario, this would be 15 Dining Chairs (remember, we have 10 in stock).
• Ensure the “Warehouse” specified on the sales order matches the warehouse for which you configured the MTO route.
• Confirm the Sales Order.

Step 5: Verify the Results

After confirming the sales order, observe Odoo’s intelligent response thanks to our Odoo 18 MTS MTO setup.

• Check Manufacturing Orders (MOs):
  • Go to the Manufacturing module.
  • Navigate to Operations > Manufacturing Orders.
  • You should now see a new Manufacturing Order created. Crucially, this MO will be for the remaining quantity only (e.g., 5 Dining Chairs), not the full 15. This confirms Odoo successfully allocated the 10 chairs from existing stock.
• Check Purchase Orders (POs) for Components:
  • If your “Dining Chair” Bill of Materials includes components that are set to “Buy” for replenishment, and these components also have a shortfall based on the new MO for 5 chairs, then Odoo will also trigger Purchase Orders.
  • Go to the Purchase module.
  • Navigate to Orders > Requests for Quotation.
  • You should find Purchase Orders (or Requests for Quotation) generated for the deficit of your BOM components (e.g., enough wooden legs and seat frames for 5 chairs), reflecting the Odoo 18 MTS MTO strategy applied to components as well.
• Verify Inventory Levels:
  • Return to the Inventory module and check your stock levels for “Dining Chair” and its components again in the Reporting > Inventory Report. You should see the 10 chairs reserved or moved for the sales order.

This successful verification demonstrates that your Odoo 18 MTS MTO setup is working perfectly!

Diving Deeper: How “Take From Stock If Available” Powers Odoo 18 MTS MTO

The “Supply Method” setting is the unsung hero here. When you change it to “Take From Stock If Available,” you are essentially telling Odoo: “Before you even think about manufacturing or buying, check if I already have this item in my warehouse. If I do, use that first. Only if there’s a shortfall, then proceed with the usual MTO logic (triggering a manufacturing or purchase rule).”

This intelligent logic flow is what gives you such precise control over your replenishment, making Odoo 18 MTS MTO an indispensable tool for efficient supply chain management. This standard Odoo functionality is robust and designed to handle complex scenarios without requiring custom coding.

Advanced Considerations for Your Odoo 18 MTS MTO Strategy

While the basic setup is straightforward, consider these points for a more refined Odoo 18 MTS MTO implementation:

• Multiple Warehouses: If you operate with multiple warehouses, ensure your routes are correctly configured for each warehouse, and that the sales order specifies the correct source warehouse. You might need to duplicate and adjust routes for different logistical flows.
• Product Categories: Apply Odoo 18 MTS MTO strategically. Not all products benefit equally. High-volume, standardized products are excellent candidates, while highly customized or rare items might remain pure MTO. Use product categories to manage which routes apply to which products.
• Safety Stock: Even with Odoo 18 MTS MTO, consider maintaining a safety stock for critical components or finished goods to buffer against unexpected demand spikes or supply chain disruptions. This works in conjunction with your MTSO strategy, ensuring a baseline availability.
• Lead Times: Factor in lead times for both manufacturing and purchasing when communicating delivery estimates to customers. While Odoo 18 MTS MTO optimizes fulfillment, the lead time for the remaining quantity will still apply.
• Reporting and Analysis: Regularly review your inventory reports, manufacturing orders, and purchase orders. This will help you identify trends, refine your stock levels, and further optimize your Odoo 18 MTS MTO strategy. Odoo’s comprehensive reporting features are invaluable here. You can even explore advanced business intelligence tools to gain deeper insights.
• Internal Links: For more details on managing your inventory routes, refer to our comprehensive guide on Odoo Inventory Management Best Practices. If you’re looking to optimize your manufacturing workflows further, check out our tutorial on Advanced Odoo Manufacturing Configurations.

Real-World Impact: Case Studies of Odoo 18 MTS MTO

Let’s look at how Odoo 18 MTS MTO can translate into tangible business benefits:

• Furniture Manufacturer: A company producing dining tables and chairs often keeps a small stock of popular models (MTS). When a customer orders 20 chairs but only 10 are in stock, Odoo instantly allocates the 10 and generates an MO for the remaining 10, ensuring rapid partial fulfillment and efficient production planning.
• Electronics Assembly: A firm assembling custom computers might stock common components (RAM, SSDs) but only assemble a full PC upon order (MTO). For an urgent order requiring a specific CPU, Odoo 18 MTS MTO ensures readily available components are used, and only the specialized CPU is ordered or manufactured.
• Apparel Industry: A clothing brand might maintain inventory for basic T-shirts (MTS) but produce specialty designs only after an order (MTO). When a large retailer places an order for both, Odoo intelligently uses existing stock for basic items and triggers production for the unique designs, streamlining the entire fulfillment process.

These examples highlight how the adaptability of Odoo 18 MTS MTO allows businesses to cater to diverse customer needs while maintaining lean and efficient operations.

Conclusion

Implementing Odoo 18 MTS MTO is a powerful step towards building a more resilient, efficient, and customer-centric supply chain. By simply modifying a standard route’s supply method, you empower Odoo to make intelligent decisions about inventory allocation and replenishment. This ensures you’re always ready to meet demand, minimize waste, and operate with peak efficiency.

Don’t let your inventory management be a bottleneck. Embrace the flexibility of Odoo 18 MTS MTO and witness a significant improvement in your operational agility and customer satisfaction. Try it out in your Odoo 18 instance today, and feel free to share your experiences or questions in the comments below!