Built for metal that moves through eight forms, not one.

An inventory backbone designed for scrap recyclers, importers and metal manufacturers — where a single tonne of metal exists as raw scrap, recovered material, ingot, sheet, wire, liquid metal, residue and high-seas trade goods, all at the same time, across multiple plants and warehouses.
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Inventory in a metal recycling business is not warehouse inventory. The same physical lot of scrap copper, lead or aluminium changes form continuously — it arrives as imported scrap inside a sea container, is segregated and weighed at the gate, moves through smelting, cleaning and hulling, and re-emerges as ingot, sheet, thick wire, or molten metal in a tanker. Every conversion is a yield event; every yield event creates variance against the price agreed with the vendor.

Standard ERP inventory models cannot represent this. They assume that what you receive is what you store, and what you store is what you ship. A recycling inventory model has to track form factor, recovery percentage, container lineage, licence consumption, demurrage exposure, and yield variance — simultaneously, in real time, across multiple plants and operating units.

This Inventory module was built from a ground-up discovery across import scrap purchase, container receipting, multi-plant transfers, manufacturing consumption, finished goods movement, liquid metal dispatch, gate-pass control and statutory inventory compliance under GST and e-Way Bill. It is the inventory layer that the metal recycling industry has been quietly assembling out of spreadsheets and customisations for a decade — now consolidated into a single, audit-clean ERP module on Odoo.

INDUSTRY REALITY

The operational problems that erode margin every day.

Every metal recycler we work with carries a recognisable set of inventory wounds. The pattern is consistent across aluminium, copper, lead and nickel operations — and it shows up directly in the P&L.
Real-time stock blindness

Plant heads cannot answer 'how much metal is at which plant in which form' without spreadsheets. By the time the answer is ready, dispatch decisions have already been made on stale numbers.

Demurrage leak

Containers held beyond the free period accrue daily charges. Without an automated container-holding alert, demurrage silently consumes margin one 24-hour cycle at a time.

Yield variance loss

A vendor promises 85% recovery, the furnace returns 60%. Without a structured Provisional → Final → Settlement claim path, the loss is absorbed silently into manual costing.

Inter-plant mismatch

Stock leaves Gummidipoondi Unit-1 but never lands in Madhavaram Unit-2 books. Manual reconciliation between plants becomes a month-end fire drill.

Container lineage break

Once cargo is unloaded, the link to the originating ASN, BL and Bill of Entry is lost. Quality claims, licence debits and customs audits then require manual document hunts.

Liquid metal pressure

Molten aluminium from a liquid metal plant must reach the customer in 2–4 hours or it solidifies. A single failed e-Invoice or e-Way Bill at 9 PM directly destroys produced inventory.

Unauthorised stock movement

Vehicles leaving the plant without a system-validated gate-out pass create stock exposure, e-Way Bill non-compliance, and statutory detention risk on the road.

Replenishment by reaction

Purchase teams discover stock-outs from production calls, not from the system. Procurement runs on memory, not on min-max alerts and replenishment indents.

FEATURE SHOWCASE

Capabilities engineered for the recycling floor.

Each capability below is mapped to a specific operational reality observed across import scrap purchase, multi-plant manufacturing, and high-pressure dispatch.
01 / STRUCTURE
Multi-warehouse, multi-location, multi-operating-unit

Modelled around real-world plant geography — multiple production sites, Unit-1 / Unit-2 sub-structures, dedicated yards for raw scrap, finished goods, disposal stock, and ICS goods that physically never arrive. Every transaction carries an Operating Unit stamp, with its own document sequence and approval ceiling.

  • Operating Unit on every receipt, transfer, issue and dispatch — sequenced separately per unit for clean audit lineage
  • Plant → Yard → Store Location → Bin hierarchy, with quality-segregated holding for received vs approved stock
  • Inter-unit transfer with department tracking, source-to-destination visibility, and automatic journal posting
  • Real-time stock balancing between source and destination — no end-of-day reconciliation drift
02 / INBOUND
ASN & container-based inventory tracking

The import flow is the dominant value driver in metal recycling and the most rule-laden. Container tracking begins the moment cargo is loaded onto the vessel and the Bill of Lading is issued. From that point every downstream transaction — Gate-In, MRN, Quality Claim, Vendor Bill — is referenced back to the originating ASN and PO.

  • Advance Shipment Notice captured at container level with per-container product breakdown
  • Bill of Lading and Bill of Entry mapped to the ASN, with import licence consumption tracked at debit-time
  • Container Status, Container Pending, and Container Holding reports auto-emailed daily to senior authority
  • Demurrage exposure flagged when free time crosses 75% — escalation alert before the cost clock starts
  • Pre-close support: if a container short-ships, the open quantity is closed off cleanly rather than left dangling
03 / RECEIPT
MRN, GRN & the receipt chain

The system distinguishes between Material Receipt Note (raw materials against an Import or Raw-material PO), Goods Receipt Note (general items), MRN with ASN (containerised imports), and Service Receipt Note (freight, repair, transport). Each carries its own sequence, its own multi-level approval, and its own onward accounting path.

  • One MRN per container — the operational rule observed across every workshop session
  • Internal and external weighment captured separately, with bridge details and weighslip reference
  • Auto lot-number generation on receipt for lot-enabled tracking products
  • Transporter and vehicle number auto-captured from the linked Gate-In Pass
  • 10% tolerance on receipt — over and above this, the system blocks and requires an amended PO
  • Three-stage Quality Claim opens automatically when yield falls short of agreed percentage
04 / MOVEMENT
Inter-unit transfer with e-Way Bill intelligence

Group operations routinely move stock between Gummidipoondi and Madhavaram, between Unit-1 and Unit-2, and from raw yard to production warehouse. Where the inter-warehouse distance crosses the kilometre threshold under GST, an e-Way Bill is mandatory even for an internal transfer — without it, the vehicle in transit can be detained and fined. The module handles this distinction natively.

  • Stock Movement transactions between warehouses with department and cost-centre tagging
  • System-evaluated e-Way Bill requirement based on origin-to-destination distance vs configured threshold
  • Automatic journal posting on transfer execution — no manual GL touch required
  • Multi-level approval routing for large or sensitive transfers
  • Real-time stock update at source and destination with status tracking — Draft, Ready, Done
  • Refer-from-previous-transfer pattern for recurring inter-unit movements
05 / PLANNING
Replenishment, indents & min-max discipline

Most fast-moving items operate on a min-max replenishment rule — minimum 5, maximum 20, for instance. When stock falls below the minimum, the system raises an alert and emails the procurement team. A specialised Replenishment Purchase Indent is generated for low-stock items, separate from the standard Direct PI flow, allowing procurement to bulk-process low-stock indents without confusing them with project or one-off purchases.

  • Min-max thresholds at item and warehouse level — set once, monitored continuously
  • Replenishment PI auto-generated on min breach, with preferred vendor pre-filled
  • Direct PI for project, capital, and one-off purchase — kept distinct from replenishment
  • Material Requisition workflow for internal employee items (stationery, consumables) with department-wise tracking
  • Auto Stock Transfer triggered when an internal requisition is approved against on-hand stock
  • Make-to-stock production discipline — daily MOs sized to keep replenishment loop tight
06 / CONVERSION
Job work — customer and vendor variants

Job work splits into two distinct flows. Customer Job Work brings customer-supplied scrap into the plant for conversion into finished metal. Vendor Job Work sends plant-owned material out to a converter and brings the processed output back. Both run outside the platform's standard subcontracting module, with input-output linkage captured on the fly at transaction time rather than locked to a Bill of Material.

  • Job Work Order (Customer) — inbound scrap, plant-side conversion, finished output dispatched back
  • Job Work Order (Vendor) — outbound material under gate pass, conversion at vendor site, return receipt
  • Job Work Gate Pass (Out) and Job Work Gate Pass (In) — linked to the originating Job Work Order
  • Input-output ratio captured on each transaction — no rigid BOM dependency
  • Job Work Challan with returnable quantity tracking — open balance flagged until closure
  • RGP (Returnable Gate Pass) and NRGP (Non-Returnable Gate Pass) for equipment movement, separate from material job work
07 / TRACEABILITY
Lot, batch & commodity-grade tracking

Metal recycling is yield-driven and audit-sensitive. Every receipt of a lot-enabled product generates an automatic lot number at MRN time. The lot carries the container reference, the vendor's agreed yield percentage, the import licence consumption, and the storage location — and stays attached to the metal through smelting, casting and dispatch.

  • Auto lot-number generation on MRN, GRN and MRN-with-ASN — no manual key-in
  • Lot tracking from receipt through manufacturing consumption to finished goods output
  • Commodity classification — copper, lead, aluminium, nickel — with sub-grades per item master
  • Metal content / recovery percentage captured at item level for yield variance calculation
  • FIFO-based stock consumption on manufacturing orders — oldest lots issued first
  • End-to-end traceability from Bill of Lading to customer invoice via lot reference chain
08 / SECURITY
Gate pass & the validation chain

Gate pass is the physical-world checkpoint that gates every inventory movement, operated by security personnel at the entrance and exit. A vehicle never leaves the plant without a generated Gate-Out Pass — and a Gate-Out Pass cannot be generated for an outbound dispatch unless the underlying Delivery Order, e-Invoice, and e-Way Bill are valid and linked. This chained validation is the primary system control against unauthorised stock movement.

  • Gate-In Pass linked to PO / ASN / MRN for inbound vehicles
  • Gate-Out Pass mandatorily chained to DO, e-Invoice (IRN), and e-Way Bill — blocked if any link is missing
  • RGP for equipment going out for repair, NRGP for equipment dispatched permanently
  • Job Work Gate Pass (Out / In) for outsourced material conversion
  • Empty vehicle linkage — empty trips tied to subsequent loaded leg
  • Vehicle and transporter details auto-flowed from gate entry to receipt or dispatch document
09 / PRODUCTION
Manufacturing-linked inventory & liquid metal

The standard production sequence is Smelting → Cleaning → Hulling. Raw scrap is FIFO-consumed against the Manufacturing Order, finished ingot, sheet or wire is created at the same step, and the produced quantity is stock-transferred to the production warehouse. For molten aluminium dispatch, the ingot casting step is omitted — the liquid metal is sent directly to the customer in a tanker, and the entire downstream chain has to clear within hours.

  • FIFO raw material consumption with lot-level traceability through the manufacturing order
  • Manual cost definition at output level — approval-gated before MO closure
  • Disposal stock by-product captured automatically (stripped plastic, residue, contaminants)
  • Liquid Metal MO type for molten metal plants — fast-lane dispatch, no casting step
  • Real-time finished goods stock update at MO completion — no end-of-shift batch posting
  • Yield variance calculated by lot for downstream Quality Claim and vendor scoring

FORM FACTOR AWARENESS

Seven inventory categories. One unified ledger.

Same metal, different state. The module tracks each form factor as a distinct stock class, with its own source transaction, valuation logic, and consumption path.
DOMESTIC SALES
Battery, copper wire, aluminium scrap

Imported or domestic. Received against MRN with ASN linkage. Lot-numbered at receipt for end-to-end traceability.
Source: MRN

RECOVERED METAL
Cleaned, post-segregation

In-process metal after manual or mechanical separation. Furnace input. Carries the original lot reference forward.
Source: MO In-Process

INGOT / SHEET
Finished metal product

Output of smelting and casting. Available for domestic, export, and ICS sales. FIFO-consumed on dispatch.
Source: MO Output

THICK WIRE
Drawn / cast wire output

Treated as a separate SKU class with its own grade and commodity attributes, distinct from ingot and sheet.
Source: MO Output

LIQUID METAL
Molten aluminium — direct dispatch

Time-critical. Dispatch window in hours. Carries its own MO type and a dedicated fast-lane through e-Invoice and gate-out.
Source: Liquid Metal MO

DISPOSAL STOCK
Plastic, residue, low-grade

By-product of stripping and segregation. Captured for traceability and sold separately under Disposal Sale.
Source: MO By-product

ICS GOODS
Stock on the high seas

Cargo bought and sold while still on the vessel. Never physically received. Linked back-to-back to an ICS Sale.
Source: ICS Purchase

INTERNAL ITEMS
Stationery, consumables

Managed through Material Requisition with min-max replenishment and department-level cost allocation.
Source: Domestic GRN

OPERATIONAL WORKFLOWS

End-to-end inventory flows — modelled on plant reality.

Four core workflows that the module enforces. Every step is a system control, not a procedural guideline.
INBOUND · IMPORT
Inventory Flow

From PO commitment on the sea to approved raw material in the yard.

  • 01
    Purchase Order

    Priced / Unpriced + LME

  • 02
    ASN Captured

    Container + BL

  • 03
    Bill of Entry

    Customs cleared

  • 04
    Gate-In Pass

    Container arrives

  • 05
    Weighment

    Internal + External

  • 06
    MRN / GRN

    One MRN per container

  • 07
    QC & Yield

    Claim opens on variance

  • 08
    Warehouse Stock

    Lot + location assigned

System control: Every container is receipted as a discrete MRN. The import licence is debited at MRN time, ASN is consumed, and Bill of Entry is closed. A short-shipped container can be pre-closed; the open quantity is shut off cleanly rather than left as a dangling commitment.

INTER-UNIT
Internal Transfer Flow

Stock movement between plants and units, with statutory compliance built in.

  • 01
    Transfer Request

    From source warehouse

  • 02
    Approval

    Multi-level by value

  • 03
    Distance Check

    vs e-Way threshold

  • 04
    e-Way Bill

    Generated if required

  • 05
    Gate-Out

    Vehicle dispatched

  • 06
    In-Transit

    Status tracked

  • 07
    Receipt

    Destination gate-in

  • 08
    Stock Update

    Journal posted

System control: If origin-to-destination distance crosses the GST kilometre threshold, the e-Way Bill is mandatory — even though the transfer is internal. Without it, the vehicle in transit can be detained and fined. Within the same plant boundary, the e-Way Bill step is skipped automatically.

PRODUCTION
Manufacturing & Recovery Flow

Raw scrap to finished metal, with FIFO consumption and disposal capture.

  • 01
    MO Created

    Raw material item

  • 02
    FIFO Consume

    Oldest lot first

  • 03
    Smelt

    Furnace charge

  • 04
    Clean

    Skim & refine

  • 05
    Hull / Cast

    Ingot / sheet / liquid

  • 06
    Cost Approval

    Manual cost at output

  • 07
    FG Stock

    Transferred to FG WH

  • 08
    Disposal Stock

    By-product captured

System control: Output cost is approved at MO closure before stock is transferred to the production warehouse. Yield variance against the agreed vendor percentage is recorded against the originating lot for downstream Quality Claim and vendor scorecard reporting.

OUTBOUND
Dispatch Validation Flow

Sales order to gate-out — a chained validation that cannot be bypassed.

  • 01
    Sales Order

    Dom / Exp / ICS

  • 02
    Delivery Order

    Stock allocated

  • 03
    Vehicle Gate-In

    Loading bay assigned

  • 04
    Loading

    Weight capture

  • 05
    e-Invoice

    IRN via Master GSP

  • 06
    e-Way Bill

    Generated & printed

  • 07
    Gate-Out Pass

    Chain validated

  • 08
    Vehicle Departs

    Stock reduced

System control: A vehicle cannot receive a Gate-Out Pass unless the system has a confirmed Delivery Order, a successfully generated IRN from the GSP gateway, and a valid e-Way Bill. For liquid metal dispatch, this entire sequence has to complete within hours — supported by IRN auto-resync and a Government IRP fallback for outage scenarios.

DASHBOARDS & REPORTING

The reports that arrive in the senior-authority inbox every morning.

Three stock reports and three logistics reports are auto-emailed daily to senior authority. Each one corresponds to a specific operational risk — demurrage exposure, unapproved stock, dispatch readiness.

WHY IT’S DIFFERENT

This is not warehouse inventory. This is recycling inventory.

Six things a generic ERP cannot do — that a metal recycler quietly needs every single day.
Same metal in multiple forms, in real time

Standard ERPs assume what you receive is what you store. Recycling inventory has to represent raw scrap, recovered metal, ingot, sheet, wire, liquid metal and disposal stock as separate but linked categories — and convert between them continuously through manufacturing and stock-movement transactions.

Yield-sensitive valuation

A vendor commits 85% recovery, the furnace returns 60%. The inventory model carries the agreed yield against actual yield by lot, opens a Provisional Claim automatically on shortfall, and protects margin through the Final and Settlement stages rather than absorbing the loss into manual cost.

Container as a first-class object

Every container has a lineage: PO, ASN, BL, BoE, licence debit, MRN, lot, location, QC, MO consumption, dispatch lot. The system holds this chain end-to-end, so a customs audit, a quality claim, or a vendor query can be answered in a single click rather than a week of document hunts.

Compliance-aware stock movement

An e-Way Bill is not optional for an inter-plant transfer that crosses the GST kilometre threshold. The module evaluates distance, decides on requirement, and generates the bill — turning a statutory rule into a system control rather than a policy reminder.

Liquid metal as a discrete dispatch class

Molten aluminium has a 2–4 hour shelf life from furnace to customer. The module handles this through a dedicated MO type, fast-lane gate-out, IRN auto-resync and a Government IRP fallback — because losing a tanker of molten metal to a 9 PM e-Invoice failure is not a recoverable event.

High-seas trade without physical stock

ICS Goods — cargo bought and resold while still on the sea — never physically arrive. The module recognises this as a back-to-back inventory class, links the ICS Purchase to the ICS Sale, and runs the accounting cleanly without creating a phantom stock receipt.