Production control built for scrap-to-ingot reality

A purpose-built manufacturing module for aluminium, copper, lead, and nickel recycling. Run Manufacturing Orders with and without BOM, manage recovery variance from imported scrap, dispatch liquid metal under hour-level pressure, and keep every batch traceable back to its originating container — all on one Odoo-based platform.

MANUFACTURING WORKFLOW

Raw Material → Finished Goods

Auto material consumption

Lot tracking in/out

Unbuild for rework

One ERP, full production visibility. MO orders track input materials, outputs, costs, and status from draft through completion — with stock effects in real time.

Manufacturing Overview

Built around the operational reality of metal recovery

In non-ferrous recycling, the input is never the same twice. A container of aluminium scrap declared at 85% recovery may yield 78%; a copper consignment of mixed wire and turnings produces an entirely different output mix than baled sheet. Standard manufacturing modules — built around a fixed Bill of Material — break under that volatility. They assume the inputs are predictable. Yours are not.

The MetalERP Manufacturing module is engineered around that single truth. The platform supports Manufacturing Orders with BOM for repeatable alloy production runs, and Manufacturing Orders without BOM for the more common reality — where input mix, recovery percentage, and finished form are determined at the time of production, not in advance. Cost is captured at output, scrap is segregated by category, and yield variance is recorded as a measurable signal rather than absorbed silently into the cost layer.

The three-stage smelting flow — Smelting → Cleaning → Hulling — is implemented natively, with finished output recorded in any of four forms: ingot, sheet, thick wire, or liquid metal. The platform respects the operational rhythm: roughly five MOs per day to maintain replenishment discipline on continuous sales demand, with min-max stock thresholds protecting against stockouts on liquid aluminium where delivery windows are measured in hours.

Why standard MRP doesn't fit metal recycling

Input scrap quality varies container-to-container
Recovery percentage is declared, not guaranteed
Liquid metal must dispatch within 2–4 hours of cast
Cost is determined post-production, not from BOM rollup
Some steps go in-house, others to vendor job work
LME rate movement directly impacts material cost
Production runs make-to-stock, never strictly made-to-order

INDUSTRY CHALLENGES

The operational problems no off-the-shelf manufacturing module solves

These are the failure modes we built the manufacturing module to handle. Each is drawn from real plant-floor observation, not theoretical use cases.

Yield Variance Bleeds Margin Silently

A container declared at 85% aluminium recovery delivers 78%. Without a system-level yield ledger, that 7-point gap absorbs into manual cost adjustments, vendor performance becomes a guess, and the procurement team loses the data to negotiate the next purchase.
Impact: Direct margin erosion per container

Liquid Metal is a Vanishing Asset

Aluminium delivered molten to industrial consumers must be cast, invoiced, e-way-billed, and gate-passed within 2–4 hours. A single e-Invoice failure at 9 PM, an IRN sync glitch, or a Master GSP outage during night shift translates directly into solidified, lost inventory.
Impact: Total loss of finished product

BOM-Driven Subcontracting Doesn't Work

Standard subcontracting modules expect a fixed input-output ratio. When you ship 10 tons of Material A to a vendor and receive back a variable mix of Material B, BOM-based subcontracting fails. You need on-the-fly input-output linkage at the transaction.
Impact: Lost job work traceability

Manual Cost Definition Creates Audit Gaps

When manufacturing cost is keyed in manually at output — without a rollup from raw material consumption, energy, labour, and scrap loss — yield variance and production losses become invisible to the accounting layer. Auditors flag this. Margin reports become unreliable.
Impact: Cost-of-production audit risk

Work-in-Progress has Nowhere to Live

When manufacturing collapses three stages into one MO, work-in-progress disappears from the stock ledger. Material that is ``in the furnace`` is neither raw nor finished. Without WIP visibility, planners can't react to delays and finance can't value mid-run inventory.
Impact: Production visibility blind spot

Recovery Tracking Lives in Spreadsheets

Container-by-container recovery percentages, vendor scorecards, batch-level yield curves — most plants track these in Excel. The data exists, but it never reaches production planning, vendor negotiation, or financial reporting in time to change a decision.
Impact: Decision-grade data, lost

KEY FEATURES

Every feature shaped by metal recycling operations

No generic manufacturing language. Every capability below was built in response to a specific operational pattern observed on the plant floor — from import-scrap MRN to liquid-metal dispatch.

PRODUCTION CORE

Manufacturing Order — With or Without BOM

BOM-driven MO for standardised alloy production
BOM-less MO for variable-input recycling runs
Order types: domestic, raw material, finished goods
Operating-unit-wise MO sequencing
FIFO stock consumption on raw material

APPROVALS

Group-Based MO Approval Hierarchy

Up to 3 configurable approval levels
Value-band and unit-based routing
Sequential clearance — Level 1 then Level 2
Override permitted with logged justification
Audit-grade approval log (parallel to chat)

COSTING

MO Order Creation

Manual cost entry for variable-yield production
Weighted average raw material costing
LME-linked input cost on unpriced PO tranches
Cost approval before warehouse transfer
Manufacturing cost list with revision history

REVERSAL

Vendor & Customer Job Work

Customer Job Work — inbound material, outbound finished
Vendor Job Work — outbound, vendor converts, inbound
On-the-fly input-output linkage per transaction
Job Work charge — input-based or output-based
Returnable gate pass linkage for outward dispatch

JOB WORK

Job Work Charges, Freight & Return Date

Per-process or per-unit charge configuration
Input-based vs output-based charge calculation
Expected return date with delay flagging
Inward/outward freight charge tracking
Pre-close approval for partial completion

JOB WORK

Multi-Company & Multi-Operating Unit

Multi-legal-entity operation on one platform
Operating-unit-wise sequence numbering
Inter-company stock transfer with e-Way Bill
Entity-specific approval hierarchy
Consolidated and entity-level reporting

QUALITY

Quality Inspection & Claim Linkage

QC checkpoint on raw material receipt (MRN)
QC checkpoint on finished output
Provisional → Final → Settled claim workflow
Lot-level claim linkage to MO
Approval-controlled credit/debit note generation

TRACEABILITY

Lot, Serial & Container Traceability

Auto-generated lot numbers on MRN
Lot tracking on raw material and finished goods
Container ID propagation through production
Backward trace: MO → MRN → ASN → Container → PO
Forward trace: MO → Stock → Sales → Invoice

STOCK

Real-Time Stock Consumption & Transfer

Live raw material consumption on MO confirmation
Auto stock transfer to production warehouse
FIFO-based scrap consumption
Min-max replenishment monitoring
Multi-warehouse, multi-location aware

MANUFACTURING WORKFLOW

From imported scrap to dispatched ingot — one continuous chain.

The end-to-end manufacturing lifecycle, as it actually runs on the floor. Every step links forward and backward, with no manual handoffs between systems or spreadsheets.

01
Scrap Receipt
ASN → MRN → Lot
02
Quality Inspection
Recovery % verified
03
Production Planning
Min-max replenishment
04
Work Center
Smelt · Clean · Hull
05
Finished Goods
Ingot · Sheet · Liquid

JOB WORK MANAGEMENT

Subcontracting that works both ways — without forcing a fixed BOM.

Job work in recycling moves in two directions. Customers ship material in for conversion; vendors receive material for processing and return it transformed. The platform handles both as first-class workflows with full traceability and gate-pass linkage.

VENDOR JOB WORK

Outbound Material, Vendor Conversion, Return

Send Material A to a vendor — typically when specialised processing capacity exists outside the plant. Vendor processes and returns Material B. The Job Work Order anchors the in-out transformation; charge is settled as a Service PO.

Order Creation: JWO sequence per operating unit; multi-level approval based on amount
Inward Update: Add inward lines and update quantities post-approval as material returns
Recovery %: Line-level recovery percentage capture for variance analysis
Charge Basis: Job work charge configurable per input quantity or per output quantity
Gate Pass: Returnable gate pass on outbound; inbound gate pass on receipt
e-Way Bill: Auto-generated on both outbound dispatch and inbound return
Pre-Close: Partial completion supported when balance material is no longer required

CUSTOMER JOB WORK

Inbound Customer Material, Internal Conversion, Outbound Finished

Customer ships raw material to the plant for conversion. The Group processes — say, scrap to ingot, sheet to coil — and dispatches finished output back. Material remains the customer’s property throughout; no inventory ownership transfer occurs.

Inbound MRN: MRN raised against Customer JWO — not against a Vendor PO
Ownership: Inventory belongs to the customer; no asset transfer to Metal Recycling
Conversion: Internal processing tracked through standard MO with lot linkage
Output Dispatch: Delivery Order, e-Invoice, e-Way Bill on finished goods return
Service Invoice: Conversion charge invoiced separately as service
Challan View: Smart-button view of all Job Work Challans against the JWO
Department Mapping: Track which department handled the conversion run

QUALITY & RECOVERY TRACKING

Recovery variance becomes a measurable signal — not absorbed cost.

The single most important number in metal recycling is the gap between declared and actual recovery. The platform makes that gap visible, attributable, and actionable — by container, by vendor, by furnace, by batch.

Every imported scrap consignment carries a declared recovery percentage in the purchase contract — for example, 85% on an aluminium consignment. The actual recovery from the smelter rarely matches exactly. A 7-point shortfall on a 20-ton container represents 1.4 tons of finished metal that the cost layer expected but never received.

The platform captures recovery at three points: at MRN (against the visual inspection and weight), at QC (against laboratory verification), and at MO close (against actual furnace output). Variance at any stage triggers the appropriate workflow — Provisional Claim against the supplier, internal investigation, or production review.

The data feeds the Vendor Scorecard, where consistent under-recovery from a specific supplier becomes negotiation leverage on the next purchase. It feeds the Yield Variance Report, where planned vs actual recovery by container drives procurement decisions. And it feeds the Live Production Yield Dashboard, where furnace-by-furnace yield in real time is critical for liquid-metal dispatch sensitivity.

Three-stage Quality Claim — Provisional, Final, Settled — with approval gating
Quality Claim Aging report — open claims by stage with aging buckets
Lot-level claim linkage to MO, MRN, and originating PO
Internal credit notes routine; external customer credit notes require higher approval
Live furnace yield dashboard for night-shift liquid metal monitoring

Tenthplanet Odoo Manufacturing ERP for Metal Recycling

INVENTORY & LOGISTICS INTEGRATION

Production doesn't end at the furnace — it ends at the truck.

The manufacturing module is wired directly into stock, container, gate pass, and e-way bill workflows. The moment a batch closes, the dispatch pipeline is ready. The moment a vehicle leaves the gate, the inventory ledger reflects it.

Inventory Integration

FIFO-based raw material consumption — oldest scrap stock consumed first to manage demurrage and ageing exposure
Real-time stock updates on both source and destination warehouses — no lag, no end-of-day batch sync
Auto stock transfer from production line to finished goods warehouse on MO close
Min-max replenishment monitoring on finished goods — production planners see the gap before it becomes a stockout
Lot/serial integrity preserved across stage transitions — Smelting → Cleaning → Hulling
Multi-warehouse and multi-store-location aware for plant-wide stock visibility
Unbuild order reverses inventory cleanly — finished stock back to raw, with audit-locked traceability

Logistics Integration

Container ID propagates from ASN through MRN, production, and into finished goods — backward traceability on demand
Gate Pass mandatory for every inbound and outbound movement — no manual override on dispatch
e-Way Bill auto-generated on inter-unit transfer where kilometre threshold applies
e-Invoice IRN generation integrated with Master GSP, with fallback to direct IRP for outage scenarios
Vehicle gate-in / gate-out captured against the Delivery Order and Manufacturing Order references
Transporter and vehicle number auto-captured on outbound dispatch from gate entry
Liquid metal dispatch window — 2–4 hour clock starts at MO close; full digital trace ends at gate-out

COSTING & FINANCIAL INTEGRATION

Production cost that holds up to audit

Metal recycling cost is not a textbook BOM rollup. It blends LME-linked unpriced PO tranches, weighted-average raw material cost, freight, RCM on transporters, and a manual cost adjustment at output that approval-controls the margin. The platform handles all four layers.

LME-Linked Raw Material Cost

Imported scrap arrives under Priced or Unpriced POs. For unpriced parent orders, individual tranches are fixed against LME rates over time. Each tranche becomes a child Priced PO.

Raw Cost = LME(tranche) + Premium + Duty + Freight

Weighted Average Costing

When multiple containers of the same scrap category land at different rates, weighted average becomes the consumption cost on the MO. The platform handles the moving average automatically as new MRNs land.

Raw Cost = WAC = Σ(Qty × Rate) / Σ(Qty)

Input/Output Based Job Work Charge

Vendor job work cost is configurable two ways — per unit of input dispatched, or per unit of output received. The basis is locked at JWO creation, eliminating the ambiguity that drives reconciliation disputes.

Raw Cost = JW Charge = Qty × Rate per UoM

Manual Cost at Output

For variable-yield runs, the user defines manufacturing cost at output. Approval is mandatory before the MO closes and the produced quantity transfers to the production warehouse. Cost revisions carry full audit history.

Raw Cost = Mfg Cost = User-Defined, Approval-Gated

RCM on Transporter Freight

Inbound freight on raw material attracts Reverse Charge Mechanism — GST is the recipient’s responsibility. The platform recognises the RCM tax line, posts it correctly to the GL, and flows it into the GST return reconciliation.

Raw Cost = RCM GST = Freight × Tax Rate → ITC

Auto Accounting Posting

Every MO confirmation, every Unbuild Order, every job work return triggers an automatic journal entry — raw material credit, WIP debit, finished goods debit, cost-of-production credit. No nightly batch posting, no manual journal vouchers.

Raw Cost = MO Close → Auto Journal → Real-time GL

DASHBOARDS & REPORTS

Production intelligence — not month-end exports.

Real-time visibility into yield, cost, and operational risk. The reports management actually opens, delivered when they actually matter.

Live Production Yield Dashboard

Furnace-by-furnace yield in real time. Critical for liquid-metal dispatch sensitivity where deviation matters within the hour.

Yield Variance Report

Planned vs actual recovery percentage by vendor and by container. The basis of vendor performance scoring and next-purchase negotiation.

MO Status Summary

Draft, confirmed, in-progress, done. Operating-unit-wise breakdown with approval-pending highlight for managers.

Manufacturing Cost Register

Cost per MO with revision history. Manual overrides flagged. Approval trail attached. Audit-ready.

Vendor Scorecard

Yield performance, quality claim exposure, on-time delivery, demurrage cost attribution — per supplier, rolling 12 months.

Job Work Tracking

Open job work orders by vendor and customer, with expected return dates, inward-pending quantities, and aged exposures.

Replenishment Status

Finished goods inventory against min-max thresholds. Items below min flagged for production planning; items above max held back.

e-Invoice Failure Log

IRN generation failures with error codes, resync status, and resolution — critical during night-shift liquid metal dispatch.

Furnace Utilisation

Machine-level utilisation, idle time, and throughput per furnace. Identifies plant bottlenecks before they hit dispatch.