Make-to-stock manufacturing means producing products ahead of demand, so they are ready in stock when orders arrive. This piece explains how to set up make-to-stock manufacturing in Odoo.
What make-to-stock means
In make-to-stock manufacturing, production runs to build and replenish stock, against a forecast of demand, rather than waiting for confirmed orders. When a customer order arrives, it is met from stock that already exists. The customer gets fast delivery; the manufacturer carries finished-goods inventory and the forecasting risk that comes with building ahead. Setting up make-to-stock in Odoo means configuring products so production is driven by the need to keep stock at a planned level, not by individual orders.
The core of the setup: stock-driven replenishment
The make-to-stock behaviour comes from configuring the product so its replenishment is driven by stock level rather than triggered by demand. The main mechanism is the reordering rule: a minimum and maximum stock level for the product. When stock falls to the minimum, Odoo generates the replenishment to bring it back up, and for a manufactured product, that replenishment is a manufacturing order. So a make-to-stock product is set up with reordering rules, and production runs to keep the product topped up against those levels.
This is the opposite arrangement to make-to-order. Make-to-order configures the product so demand triggers production; make-to-stock configures the product so stock level triggers production, against forecast-informed levels.
The role of the plan
Make-to-stock is forecast-driven, and the setup connects to planning. The reordering rule levels for a make-to-stock product should be set informed by expected demand: how much the product is expected to sell, over what period. Where production needs to be shaped deliberately, the master production schedule is where the planner plans make-to-stock production ahead, leveling it and deciding how much to build against the forecast. So setting up make-to-stock well is partly product configuration, the reordering rules, and partly planning, using the forecast and the MPS to drive sensible production ahead of demand.
The prerequisites
As with any manufactured product, a make-to-stock product needs its foundations: an accurate bill of materials, and a routing if production is tracked by operation. The make-to-stock configuration, the reordering rules and the forecast-informed planning, sits on top of those foundations.
Setting the levels
Much of make-to-stock setup is in the reordering rule levels. The minimum should be high enough that the product does not run out before a triggered manufacturing order can replenish it, accounting for the manufacturing lead time. The maximum determines how much each production run makes. Setting these well means balancing the cost of holding finished-goods stock against the risk of being unable to deliver, informed by the product's expected demand and its manufacturing lead time. And the levels should be reviewed as demand changes, so they keep reflecting reality.
Make-to-stock and make-to-order together
A manufacturer rarely runs only one strategy. Most produce some products to stock and some to order, and a hybrid, components or sub-assemblies built to stock against forecast, final production triggered by the order, is common. Odoo handles this because the strategy is configured per product. Setting up make-to-stock for the products that suit it, while other products are make-to-order, is the normal, expected arrangement, and the manufacturer chooses the strategy product by product.
The takeaway
Setting up make-to-stock manufacturing in Odoo means configuring products so production is driven by stock level, mainly through reordering rules with a minimum and maximum, rather than by individual orders. The levels should be informed by the demand forecast, and the master production schedule is where forecast-driven production is shaped. Set the levels balancing holding cost against delivery risk, account for manufacturing lead time, and review them as demand changes. Make-to-stock and make-to-order are configured per product. For how we approach Odoo for manufacturers, see our manufacturing work.