Odoo 20 Inventory: Key Updates for Growing Businesses
- November 6, 2026
- Posted by: Dania Sibionna Philemon
- Categories: Blog, ERP Software, ERP Solutions, Inventory Management, Odoo ERP
For distribution companies, knowing what is in the warehouse, how to manage order fulfillment, when to trigger replenishment requests, and how to track returns in the best way possible are just some of the high-level tasks at hand.
When a warehouse is poorly managed, too much stock can pile up, leading to blocked capital, while inadequate stock can result in lost orders or late deliveries. The situation gets complex when an organization needs to manage several warehouses or if the distribution network is spread over several cities or countries.
Although accurate and timely inventory management is key, many distribution companies continue to manage their department or business with spreadsheets and rely on manually checking stock availability.
Manual inventory management is time-consuming and error-prone. The inventory module of Odoo offers affordable automation and enables distributors to simplify replenishment, set reorder points, track fast- and slow-moving products, and plan purchases based on demand.
Warehouse teams can work with greater efficiency with barcode scanning, automated stock transfers, and systematized picking, packing, and shipping.
Sales teams also benefit because they can confidently promise delivery dates based on accurate stock information.
Need automation for your distribution company? Consider Odoo Inventory Module
For small and mid-sized companies that are looking for cost-effective yet scalable software solutions, Odoo is an good choice. As an open-source ERP, distribution businesses can adopt modules as they scale. In the last couple of years, the ERP has introduced extensive AI capabilities.
In September of 2026, Odoo released its latest version, Odoo 20. In this blog post, we review the new features of the ERP and show how a company like yours could benefit from it.
New features in Odoo 20
Improved Allocation Report
This feature in Odoo 20 makes it easier for users to allocate available stock to a customers order. Users can assign products from the forecast report, without having to toggle between screens. The new allocation report provides a clearer view of stock allocation, and this enables a user to prioritize orders and manage shortages.
CMR Document Generation
If your business is engaged in international road transport, Odoo 20 simplifies the documentation required in the shipping process. Users can download a CMR (Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road) document from a delivery order. The document is automatically filled with information from the stock transfer, and users reduce manual work and documentation errors.
Company-Specific Customer Lead Times
If you manage several companies, this feature in Odoo 20 now lets you set different customer lead times for the same product. For instance, if your companies are based in Germany or Belgium you can define different delivery lead times based on each company’s operations.
Improved Intercompany Inventory Management
For companies within the same business group, Odoo 20 improves how they share inventory and fulfill orders. Businesses can now:
- Automate the replenishment of stock from another company using inventory routes.
- Fulfill sales orders by using another company’s warehouse or pickup location.
- Transfer inventory valuation costs correctly between companies.
- Automate the communication of changes in quantities, prices, and other details between linked sales and purchase orders.
These improvements help distributors manage inventory in multiple legal entities, warehouses, or countries.
View Inventory at a Past Date
During an audit, financial reporting, or stock investigation, businesses often need to check how much stock they had at a particular point in time.
This new feature in Odoo 20 allows users to pick a date in the stock report and view historical inventory levels down to a specific date and time. Existing report filters also make comparisons easy.
Landed Costs for Individual Products
Landed costs include several expenses such as freight, insurance, customs duties, and handling charges. In Odoo 20, you can now assign landed costs to products within a stock transfer instead of wrongly distributing costs across the entire shipment. This helps companies calculate product costs and track profit margins.
Location-Specific Push Routes
This feature in Odoo 20 gives warehouse managers better control over how products move within a warehouse. Push routes can be configured based on where products are received.
For instance, products arriving at WH/Input/A can be instructed to follow one warehouse route, while products arriving at WH/Input/B follow another. This helps warehouses that handle different product categories, storage requirements, or processing workflows.
Picking and Transfer Notifications
Often, warehouse teams do not know the status of a stock transfer and may take the wrong action. With this feature in Odoo 20, the team gets notified about stock transfers and are thus informed about movements without repeatedly checking the system. This feature also improves coordination between warehouse teams who are involved in picking, packing, and dispatching orders.
Preview Barcode Instructions
Barcode scanning helps warehouse employees receive, pick, and ship faster. In Odoo 20, administrators can preview the instructions that warehouse operators will see in the Barcode app directly from the operation type settings.
Easier Product Packaging Barcode Management
Distributors sell product in different packaging units, such as individual pieces, boxes, and cartons. Odoo 20 makes packaging barcodes easier to access and manage from the product form, and helps warehouse teams identify the correct packaging during stock operations.
Simplified Product Replenishment
Odoo 20 now combines the “Order” and the “Order to Max” buttons into a single “Order” button.
When users reorder products in advance, even before they reach the reorder point, Odoo calculates the required quantity based on the maximum stock level minus the forecast quantity and simplifies the ordering process.
Sendcloud: Package Reference on Shipping Labels
Odoo 20 improves its integration with Sendcloud, a prominent e-commerce shipping automation platform, by automating the sharing of package reference numbers. The references can now be printed on shipping labels by carriers that support this feature and warehouse teams can easily identify packages, track shipments, and ensure accurate dispatches.
ShipStation Shipping Connector
Odoo 20 has introduced a new integration. This one is with ShipStation, a web-based e-commerce shipping and order fulfillment software. The integration allows businesses to calculate shipping costs, generate shipping labels, and retrieve tracking numbers via Odoo. This feature reduces the need for users to switch between systems.
Stock Aging Report
Knowing how long products are sitting in a warehouse is key for businesses to control inventory costs. Odoo 20 introduces a stock aging report, accessible from the Moves Analysis pivot view. Businesses can use this report to identify slow-moving inventory, review stock movement patterns, and make better decisions about purchasing, promotions, and stock clearance.
Suggested Stock Levels for Reordering Rules
Setting minimum and maximum stock numbers can be difficult for distributors managing thousands of SKUs. Odoo 20 makes this process manageable by suggesting stock levels based on previous demand, the number of days of inventory coverage required, and ordering frequency.
Variant-Specific HS Codes
Harmonized System (HS) codes classify products for international trade and to meet customs requirements. In Odoo 20, distributors have the option to assign different HS codes to individual product variants instead of using a single code for all variants. This is useful when product variations require different customs classifications.
Improved Traceability Report
Track goods across suppliers, warehouses, and customers with Odoo 20. The improved Traceability Report now shows upstream and downstream lot and serial numbers in a single view. Final stock locations are highlighted, and this makes it easier for a distributor to follow a product’s movement, investigate quality issues, and manage product recalls.
Variant-Specific Packaging
Sometimes, a distributor will package a product differently based on the size of a carton or package configuration. In such a scenario, Odoo 20 enables businesses to determine the package for product variants.
Vendor Purchase Reference on Receipts
Odoo 20 makes it easier for warehouse teams to identify incoming shipments by displaying the vendor’s purchase reference directly on the receipt transfer. Employees need not read the PO to access this information, and this improves traceability.
ZPL Location Barcodes
Another feature introduced in Odoo 20 is the option to print warehouse location barcode labels in ZPL (Zebra Programming Language) format or commonly used by Zebra label printers. With this option, your warehouse teams can print labels for shelves, bins, storage areas, scan these labels, and identify locations during inventory operations.
TikTok and Lazada Marketplace Integrations
For retailers and distributors on multiple online marketplaces, managing orders and inventory on several platforms is time-consuming. Odoo 20 now integrates with TikTok Shop and Lazada, enabling users to import marketplace orders, retrieve delivery information, and synchronize inventory directly with Odoo.
Simplified inventory management
Point of Sale can now work with the inventory module without installing the Inventory app.
Packages: pre-encoded contents
Information regarding packages sent by the vendor can be pre-encoded in the Inventory app. When receiving the package, users can scan the code on the package to note the contents.
Who should adopt the Odoo 20 Inventory Management module?
Odoo 20 Inventory is best for businesses that have physical stock to manage, run a warehouse, or want better control over their purchasing, storage and order fulfilment. The module is useful for businesses that are growing and are currently struggling with stock-outs, having too much stock, a lot of manual processes.
Industries That Can Benefit from Odoo 20 Inventory
1. Distribution and Wholesale: The inventory module in Odoo 20 can be used by distributors who have large product catalogues, multiple warehouses, a lot of bulk orders and frequent stock movements.
2. Manufacturing: Manufacturers can track raw materials, WIP and finished goods.
3. Retail and eCommerce: Retailers selling through bricks and mortar, their own websites and via marketplaces.
4. Automotive and spare parts: For businesses that have thousands of parts and product variations you can track inventory by location, manage replenishment and use lot/serial number tracking.
5. Food and Beverage: Odoo can be used to manage batches, expiry dates, stock rotation and traceability.
6. Healthcare and Medical Supplies: Medical equipment and supply distributors can track batches, serial numbers, expiry dates and inventory movements.
When should a business consider moving to Odoo 20 Inventory?
- Frequently experience stock discrepancies.
- Struggle with delayed deliveries.
- Spend too much time manually updating stock levels.
- Manage inventory across multiple warehouses.
- Rely on spreadsheets.
- Want better visibility into slow-moving and aging inventory.
- Require barcode scanning and lot or serial number tracking.
- Need to connect inventory with shipping and logistics platforms.
Why Choose Navabrind IT Solutions for Odoo 20 Inventory Implementation?
Navabrind IT Solutions is an Odoo Gold Partner with over a decade of experience in helping distribution companies in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the UK, the UAE, and India gain control over their inventory, warehouses, and order fulfillment.
We understand the challenges distributors face, from managing stocks in multiple locations and avoiding stockouts to handling large order volumes and meeting timely deliveries. Our team helps you configure Odoo 20 Inventory for warehouse management, automated replenishment, barcode scanning, stock transfers, and shipping integrations.
With our preconfigured Odoo Distribution packages, we can also help you get started faster while keeping customizations to a minimum.
Our expertise goes beyond implementation. We help distributors migrate historical and transactional data from existing ERP systems, be they SAP, Tally, or Zoho to Odoo. We help our clients integrate Odoo with sales, purchasing, accounting, eCommerce, and logistics platforms, and train your employees to use the system effectively.
Whether you’re moving from spreadsheets, upgrading an older version of Odoo, or replacing an existing ERP, we provide consulting and implementation end-to-end.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What’s new in Odoo 20 Inventory?
Odoo 20 introduces a number of improvements to the inventory module such as, a new stock age report to help you identify slow-moving stock, a feature to identify minimum and maximum stock levels based on your historical demand, and improved shipping integrations. With Odoo 20, users also find warehouse management, stock movement tracking and the automation of day-to-day inventory tasks easier.
2. When was Odoo 20 released?
Odoo 20 was officially released on 24th September 2026 at Odoo Experience 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. The release included new AI capabilities, deeper automation and updates across modules such as manufacturing, inventory, accounting, sales and e-commerce.
3. How does Odoo 20 help distribution companies to manage their stock better?
Odoo 20 helps distribution companies to better manage stock across multiple warehouses, track stock movements and plan replenishment. The new stock levels feature recommends minimum and maximum stock levels based on historical demand, preventing stockouts and overstocking. Distributors can use the stock age report to identify slow moving stock, improve their stock allocation and manage transfers between warehouses.
4. Can I see my past stock levels in Odoo 20?
Yes. You can use the new date picker in the Stock Report to go back and see the inventory quantities at a certain point in time whilst still retaining your existing filters. This is useful when looking into stock variances, reviewing historical inventory positions or simply checking what the stock level was at the time of a customer order.
5. Does Odoo 20 support barcode scanning and shipping integrations?
Odoo 20 has barcode scanning for receiving, picking, transferring and inventory. New features include bulk lot/serial number generation, easier package scanning and improved barcode handling. The new integration with ShipStation helps calculate shipping costs, generate labels and pull tracking numbers. Sendcloud has been improved to allow you to manage pickup points and include package references on the labels where supported.
Schedule a conversation with us now!
written by
Dania Sibionna Philemon
Business Consultant - ERP and PIM Solutions
Dania brings over five years of experience in consultative selling, lead generation, and business development across the US, UK, EMEA, and APAC markets. She specialises in identifying and engaging small and mid-size businesses, guiding them through the process of adopting highly tailored solutions that fit the way they actually work. Known for building genuine relationships rather than just closing deals, Dania takes a people-first approach to business development — taking the time to understand each client's challenges before recommending a path forward. Her cross-market experience gives her a sharp understanding of how businesses at different stages of growth think, buy, and scale.
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written by
Dania Sibionna Philemon
Business Consultant - ERP and PIM Solutions
Dania brings over five years of experience in consultative selling, lead generation, and business development across the US, UK, EMEA, and APAC markets. She specialises in identifying and engaging small and mid-size businesses, guiding them through the process of adopting highly tailored solutions that fit the way they actually work. Known for building genuine relationships rather than just closing deals, Dania takes a people-first approach to business development — taking the time to understand each client's challenges before recommending a path forward. Her cross-market experience gives her a sharp understanding of how businesses at different stages of growth think, buy, and scale.
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