Why relying on spreadsheets for Production Planning will reduce your competitive advantage

Spreadsheets, while powerful for simple data tracking, lack the ability to provide a real-time, dynamic view of your production operations. When you input data into a spreadsheet, you’re essentially creating a snapshot of what’s happening at that moment.

However, manufacturing environments are constantly changing, with machines breaking down, delays in raw material deliveries, or changes in customer orders. Spreadsheets cannot track these variables in real time.

Why this reduces your competitive advantage: Spreadsheets quickly become outdated, and when you make decisions based on this outdated information, you’re setting yourself up for operational inefficiencies. For example, if a machine unexpectedly breaks down and this isn’t reflected in your spreadsheet, you might overcommit resources to a schedule that’s no longer realistic. This means you’re either missing deadlines or overloading other resources to meet customer demands.

Imagine a scenario where a breakdown occurs but isn’t updated in your spreadsheet until hours later. You might think you have the capacity to take on new orders, but in reality, you’re scrambling to catch up and failing to meet customer expectations. With outdated data, you’re making decisions based on assumptions, not the actual state of your operations.

Manufacturing is fluid. Your planning tool should be too.

One of the major drawbacks of spreadsheets is that they do not provide a clear, visual overview of your production capacity. At any given moment, you need to know whether your machines are at full capacity, running below it, or whether there’s an unexpected bottleneck that could cause delays. Spreadsheets offer rows and columns of data, but they don’t give you a clear, visual layout of your production schedule or available capacity. Obviously, there are ways to create visuals within Excel or by using tools such as Power BI.

Why this reduces your competitive advantage:
Without a visual representation of your production capacity, you risk missing opportunities to optimise your schedule. For example, let’s say a machine is underutilised on a particular day, but it’s not immediately obvious in your spreadsheet. If you don’t spot this spare capacity, you might miss an opportunity to take on a new customer order or expedite an existing one.

To maintain a competitive advantage, being able to quickly identify and allocate available capacity is crucial. Spreadsheets simply don’t allow for this level of flexibility or ease of use. You can’t instantly see where you can free up resources or predict where bottlenecks will form, which ultimately leaves you more vulnerable to delays and missed opportunities.

Bottlenecks are one of the most frustrating and costly issues in manufacturing. When a machine or a process is overloaded, it slows down the entire production line, leading to delays, reduced throughput, and even dissatisfied customers. While spreadsheets can track individual tasks or operations, they don’t give you an immediate, holistic view of the entire production flow. This means you can’t easily spot where bottlenecks are occurring or predict when one might form.

Why this reduces your competitive advantage:
Without the ability to proactively identify bottlenecks, you’re forced into a reactive mode. You might only realise there’s a problem when it’s already affecting your production timelines, meaning you’re scrambling to fix it while your competitors are already one step ahead. When you don’t have visibility into potential bottlenecks, you’re also less able to reschedule or reallocate resources to prevent delays before they happen.

In comparison, a visual planning tool with a reactive Gantt chart can provide real-time updates and clearly show when a machine is overloaded or when production is about to fall behind. With this insight, you can make adjustments on the fly — whether that’s moving tasks to another machine or shifting the production schedule to avoid a bottleneck.

Another issue with relying on spreadsheets for production planning is that they don’t foster easy collaboration. In many manufacturing environments, different departments or teams are responsible for different parts of the production process. Sales teams, production planners, machine operators, and maintenance crews all need to coordinate to ensure that production runs smoothly. However, when everyone is working from different versions of a spreadsheet, it’s easy for miscommunications or errors to slip through the cracks.

Why this reduces your competitive advantage:
Inefficient coordination and communication lead to confusion, delays, and mistakes. Production schedules may clash, maintenance may be scheduled at the wrong time, or important customer orders may get overlooked. When all teams are working in silos with outdated or inaccurate data — or simply working on different versions — it’s nearly impossible to maintain a seamless production process. Meanwhile, your competitors with more advanced systems can react faster and more efficiently, leaving you at a disadvantage.

By switching to a more modern scheduling tool, you can integrate different teams into a single collaborative platform where they can access up-to-date, accurate information in real time. This improves communication and coordination, ultimately resulting in smoother operations and a more agile response to customer demands.

Spreadsheets are notoriously prone to human error. Whether it’s accidentally overwriting data, entering the wrong numbers, or making a mistake in complex formulas, it’s all too easy to introduce errors into your production schedule. These mistakes can quickly snowball and cause production delays, missed deadlines, and poor customer satisfaction.

Why this reduces your competitive advantage:
Human error in spreadsheets can have far-reaching consequences, and even a small mistake can cause significant disruptions to your production process. With manufacturing operations that involve hundreds, if not thousands, of moving parts, relying on spreadsheets increases the likelihood of mistakes that could be avoided with a more intuitive and reliable planning tool.

In contrast, using an automated, software-based planning system minimises the risk of human error. The system can validate data inputs and automate complex calculations, ensuring that your production schedules are accurate and reliable.