Excel — a good start, but not a long-term answer

Excel is one of the most widely used tools in business.

It is easy. It is flexible. Everyone knows it.

Which is exactly why almost every manufacturer starts with it.

The problem is not Excel.

The problem arrives when the business starts to grow.

When Excel stops being enough

At the start everything is clear:

• few orders
• few people
• easy coordination
• easy planning

Excel does the job.

But over time things start to change:

• more orders
• more stages
• more people
• more information moving around

And that is when the strain starts to show.

The signs that Excel is now getting in the way

The information is out of date

One file gets updated.

Another stays old.

Someone is working from the wrong version.

And nobody is sure which one is right.

There are too many versions

"The latest version" becomes a relative concept.

Files get emailed around.

Copies are kept locally.

Changes get lost.

The data is fragmented

One spreadsheet for orders.

Another for materials.

A third for deadlines.

With no link between them.

Finding information takes time

Instead of making a decision, you are looking for information.

That slows down the whole process.

Everything depends on one person

There is often "one person who knows everything".

They have access to the files and they know the logic built into them.

Everyone else relies on them to coordinate and explain.

And that creates risk.

Where the real problem lies

Excel was not built to run a production process.

It does not provide:

• real time
• traceability
• links between processes

And once a manufacturer reaches a certain size, that starts to be felt.

What changes with the right system

When information is gathered in one place:

• everyone sees the same thing
• the data is current
• the processes are connected
• decisions get made faster

Production stops running in catch-up mode.

Why we built WispTrack

WispTrack does not replace Excel entirely.

It replaces the need to run a complex process through it.

It is built for the moment when Excel no longer suffices.

In closing

Excel is a good tool.

But when it starts raising more questions than it answers, that is a sign.

A sign that the business is ready for the next step.