August 31, 2021

Spreadsheets are the second-best software for everything. In my long time developing software for engineers and manufacturing companies, I’ve seen hundreds and thousands of examples of how spreadsheets can be used to manage information.

In the past, it was mostly Excel files, but recently companies are onboarding tools like Google Spreadsheets and Office 365. Each company that does it has its own perspective on what are the benefits of spreadsheets and what harm they can do when they get out of control.

Chad Jackson Video 

We asked Chad Jackson, CEO and Chief Analyst of Lifecycle Insight about the usage of spreadsheets in engineering and manufacturing. In the video below Chad shares his opinion and experience on how engineers and manufacturing companies are using spreadsheets to manage the Bill of Materials and related information. 

The need to manage information holistically is overwhelming these days. With the absence of tools, large companies try to use spreadsheets as a medium to transfer information between multiple systems, and by doing so, they build both relationships and streamline the process. As much as I see the huge importance of managing a holistic information flow in large enterprise organizations, spreadsheets are just as bad or sometimes even worst than using paper and emails to send data from one place to another. 

Conclusion 

Data is a big problem for many organizations these days. As organizations are moving into the digital future, data represents a critical part of the overall company business strategy. How do you turn data into a business asset? How do you build a data-driven organization and how do you organize the holistic information flow? – these are the questions organizations need to answer. 

Check out how OpenBOM can help you and your organization – REGISTER FOR FREE and start your 14-day trial today. 

Best, Oleg