Why are successful company abandoning Excel for planning?

Are you still using Excel as your standard tool for factory planning? If so, you're falling behind. There's no doubt that Excel is a powerful tool, allowing for calculations, data analysis, and report creation. All of us, whether amateurs or professionals, have used it. But aren't we being held hostage by its simplicity and versatility? The market and industry are increasingly challenging, whether due to supply chain volatility, rising costs, increasingly demanding customers, or more aggressive competition. Not all tools are capable of addressing these issues. As practical as Excel may be, it has its limitations. Limitations that cost company time and money, such as:

• Scale Limitations: Excel has restrictions on the number of data and formulas that can manipulate. This can be a problem for large factories or a wide variety of products.
• Human Failures: Excel is susceptible to human errors, such as typing errors or poorly elaborate formulas. This can lead to inaccurate or inefficient production plans.
• Collaboration Difficulty: Excel can be difficult to use in teams, as users can easily overlap or modify each other.

So how do many successful companies manage to do something so complex? They invest in innovation and digitization of their systems and rely on advanced and specialized solutions for production planning and scheduling, namely company Opcenter APS, formerly Preactor . And why choose Opcenter APS?

Easily integrate with any ERP or data source

How much time do you spend searching for information? Digging through Excel spreadsheets and files, searching for hidden tables, making calls or sending emails requesting information? Opcenter can extract information on orders, dates, routings, and bills of materials directly from the source, whether it's an ERP, MES, or mesExcel files used by various departments. This ensures you always have the most up-to-date information and saves time on tasks that don't add value.

Processing and response capacity

Opcenter APS not only handles largemes of data, but also uses advanced algorithms to generate accurate production plans that take into account machine capacities, routings, bills of materials, labor utilization, tools, and other specific rules. All of this is done in a matter of seconds or minutes.

Simulation capacity and visibility

Last-minute order changes, machine breakdowns, incorrect stock levels that lead to surprises when materials are missing during production, and a sudden increase in absenteeism. We all encounter some, if not all, of these situations! Unfortunately, they are more frequent than we would like. With Opcenter APS, we can quickly see the impact of these changes on the plan. We can understand, for example, which orders will be delayed. We can easily calculate and compare different scenarios and understand the best alternative to minimize the impacts. Excel can even be a practical tool that, on a small scale, can work in factory planning. However, as factories become more complex and the market more challenging, Excel becomes increasingly unsuitable for this task. SIEMENS Opcenter APS software offers a range of features that make it ideal for production planning at any scale and in any manufacturing industry, with proven results in cost reduction, improved resource utilization, and increased productivity. Don't let your company fall behind and contact NEO to learn more or request a free demonstration!