The launch of a manufacturing business quickly shows the need for software to track just about everything. In the manufacturing industry, there are often unique processes and workflow that need to be tracked. Many companies start out with spreadsheets or standard software, but these options could be holding the company back. Instead, custom software is often the better choice for any manufacturing business.

The Problem with Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets work fine for very small businesses with few things to track. Unfortunately, as the business grows, spreadsheets just aren’t able to keep up. Businesses that stick with spreadsheets likely have multiple ones for everything they need to track, and there’s a lot of room for error this way. Plus, it does get more complicated to keep adding spreadsheets, so when someone new is hired, it’s going to take a while to learn how everything is organized. Spreadsheets can also be difficult to keep updated or to back up as needed to avoid loss of data if anything happens.

The Problem with Commercial Software

Standard off-the-shelf software is another option manufacturing businesses often choose simply because it’s inexpensive. However, this can also negatively affect their business. The software can quickly become outdated, which means it doesn’t have the software updates needed to ensure it covers everything. It also doesn’t include customizations to the company’s particular processes, so workarounds will be needed. It also likely includes features that aren’t needed, which uses extra processing power and takes longer to load than it needs to before it can be used.

How Custom Software Can Help

Custom software, on the other hand, is made for the business. It covers everything the business needs, so there’s no need for a variety of spreadsheets or workarounds to use old, off-the-shelf software. It doesn’t have extra features that won’t be needed and doesn’t require a significant time investment to learn how to use it for the business. It simply works. There are three main ways that custom software can help manufacturing businesses.

• Scalability – Custom software can be scaled to meet the unique requirements of the business, no matter how big or how quickly it grows.
• Performance – Custom software doesn’t include features that aren’t needed, so it leads and runs faster, increasing the performance and boosting the workflow.
• Competitive Advantage – With custom software, the business has exactly what it needs to track everything, which means it may be far more functional compared to the software competitors are using.

When it comes to operating a manufacturing business, the unique processes and workflow mean that spreadsheets and standard software likely won’t be a good fit. In fact, with those options, there is a lot of room for inefficiency, which will negatively impact the business. Instead, look into having custom software created for your business. With custom software, you’ll have everything you need in one program to track processes and workflows without worrying about various spreadsheets, out-of-date software, or an inability to scale as your business continues to grow.