Application case study

A production-planning app that replaced the spreadsheets

A manufacturer planned production in a stack of linked spreadsheets. A custom application now connects demand, stock and the schedule in one system.

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60%Less planning timeNot stated in source · Delivery report
FewerStockoutsNot stated in source · Delivery report
1Source of truthNot stated in source · Delivery report
11 wkFrom kickoff to liveProject duration · Delivery report

The challenge

Planning lived in spreadsheets one person owned

Production was planned across a set of linked spreadsheets that pulled numbers from the ERP, stock counts and a demand sheet.

The files were fragile, only one planner understood the formulas, and a single broken link could throw off a week of scheduling. When demand changed, replanning meant hours of manual editing.

Plans built in fragile linked spreadsheets.
Stock and demand figures often out of date.
Only one person could safely make changes.
Stockouts and idle time from late replanning.

The solution

One application for demand, stock and the schedule

We built a custom production-planning application that reads demand and stock from the ERP, holds the plan in one place, and lets the whole planning team work in it with role-based access.

It flags shortages before they become stockouts and recalculates the schedule when demand changes.

Live demand and stock pulled from the ERP.
One shared plan the team edits together.
Shortage and capacity warnings before they bite.
Replanning in minutes, not a day of editing.

How we delivered

Mapped the spreadsheets, then rebuilt the logic

We sat with the planner, mapped every formula and rule the spreadsheets encoded, and agreed the data model before building.

We shipped the core planning view first and ran it alongside the spreadsheets for two cycles to confirm the numbers matched, then switched the team over.

The application went live in eleven weeks.

The outcome

Faster planning, fewer stockouts, one source of truth

Planning time fell by about 60 percent, because the data is live and replanning is automatic.

Stockouts dropped as shortages now surface early. Most importantly, the plan no longer depends on one person and one file: it is one system the whole team trusts.

Planning used to live in a stack of spreadsheets only one person understood. Now it is one application the whole team plans in, replanning takes minutes, and the numbers finally agree. Operations Director, Manufacturer

Related service

Engineering

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Move Planning Off the Spreadsheets