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Manufacturing

Production Scheduling Moved from Spreadsheets to a System Workflow

Replacing spreadsheet-based scheduling with system-based workflows that create live visibility, clear priorities, and better delivery performance.

Client

Manufacturing businesses

Systems

Odoo, Zoho, Pronto

Focus

Production scheduling, priority management, delivery performance

The challenge: spreadsheet-based scheduling that fails in predictable ways

Spreadsheet-based production scheduling often fails in the same ways:

Information becomes outdated quickly
Version control breaks down
The schedule depends on a subject matter expert to keep it alive
When that person is absent, the shopfloor loses direction
In some cases, maintaining the spreadsheet required up to 6 hours per day of admin effort

What we did: replace spreadsheet scheduling with system-based workflows

Examples across systems:

Odoo

Used standard manufacturing functionality and introduced priority rules for manufacturing orders based on whether they were required for delivery orders or stock orders. Stock orders were prioritised based on inventory levels.

Zoho

Built a custom planning tool in Zoho Creator, including a planning algorithm to handle complex manufacturing flows and constraints such as tool and space limitations.

Pronto

Implemented a custom prioritisation algorithm for delivery orders based on destination state.

Results: autonomous shopfloor, live tracking, reduced admin

Autonomous
shopfloor

Staff could work more autonomously because priorities were visible and current.

Live
order tracking

Live tracking of orders through manufacturing improved day-to-day coordination.

Reduced
admin time

Admin time dropped significantly because planning focused on exceptions rather than manually maintaining every detail.

Why it matters

The biggest gain from "moving off spreadsheets" is not technology. It is operational resilience. When priorities are visible and current, production can keep moving without bottlenecks around a single planner.

Facing similar challenges?

If your production schedule lives in a spreadsheet and depends on one person to keep it alive, there's a better way. Let's talk.

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