Excel vs. apparel manufacturing software: when to make the switch
Excel works as long as one person runs production and there are only a few orders at a time. Apparel manufacturing software such as Confeccionando pays off when you have several orders in parallel, sewing contractors (satellite workshops), more than one warehouse, or you need to know the cost of every garment.
By the Kondory Tecnología team. Published on , updated on .
What does Excel do well?
Excel is flexible, familiar and comes at no extra cost. For getting started, building a tech pack or running a one-off consumption calculation, it is a good tool.
Where does it fall short?
It falls short when information has to move from one department to another. Every sheet is a copy, nobody knows which one is the latest version and every change is typed in several times.
| Topic | Excel | Apparel manufacturing software |
|---|---|---|
| Sales order to production | Re-keyed size by size | The sales order generates the production order |
| Available fabric | You have to check several sheets | Checked by color and warehouse before cutting |
| Sewing contractors | Paperwork and messages | Service order, receipt and payment in the system |
| Cost per garment | Estimated, rarely updated | Calculated with materials at actual value |
| Shipping | Counted by hand | Barcode scanning against the sales order |
| Permissions | Anyone who opens the file sees everything | Each role sees only what it needs |
What are the hidden costs of staying on Excel?
- Hours of repeated data entry across sales, production and the warehouse.
- Cuts put on hold because there wasn't enough fabric.
- Pieces lost between contractors.
- Prices that don't cover the true cost.
- Shipping errors that lead to returns and complaints.
How do you migrate without losing what you have?
Your Excel files are the starting point: the master data you already have is loaded in bulk.
- Clean up your lists of fabrics, materials, styles, clients and suppliers.
- Load them into the system with the bulk upload templates.
- Enter new sales orders in the system and let them generate production.
- Keep Excel only as a historical reference until earlier orders are closed.