Why PLM Outperforms Spreadsheets in BOM Component Tracking

In an era of relentless supply chain disruptions, manufacturers are under pressure like never before. The ability to manage bills of materials (BOMs) efficiently and track component usage across products is a strategic imperative.

Yet many companies still rely on spreadsheets to manage BOMs. While Excel may seem familiar and flexible, it quickly becomes a liability when product complexity scales and supply chain volatility intensifies.

In this blog, we’ll explore the limitations of spreadsheet-based BOM management, the risks it poses in today’s environment, and how the Arena Cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solution empowers manufacturers to stay ahead of disruption.

The New Reality: BOM Management Amid Supply Chain Chaos

Manufacturers today face a perfect storm of challenges. Tariffs on critical materials like aluminum and semiconductors have driven up costs and forced companies to rethink sourcing strategies. Geopolitical tensions and regulatory fragmentation have added layers of complexity to compliance and documentation. Meanwhile, part shortages and obsolescence are causing production delays and forcing last-minute design changes.

These pressures demand modern solutions that drive better visibility into component risks, tighter collaboration across distributed teams, and faster decision-making.

Why Excel Falls Short

Excel BOM management may work for small teams managing simple products, but it’s fundamentally ill-equipped to handle the demands of modern manufacturing. Here’s why:

• No Real-Time Visibility: Spreadsheets are static. They don’t alert you when a component becomes obsolete, faces a tariff hike, or is at risk due to geopolitical events. Because teams must manually search for these issues, critical items often slip through the cracks.
• Error-Prone and Manual: Copy-paste errors, version control issues, and broken formulas are common. These mistakes can lead to costly delays, compliance failures, or even product recalls.

  Haltian, a leading Internet of Things (IoT) company, experienced these Excel BOM limitations firsthand before adopting Cloud PLM. “We were constantly having to update BOMs across multiple systems and recheck them for accuracy. This manual process was very time-consuming and created opportunities for errors,” noted Annika Liimatta, Operations Manager at Haltian.

• Limited Collaboration: Excel doesn’t scale across global teams. Sharing files via email or shared drives creates silos and confusion, especially when multiple stakeholders are involved in design, sourcing, and compliance.
• Disconnected Change Management: Managing engineering change orders (ECOs) in spreadsheets means creating separate files. PLM software ties ECOs directly to each BOM record, allowing faster reviews and approvals.
• No Component Traceability: Tracking where a part is used across multiple products is tedious and unreliable in Excel. This makes it difficult to assess the impact of a change or disruption.

In essence, Excel is a reactive tool in a world that demands proactive risk management.

The Hidden Costs of Excel BOM Management

The low upfront cost of Excel hides several long-term expenses. Manual entry consumes engineering hours that could be spent on design or innovation. Version confusion leads to rework, missed deadlines, and unnecessary material orders.

A single spreadsheet error can cause incorrect parts to be purchased or assembled. When production lines stop due to missing or incorrect components, costs rise quickly. These mistakes also impact compliance and quality audits, leading to fines or product recalls.

Companies that switch to cloud BOM management software often find that the system pays for itself by reducing errors and cycle times. What appears as a free tool can cost thousands each year in lost productivity.

Key Signs It’s Time to Switch to Cloud PLM

Many teams reach a tipping point where Excel no longer supports accurate or efficient BOM management. Common signs include:

• Products with multiple configurations or hundreds of parts
• Frequent ECOs that create dozens of spreadsheet versions
• Remote or distributed teams struggling with file sharing
• Growing compliance requirements that need documentation control
• Delays in identifying how changes affect other assemblies

When these challenges appear, switching from Excel to PLM-based BOM management becomes a practical necessity.

Arena PLM: A Smarter Way to Manage BOMs

Arena’s cloud-native, collaborative platform transforms how manufacturers manage BOMs and navigate supply chain complexity. With Arena, product teams gain a single source of truth to track component usage, revisions, pending engineering change orders (ECOs), redlines, approved manufacturer lists (AML), and more—eliminating silos and enabling faster, more informed decisions.

The Power of Arena’s “Where Used” BOM Feature

Arena’s Where Used capability allows users to instantly see where a component is used across all products and assemblies. When a component is added to an ECO, Arena automatically notifies stakeholders of other assemblies that reference that same component and provides them with the option to include those assemblies on the ECO before submitting it for review. This is a game-changer when a part becomes obsolete, faces a tariff, or is flagged for compliance issues.

Instead of manually combing through spreadsheets, teams can:

• Identify all affected assemblies and products in seconds

• Run BOM comparisons to see what changed between revisions

• Assess the impact of a change across the product portfolio
• Coordinate updates with engineering, sourcing, and quality teams
• Avoid delays and reduce the risk of noncompliance

This level of traceability is essential for managing complex BOMs and responding quickly to disruptions.

“Arena provides complete visibility into all assemblies that utilize a specific component. This enables us to pivot fast and make the necessary changes to keep production on schedule.”
– Juha Pikkarainen, R&D Manager, Haltian

Arena Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI): Proactive Risk Mitigation

The built-in Arena Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) platform takes BOM management to the next level. SCI embeds real-time, AI-driven component monitoring directly into product development workflows, enabling teams to:

Monitor Component Risk: SCI continuously checks for emerging risks—such as obsolescence, availability issues, and compliance changes—across all BOMs.

Suggest Alternatives: When a risk is detected, SCI recommends technically compatible replacement parts, helping teams pivot quickly and avoid production delays.

Improve Design and Sourcing Decisions: Engineers and sourcing teams can factor in country of origin, lifecycle status, and compliance data during design, not after the fact.

Accelerate Time to Market: By identifying risks early and streamlining collaboration, Arena helps companies reduce engineering change cycles and get products to market faster.

It’s Time to Move Beyond Excel

The days of managing BOMs in spreadsheets are numbered. As supply chains grow more complex and unpredictable, manufacturers need tools that offer real-time visibility, proactive risk management, and seamless collaboration.

Arena PLM, with its BOM Where Used and supply chain intelligence capabilities, empowers product teams to design smarter, source better, and respond faster. It’s not just about managing BOMs—it’s about building a resilient, future-ready supply chain.

Ready to eliminate spreadsheet headaches? Get a demo of Arena’s BOM management features today.