You Have SAP—So Why Are Spreadsheets Still Running the Show?

Are Spreadsheets Secretly Sabotaging Your SAP Investment?

A supply chain executive sat staring at the latest report, the data painstakingly compiled by a team of analysts using an intricate web of spreadsheets. Somewhere in the process, a decimal had slipped, a formula had broken, and now there was a fire to put out. Orders misaligned, inventory misplaced, and a scramble to correct what should have never gone wrong in the first place.

It wasn’t that SAP lacked the capability to prevent this chaos. The enterprise had invested millions in its ERP system—functionality was never the issue. The problem was simple, yet profound: the team defaulted to spreadsheets because they didn’t fully understand how to harness SAP’s power.

Sadly, we see this scene play out over and over as we partner with companies across industries to help them realize tangible value from their SAP assets.  Supply chain leaders want agility, efficiency, and integration, but too often, they unknowingly build parallel processes in Excel, undermining the very system designed to deliver those outcomes. It’s not a failure of technology. It’s a failure of education—or rather, the absence of it.

The Spreadsheet Trap

There’s no denying spreadsheets have their place. They’re flexible, familiar, and often serve as a quick fix when SAP feels overwhelming. But they also create fragile workarounds that grow into systemic dependencies.

A company I worked with experienced this firsthand. One engineer, frustrated by the lack of visibility into shop floor data, built an Excel-based tool to track downtime, scrap, and yield. It started as a simple workaround. Then, other departments requested versions tailored to their needs. Soon, the spreadsheet had evolved into a business-critical application—one that wasn’t backed up, wasn’t scalable, and wasn’t integrated with SAP.

When that engineer left, panic set in. No one else understood the logic embedded in his creation. The business had been running on a shadow system, and it took years—and a costly SAP transformation—to undo the damage. This underscores both the risks of resorting to offline processes and the importance of aligning IT with business strategy.  This effort was not adequately prioritized and therefore lent itself to the dark world of “shadow IT.”

It’s a story that repeats itself: what begins as a clever fix becomes a structural flaw. And the cost?

• ‍Delayed Decisions: Unlike SAP, spreadsheets don’t offer real-time visibility. They rely on periodic updates, leaving supply chain teams reacting rather than anticipating.‍
• Manual Overhead: Keeping spreadsheets current demands constant human effort—a drain on time and resources that should be focused on strategic priorities.‍
• Data Silos & Risk: When each team has its own spreadsheet, integration collapses. The “John Spreadsheet” problem emerges—where one person becomes the sole gatekeeper of critical information.‍

SAP’s Full Potential—Through Education

SAP already has the capabilities to eliminate these inefficiencies, but most enterprises only tap into a fraction of its potential. Our experience points to companies using less than 35% of SAP’s functionality—not because they don’t need it, but because they don’t know how to use it effectively.

This isn’t about software training. It’s about business education—the kind that moves beyond button-clicking and instead focuses on how to actually manage the business in an integrated manner, with SAP as the centerpiece source of truth.  Understand why SAP works the way it does, how to align it with business rules and operational goals, how to better leverage the full suite of capabilties SAP offers, and finally  how to replace outdated habits with better system-driven processes.

For example:

• Real-Time Visibility: SAP provides live, interconnected data streams that can identify disruptions before they escalate. Spreadsheets? They’re only as current as the last manual update. How many opportunities are missed because the spreadsheet hasn’t been updated, or worse, was updated with bad information?
• Operational Efficiency: Instead of updating cells, SAP automates routine tasks, enabling teams to focus on managing exceptions—focusing on the most critical issues and solving them in the moment instead of maintaining data.
• Integrated Decision-Making: A single source of truth means supply chain teams, finance, and operations work from the same data set, eliminating conflicting reports and misalignment.
• Advanced Analytics: SAP’s built-in reporting tools offer robust insights that reduce reliance on spreadsheets for analysis, improving both speed and accuracy.
• Scalability & Risk Reduction: Unlike a spreadsheet, SAP grows with the business. It doesn’t rely on a single person’s expertise to remain functional.

Shifting the Mindset

For companies to break free from the spreadsheet trap, leaders must champion a shift in thinking. This isn’t about replacing one tool with another—it’s about changing how people approach problem-solving.

1. Stop Fixing, Start Optimizing
   When supply chain challenges arise, the knee-jerk reaction is often to “patch” the problem externally. Instead, organizations should ask: How can SAP solve this natively? The system is designed to handle complexity—it just requires the right understanding. Make sure we take advantage of SAP before we head offline, or start looking at additional technology tools.
2. Invest in Business Education
   Training teaches people what buttons to click. Education teaches them why they’re clicking them. Education provides knowledge that empowers critical thinking and encourages collaboration.  Companies that invest in role-based, scenario-driven education see dramatically better adoption and performance.
3. Align SAP with Strategic Priorities
   SAP isn’t just an IT tool—it’s a business enabler and a strategic asset. The more leaders integrate SAP into the fabric of how they run the business, the higher the potential to drive revenue, reduce costs, improve service, and maximize the value they extract.

The Cost of Inaction

Some companies see SAP education as an expense rather than an investment. But consider the alternative:

• Revenue Risk: Poor SAP utilization leads to misaligned inventory, failed deliveries, and frustrated customers—hitting both top-line growth and reputation.
• Capital Waste: Inefficient SAP processes drive up working capital needs. Businesses without strong SAP education struggle to optimize inventory, leading to higher costs.
• Operational Drag: When leaders don’t understand SAP’s full potential, they default to manual workarounds or additional technology investments, requiring more resources and diluting profitability.

At the end of the day, SAP isn’t the bottleneck—lack of education is.

Making the Shift

The companies that win with SAP aren’t the ones that install it and move on. They’re the ones that commit to unlocking its full potential—not through more spreadsheets, but through empowered, educated users who know how to make SAP work for them.

Ask yourself: Is your supply chain truly running on SAP? Or are spreadsheets still calling the shots?

The difference isn’t the system—it’s how you use it. Don’t wait—every day without optimized SAP processes is a missed opportunity. Let’s align your team, streamline your operations, and maximize your ROI. Reach out now!