3 Reasons Not to Use Spreadsheets to Manage Toolroom Inventory
“Bad habits are easy to acquire but difficult to live with.”
Take spreadsheets as an example. Spreadsheets have long been used as a makeshift solution for tracking tools and equipment within organizations. Using Spreadsheets to manage your tool management could seem like a quick and easy way to start, but you will very quickly find that spreadsheets have many limitations eventually will impede your operational efficiency in the long run.
Relying on spreadsheets for tool tracking can lead to inefficiencies, difficult accountability, and missed opportunities. This blog post will explore the limitations of using spreadsheets for tool tracking and highlight the advantages of adopting ToolHub for advanced and efficient asset-tracking solutions.
Here are the top reasons why you should not use spreadsheets to manage your toolrooms.
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Using Spreadsheets is Inefficient
Tracking tools on spreadsheets requires manual data entry, which is time-consuming and prone to errors. Each tool's information, including location, maintenance history, and status, must be manually inputted, and updated regularly. This process is not only tedious but also increases the likelihood of inaccuracies and inconsistencies. The larger the number of tools in each toolroom, and the more toolrooms there are, the more difficult it is to use spreadsheets to track information. If a tool is not easy to use, technicians will not use it consistently. Without consistency, your toolroom’s inventory will never be up to date and therefore you will never know what is in there.
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Spreadsheets have no built-in reports for management decision
Management needs up to date information to make timely decisions on tool acquisitions. That includes reports that can provide inventory information, maintenance schedule, tool history, etc. Tracking tool movements, maintenance schedules, or usage history on spreadsheets can be a tedious and error-prone task. Spreadsheets do not give you the reports you need.
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Spreadsheets are not designed for concurrent use
If you have many technicians working in multiple toolroom locations, trying to record and share information via spreadsheets becomes a problem very quickly. Spreadsheets are not designed for seamless collaboration and accessibility among team members or multiple toolrooms. Sharing a spreadsheet for toolroom inventory management can lead to version control issues, conflicting changes, and data inconsistencies.
The right answer is to use ToolHub Tool Management Solution instead.
ToolHub increases your operation efficiency
By using check in/check out via barcode or RFID, ToolHub provides visibility for all the tools in your tool location, inventory, or enterprise. Know what tools you have, in which technician's possession or on which job, and know when they are due to be serviced with ToolHub's online tool management solution.
ToolHub has many built-in management reports
Do your toolrooms have the number of tools required for the job? Are you stocked with the right tools in the right toolroom at the right time? Does one toolroom have too many of the same tools that another toolroom is always requesting? What about which tools are being transferred to other locations to meet work order needs? ToolHub offers visibility on these important statistics and much more to help you make the best purchase decisions for your organization. With comprehensive and custom reporting, you can understand just how your tools are being used, where, by whom, and how reliable they are with the click of a button.
ToolHub is built for collaboration
ToolHub can be accessed from any browser or mobile device at any time making tool management available 24/7. Technicians from multiple locations can use their mobile phones to check inventory or check in / check out tools from anywhere.
ToolHub is the right-fit solution to manage toolrooms of any size or location. Because it is scalable and designed to fit the unique business needs of each individual location, ToolHub provides results that matter to your business's bottom line - inventory management, loss reduction, and informed asset purchasing.
For more info about ToolHub, click here.
Get Started with ToolHub Today!
Ready to streamline your tool management, reduce costs, and improve technician efficiency? Contact our sales team today to learn more about a free trial of ToolHub or to schedule a personalized demo.
ToolHub is a scalable and flexible tool management and inventory solution designed to work with various technologies that complement existing organizational infrastructures. ToolHub is the complete solution for toolrooms of any size or location at companies, large and small.
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