Have you ever found yourself doing something just because it’s the way you’ve always done it? No real thought, no reassessment—just following the usual routine. Let’s call this usualing.
“Usualing” isn’t a real word, but it should be. I first heard it from Seth Godin, and I found it incredibly expressive. It describes the habit of defaulting to the familiar without questioning whether it’s still the best choice. It’s how we navigate daily life—wearing the usual clothes, drinking the usual coffee, taking the usual route to work. These routines save time and effort, keeping us from overanalyzing every small decision.
But usualing isn’t always the best approach—especially when it comes to use of inefficient tools.
When Is Excel Good—And When Is It a Burden?
For decades, Excel has been the usual tool for managing product data such as Bills of Materials (BOMs), CAD reports, part lists, etc. It’s familiar, accessible, and—at least for simple tasks—gets the job done. But at what point does it become a burden rather than a solution? So let’s ask the question: When is Excel a reasonable choice for managing BOMs, and when does it hold companies back?
When Excel Works Well for Product Data
Excel remains a useful tool in certain BOM-related scenarios:
✅ For Simple, One-Off BOMs – If you’re managing a small, static BOM with just a few parts and no revisions, Excel can be a quick and easy solution.
✅ For Short-Term Data Collection – If you need to quickly list and structure BOM data before transferring it into a more robust system, Excel can be a helpful temporary tool.
✅ For one-off reporting – When you need to share the data with someone only once and you don’t want to spend the time on education, tools learning, etc. Excel can serve as a reporting tool (as long as it doesn’t turn into a permanent data storage and passed somewhere)
In these cases, Excel’s flexibility and familiarity can make it an efficient choice. But what happens when your product data grows more complex?
When Excel Becomes a Burden
At a certain point, Excel stops being a useful tool and starts creating inefficiencies. Here’s when that happens:
❌ When product data is constantly changing by many people – As soon as a report or product data such as a BOM requires revision control and change tracking, Excel becomes unreliable. Without built-in revision management, mistakes are inevitable.
❌ When Collaboration Is Needed – If multiple people and teams (engineering, procurement, manufacturing) need access to the BOM at the same time, Excel’s lack of real-time collaboration creates confusion and errors.
❌ When BOMs Get Structured, Large or Complex – Multi-level BOMs, large datasets, and linked parts lists can become unmanageable in spreadsheets, leading to performance issues and data inconsistencies.
❌ When Integration Is Required – Excel doesn’t connect seamlessly with CAD, PLM, or ERP systems, leading to manual data transfers that introduce errors and slow down processes.
❌ When Compliance and Traceability Matter – Industries that require strict traceability (e.g., aerospace, medical devices, automotive) can’t rely on Excel’s loose data structures and lack of auditability.
Why Companies Are Still ‘Usualing’ with Excel for BOM and PLM
For decades, Excel has been the usual tool for managing Bills of Materials (BOMs) and product lifecycle data. It’s familiar, it’s easy to use, and—most importantly—it works (to an extent). So why haven’t more companies switched to PLM systems? Because, for years, PLM was a terrible experience.
- Horrible User Experience: Legacy PLM systems were slow, clunky, and required extensive training just to perform basic tasks. Instead of helping engineers get their job done, PLM often got in the way.
- Complex and Expensive Integrations: Traditional PLM tools didn’t integrate well with CAD, ERP, or procurement systems. Engineers had to manually re-enter data, leading to errors and frustration.
- Slow ROI: Long deployment tasks, software release lock-in, bad compatibility between versions are just a few examples. Even if a company wanted to improve their data management, it didn’t take off.
Faced with these obstacles, most companies usualed their way back to spreadsheet. At least spreadsheets were simple, accessible, and didn’t require a six-month onboarding process.
But here’s the problem: Excel was never designed for product data and lifecycle management. It lacks real-time collaboration, change control, scalability, and data connectivity. And while it was the least bad option in the past, the world has changed.
What is my conclusion? A Simple Question to Avoid “Usualing”
Every time you open Excel to manage a product data report, BOM, or track product lifecycle data, stop and ask yourself:
“Am I choosing this because it’s the best tool for the job, or am I just usualing?”
If it’s the latter, it’s time to break the cycle. The world has changed. Staying ahead in BOM and PLM management isn’t about sticking with what’s usual—it’s about choosing what’s effective.
Just my thoughts…
Best, Oleg
Disclaimer: I’m the co-founder and CEO of OpenBOM, a digital-thread platform providing Collaborative Workspace with PDM, PLM, and ERP capabilities. With extensive experience in federated CAD-PDM and PLM architecture, I’m advocates for agile, open product models and cloud technologies in manufacturing. My opinion can be unintentionally biased.
