Using MS Excel to Support an ERP System: a Corporate Management and Control Perspective

The aim of the publication is to identify the reason for using an Excel spreadsheet to supplement the functionality of an advanced ERP system. Object-oriented research using the guided interview method was conducted with the managers of the company, as well as with the staff overseeing the empowerment process for product components in the ERP system. The managers showed little interest in being able to refine the functionality of some modules of the software used. This proved to be particularly relevant in the case of the supervision of the production process. The results of the study refer to the case found only in the studied facility. However, the situation in which one of the most advanced ERP systems is used in a company and is supplemented by a spreadsheet in a complex process prompted the authors to present their findings. It seems that regardless of the technological sophistication of the manufacturing processes used and the software used to manage all aspects of the company, the most important ingredient is a competent, trained workforce at all levels of management. It is also possible to improve the organisation in other companies by relieving lower-level staff of the burden of prolonged Excel work. Sometimes there is a much more effective possibility to use existing system software, which can be adapted after a few years to constantly changing conditions in the processes being supervised.