09: Excel errors cost margins – How to secure your calculation with a professional solution

In the automotive supply industry, precision is everything. But especially in one of the most sensitive areas - price and quotation calculation - many companies still work with Excel. The problem: errors in Excel price lists and spreadsheets are not only common - they are expensive. Experience from the industry shows that they can lead to an EBIT loss of up to 2%. A hidden margin trap that many companies underestimate.

These are not gross technical errors, but typical pitfalls: outdated factors, copy & paste errors, hidden formula errors or inconsistent updates. In a market environment where margins are already under pressure, no automotive supplier can afford this.

Why Excel is no longer up to date

Excel is undoubtedly a powerful tool - but not for complex pricing and calculation processes that need to be updated regularly:

• need to be updated regularly,

• involve many participants and

• interact seamlessly with ERP systems such as SAP.

In reality, however, "Excel island solutions" are often created that are maintained manually, without a central database or automated synchronization with SAP. The result: a high risk of errors, little transparency and, in the worst case, price lists that do not correspond to the current calculation specifications.

Six ways out of the Excel trap - with Digital Automotive

How can the problem be solved systematically? The answer lies in a modern, integrated solution that has been specially developed for the requirements of automotive suppliers: Digital Automotive. The platform offers six specific solution modules that systematically eliminate sources of error and professionalize processes.

1. Central database instead of distributed Excel files

In many companies, calculation factors and surcharges - for raw materials, energy or logistics, for example - come from different sources. As a result, Excel lists are often not synchronized. With Digital Automotive, these factors are maintained centrally and automatically transferred to all relevant calculations. This creates consistency, transparency and up-to-dateness.

2. Professional calculation software instead of formula errors

The platform replaces Excel with a specially developed solution for pricing. This means: no copy & paste errors, no formulas that are "accidentally" overwritten. Instead: structured templates, clear processes and automatic checking mechanisms.

Advantage: Even with complex customer requirements and last-minute requests for quotations, the calculation remains stable, traceable and audit-proof.

3. Calculation specifications are adhered to 100%

A common mistake in Excel: agreements from LTAs (Long-Term Agreements) or purchasing guidelines are overlooked or implemented incorrectly. Digital Automotive ensures that, for example, no LTAs are applied to mandated purchased material - i.e. to components whose price is specified by the OEM. Such rules are stored in the software and cannot be circumvented inadvertently.

4. Error-free transfer of changes to SAP

If prices, parts or surcharges change, these changes must be reliably transferred to the master price list and then to the ERP system. In Excel, this is often done manually - a risk of typing errors or inconsistencies. Digital Automotive automates this process: changes are maintained centrally, transferred to the master price list and transferred directly to SAP - error-free and transparent.

5 Standardized price lists and automated CBD creation

Customer Breakdown Documentation (CBD) is mandatory for many OEMs - and a manual effort for many suppliers. With Digital Automotive, the creation is automated, based on existing price lists and calculations. The price lists themselves are standardized, version-safe and traceable at all times - a real efficiency gain.

6 Seamless price history - from RfQ to EOP

When was which price agreed, adjusted or updated? In many companies, this is difficult to reconstruct in Excel. Digital Automotive documents every price change over the entire life cycle of a component - from the RfQ (Request for Quotation) phase to the End of Production (EOP). This transparency is not only important for sales, but also for controlling, quality management and post-calculation.

Conclusion: More security, less margin loss

Errors in Excel price lists are not a minor problem - they are a serious business risk. Anyone still working with distributed tables and manual reconciliation risks unnecessary losses, avoidable discussions with customers and a weak negotiating position.

The solution is obvious: a specialized software solution such as Digital Automotive that secures processes, eliminates sources of error and gives sales the tools they need - quickly, precisely and integrable into existing IT structures.

Curious to find out more?
Experience Digital Automotive in a live demo and see how you can take pricing and calculation processes to a new level.
👉 digital-automotive-supplier.com