Why Growing CPG Brands Outgrow Spreadsheets for Artwork Management
Can you really fault a brand for relying on spreadsheets to manage their packaging? After all, they’re inexpensive, familiar and proved to be reliable. Some might even argue that these complex charts are what keeps their operations afloat.
But here’s the paradox: what feels safe can also be what holds us back. Do spreadsheets slow you down? Is it error-prone? And do you feel like you’re constantly working up a sweat when you manage clunky Excel sheets?
The hardest shifts are never from bad to good, but from comfortable to better. Because when a tool has carried us this far, it feels almost ungrateful to question it. And yet, for many CPG brands, the realization has come: spreadsheets have served their purpose, but they’re no longer enough.
Why CPG Brands Still Use Excel and Google Sheets
The first digital spreadsheet dates all the way back to 1979 with VisiCalc for Apple II computer. Since then, Excel and Google sheets became the gold standard for tracking and organizing numbers, lists, and now workflows.
But here’s the catch: spreadsheets were never intended for workflow purposes. Finance and operations? Maybe yes. But it doesn’t translate well into creative and highly collaborative operations like packaging reviews and artwork management. And with good reason.
But despite their limitations, spreadsheets remain the most common tool for packaging operations. Here’s why:
1. They Come by Default
Excel and Google Sheets are easily accessible, requiring minimal setup.
2. They’re Inexpensive
With no additional software costs, they feel budget-friendly for smaller teams.
3. They’re Universally Understood
Everyone from finance to design knows how to use them, removing the need for training.
4. They Feel “Good Enough”
For brands handling a limited number of SKUs, spreadsheets often seem sufficient to keep things moving.
5. They’re Ingrained in Business Culture
Spreadsheets have been part of business operations for decades, making them a natural fallback tool.
In my conversations with hundreds of customers, I’ve found that most rely on spreadsheets simply because they don’t realize there’s a better way to manage packaging. Once they see the risks it creates and how a solution that focuses on packaging management solves them, it’s an eye-opener.
Tabrez Shaikh, Director of Sales & Customer Success
When Do You Know You Need to Move Away from Spreadsheets?
If you’re still managing artwork projects in spreadsheets, here’s when you know it’s holding your team back:
Why Spreadsheets Just Don’t Cut It Anymore
Here’s where spreadsheets fall short compared to an artwork management solution:
Why Growing CPG Brands are Moving Away from Spreadsheets, and Is There a Better Way?
As brands grow, the very things that once made spreadsheets appealing begin to crumble. What felt “good enough” at the beginning slowly eats into efficiency, compliance, and ROI. Here’s why:
1. Version Confusion
With multiple versions of artwork and reference files, the risk of versions getting lost or mixed up also increases. When there’s no streamlined way to track file versions, you’re left with files marked as V1, V2, Final, Final.Final, etc. To make matters worse, when artwork and reference files are updated separately, a packaging claim may change in the spreadsheet but never make it to the artwork, or vice versa.
What works better: Artwork management systems provide built-in version control for both artwork and supporting files. This makes it easier to store, track, and manage artwork versions and access version history, making sure you always have the right and most updated version.
2. Scattered Information
When you rely on something never built for the work you do, you risk errors and lean on other tools to fill the gaps, which leaves information and files scattered across drives and email chains. With no single source of truth, teams waste time looking for feedback and file versions scattered across emails, with crucial context and data either lost or overlooked.
What works better: A Digital Asset Management (DAM) library provides a safe home for all your packaging files. You can categorize and store them into separate folders, with access control permissions. Metadata and contextual search filters make it easy to find and retrieve any asset a piece of cake.
3. Collaboration Limits
Spreadsheets weren’t built for review-heavy processes like packaging. Feedback comes in through emails, chats, or even annotated PDFs, often conflicting or scattered. Without structured checklists, proofing, and annotation tools, brand, marketing, and regulatory teams may miss key details, leading to errors or delays.
What works better: Artwork management platforms provide structured review workflows. Checklists can be assigned to different stakeholders to make sure each team knows what they need to verify in a packaging file. Markup tools allow stakeholders to annotate directly on the artwork while proofing tools help you catch errors like typos or barcode issues. This removes the back-and-forth, improves accuracy and consolidates feedback in one place.
4. No Audit Trail
One of the biggest gaps with spreadsheets is accountability. There’s no reliable way to track who made a change, who approved a logo, or when a file was last updated. A simple mistake, like someone overwriting or deleting a cell, can go unnoticed until it causes bigger downstream errors. During audits or recalls, reconstructing this history becomes almost impossible.
What works better: Artwork management software automatically logs every action, comment, and approval, creating a transparent record of everything. You’re never left guessing who approved or deleted a file, and there is 100% accountability at all times.
5. Compliance Risks
Spreadsheets have no built-in compliance solution. Teams rely on memory or manual checklists to verify if an artwork meets regulatory requirements. With labeling laws varying by market, a missed allergen declaration or incorrect font size can trigger recalls, fines, or loss of consumer trust.
What works better: Automated AI-led compliance rulebooks ensure your packaging file meets the right regulations from the start. For example, nutritional table, allergen declaration, logo placement, etc. can be validated against FDA, EU, or FSSAI requirements in an instant with an automated compliance solution.
6. Scalability Issues
Managing hundreds of SKUs across categories and geographies pushes spreadsheets past their limits. Tracking timelines, assigning tasks, and ensuring accountability across multiple launches often requires constant manual oversight. Delays and missed deadlines become inevitable.
What works better: Workflow automation and project templates allow teams to standardize processes for different product categories or regions. Role-based assignments route tasks to the right stakeholders automatically. Dashboards provide real-time visibility into bottlenecks, helping teams get ahead of delays. Analytics give insights into task efficiency, revision counts, and project timelines, helping brands scale without losing control.
Relying on spreadsheets for packaging management never ends there. You’re forced to rely on multiple other tools — emails, Slack, or WhatsApp for quick feedback and approvals, and cloud drives like your local drive, SharePoint, or Google Drive for storage — all because spreadsheets were never designed to do it on their own.
How WebCenter Go Fills These Gaps
Spreadsheets will always have a place in business operations, but they fall short when managing something as complex and high stakes as packaging. WebCenter Go is designed to address these very gaps with version control, asset storage, structured reviews, compliance rulebooks, proofing tools, and automated workflows. Instead of juggling multiple tools, teams get a single system that scales with growing SKUs, reduces risk, and speeds up launches.
