Why Spreadsheets Aren't Enough for Corrugated Box Costing

Lots of corrugated box manufacturers start with spreadsheets for costing: paper rates, flute types, labour, and overhead in a few columns. It works when orders are few and specs don't change often. As you grow, the same approach creates bottlenecks and errors.

The Limits of Spreadsheet Costing

Costing in isolation means someone has to re-enter or copy data from production and inventory. Paper roll GSM and stock levels change; if the costing sheet isn't updated, quotes and margins are wrong. Multiple people editing one file leads to version chaos, and linking orders to actual material consumption is manual and slow.

What Goes Wrong at Scale

You add more products, more paper grades, and more customers. The spreadsheet gets huge: multiple tabs, complex formulas, and no single source of truth. Finding which roll was used for which order, or why last month's cost doesn't match this month's, becomes a detective job. Audit trails are weak or missing.

Integrated Costing in an ERP

When costing is part of the same system as production and inventory, material usage and paper roll data flow in automatically. You see real consumption, real GSM, and real unit costs. Quotes can pull from live data; when paper prices or GSM change, you're not hunting through old sheets. Reports and comparisons become straightforward.

Next Step

If spreadsheets are holding you back, consider a cloud ERP built for corrugated box manufacturing. Production, inventory, and costing in one place reduce rework and improve accuracy. TIS BOX ERP offers integrated costing with production and paper roll tracking — start with a 14-day free trial to see if it fits your process.