Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
Excel BOMs or Production Software for an LED Lighting Factory
Excel is enough for an LED lighting factory while models are few and components arrive on time. Production software earns its place once orders fight over the same drivers, custom quotes rebuild the BOM daily, and returns need tracing to a batch. GullySystem’s Manufacturing Production Management Software holds the BOM, work orders and job cards.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
What an Excel BOM does well
A spreadsheet listing the driver, SMD board, heat sink, diffuser and housing for each model is quick to build. Purchase can read it. Costing can add rates beside each line. For a factory making a dozen standard downlights and panels, it often does the job.
The sheet is also easy to change. A new wattage is a copied tab. Nobody needs training, and the file opens on any laptop in the office.
Where the sheet stops working
Trouble starts when several orders draw on the same shelf. A BOM in Excel lists parts but reserves nothing. A project order can quietly use drivers already promised to a dealer, and the shortfall shows on dispatch day.
Variants are the second strain. Each model comes in several wattages, colour temperatures and finishes. Copied tabs drift apart, and nobody is sure which one purchase used last week.
- Two orders counting the same drivers as available
- Copied tabs for one model showing different parts
- Imported components bought from a sheet two weeks old
- Custom quotes rebuilt by hand for every new wattage
- Returned fittings with no link to the parts inside them
What production software adds on the assembly line
A BOM is held per model and variant, so wattage, CCT and finish each carry their own list. The same list drives the quotation, the purchase requirement and the issue slip. Components are counted by batch and supplier, and every issue carries a work order number.
Work orders then move through job cards for assembly, wiring, burn-in and packing. Rejections are booked at the stage where they happen. The office sees which batch is stuck, without walking to the line.
Warranty returns and the driver batch
A carton returned in year two is where Excel hurts most. Without the fitting tied to the component batches inside it, nobody can say whose driver failed. The factory replaces the unit and absorbs the cost.
Tracing needs a serial or batch label on the fitting, recorded against its burn-in result and component lots. Decide early whether batch level is enough. Serials earn their label on drivers and project work more than on low-cost fittings.
How to decide for your own factory
Count the orders that compete for one component in a typical month. Then count the custom quotes. If both numbers are small, a tidy sheet with one owner may serve for now.
Look at the returns corner as well. Untested cartons waiting for weeks are a sign the factory has outgrown the file. So is a dealer finding out about a shortage before you do.
- How many models and variants are live today
- How often two orders want the same driver
- How many custom quotes go out each week
- How many returns arrive, and how fast they are tested
Lighting BOM readiness worksheet
List each model and variant down the side, with columns for components, supplier, batch label, lead time and who updates the sheet. Mark the components two orders fought over last month. That column shows where a reserved stock record would help first.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the ready production product trace a returned fitting to its driver batch?
Not on its own. It covers the BOM, work orders, job cards, outside job work, rejections and dispatch. Serial-level warranty tracing and claims on your driver supplier are built on top of it.
Do we need a serial number on every fitting?
Not always. Batch-level tracking is often enough for low-cost fittings. Serials matter more for drivers and project work, where a claim on the supplier is worth making.
Can dealers log returns themselves?
No, not out of the box. A dealer portal that takes the serial and photographs is custom work. It makes sense once the warranty register inside the factory is running.
Can we keep Tally for accounts?
Yes. Tally can stay for accounts and GST filing. An export from the production system is scoped separately, after your accountant settles the ledger heads.