The hidden cost of doing nothing – what our ROI calculator could tell you about inefficiencies in your manufacturing business

UK manufacturers know that they won’t be able to stay competitive, let alone grow, without the help of technology to make them more productive and efficient. 

Around 60% are ramping up investment in digital technology, AI and automation in 2026, according to a report from Make UK and PwC. The findings mirror our own recent survey, which suggests that automation is now the top priority for manufacturers (76%), followed by technology (73%). Almost all of the respondents (96%) say that efficiency is the biggest driver for technology investment – which is no surprise given that many have seen their costs soar in recent years due to high energy and wage costs, and materials pricing volatility. They clearly see the value of technology, so what’s stopping them?

Choosing the free option doesn’t always pay

ERP software is an enabler for automation and efficiency yet despite the well-known benefits, making a business case for investment isn’t always easy. The biggest hurdle to tech adoption, according to our report, is a lack of time (cited by 64% of respondents). Two-fifths 42% are concerned about budgets, while 13% cited ROI uncertainty. Sometimes, inertia kicks in – after all spreadsheets have served the business well enough until now so why change things? And they’re free (or nearly free) too. 

The trouble is spreadsheets and other manual processes come with a hefty price tag that you don’t always see on your P&L but which will certainly be hitting your margins. 

Sometimes, you only spot them when you scale up the business or see an influx in demand. Over a week, your team could be needlessly clocking up hours manually completing tasks that could easily be automated. Over a year, this runs into days and weeks. Worse still, teams could be duplicating processes or making errors that need to be corrected whether on spreadsheets or in product reworks and recalls.

Introducing the ROI calculator

To help manufacturers understand the hidden costs of inefficiency, and the ROI they can expect from ERP software, we created a handy calculator. It covers four key areas of your business – Administration & Planning, Production & Operations, Quality Control, and Internal Communication. Since every business is different, inputting your own data gives you a true picture of how many hours you could save every week, month and year. 

To see how it works, take a look at the step-by-step guide below. 
 

Step 1: Capture the data

The first step is capturing your data – which you can find on employee timesheets and wages, work and rework orders, and machine downtime reports. 

Our calculator will tell you exactly what information is needed, which should help you to find it more easily. Think of it as a snapshot of a typical week. There will always be variations throughout the year, such as a spike in demand that causes your staffing costs to soar. This is why it’s important to refresh the calculations regularly to account for seasonality and changes in your business or the market. 

Step 2: Check the results

Once you’ve inputted your data into the calculator, you’ll see the results straightaway – broken down across all four areas in hours. The results may confirm your suspicions about where time is being lost, allowing you to finally quantify the cost of communication or quality control issues. Reworks are particularly costly in engineer-to-order (ETO) businesses so understanding how many hours are being spent on them gives you a reason to find out the root cause. 

Step 3: Take action

Seeing the potential ROI of automation allows you to make a strong business case for investment in technology, including ERP software. Implementing and configuring a modern ERP is quick, so the time it takes to get up and running is a fraction of what many manufacturers are already losing every day through inefficiencies. Of course, it’s not the time saved alone that’s important but what you do with it. Automation reduces bottlenecks and leaves more time for product innovation and business development, and can also help to boost the morale of your team who are no longer overworked.

Next steps

As mentioned previously, the ROI calculator is designed to be used at regular intervals, even once you have an ERP in place. Use insights from the calculator to set KPIs and monitor them through your ERP’s live dashboard, ensuring they’re aligned with your business objectives. This gives you a continuous view of how well your business is performing and where further refinements could be made.