Hylios vs spreadsheet models
A spreadsheet model is fast to start and familiar, but it breaks at network scale, holds one scenario at a time, and its numbers get hard to trace once the file has passed through several hands. Hylios builds a working model of your whole network in hours from public data and the files you already have, spreadsheets included, and runs many scenarios on that one model. Every number shows where it came from, so you can test a decision across cost, service, risk, and time before you commit.
At a glance
| Question | Hylios | Spreadsheet model |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a first answer on your network | Days for a first model of the whole network. After that, a quick what-if runs in seconds. | Fast for a small question. Slow for a whole network, and slower each time the scope grows. |
| What data you need to start | Public data and the files you already have. Your spreadsheets can be the first files you share. No integration project is needed to start. | Whatever someone can export and paste in, kept up to date by hand. |
| Who runs it | Operations and finance leaders, in plain language, on one shared model of the network. | Usually the analyst who built it. Others depend on that person to change it. |
| What you get | Many scenarios on one model, each shown across cost, service, risk, and time, as ranges, over a 12-month horizon by default. | One scenario at a time, usually as a single number per cell. |
| What happens when the network changes | Share updated files and rerun on the same model. A new question runs as a new scenario, not a new file. | Someone updates links and formulas by hand, and copies of the file multiply. |
| How it is priced | Posted prices. The daily brief is free, Intelligence Pro is $19.99 a month, and a Twin is set up with you in a short working session. | The software is already on every desk. The cost is the analyst time to build, check, and maintain the model. |
| Where every number comes from | Every number shows where it came from and carries a confidence level. The baseline is checked against 12 to 24 months of your history. | Whatever the author typed or linked. Sources live in cells and comments, if they are recorded at all. |
Where spreadsheets stop working
Spreadsheets are good at arithmetic on a table you can see. Network questions are different. A change at one site moves volume to other sites, which moves freight, inventory, and service, month by month. Holding that in cells takes many linked tabs, and each new scenario takes a new copy of the file.
The result is one scenario at a time, a single number with no range, and a model that one person understands. When the decision is expensive, those are the gaps that matter.
What Hylios does differently
- One model, many questions. A site closure, a tariff, and a supplier change run as scenarios on the same twin, without a new build.
- The whole network. Hylios models every stage of a supply chain, in any country, at SKU and unit-level economics.
- Time built in. Every scenario runs for 12 months by default, long enough to see seasonality and downstream consequences.
- Ranges, not single numbers. Results show a central estimate with 80 and 95 percent ranges and the inputs that moved the answer.
- Sources on every number. Every number shows where it came from. The baseline is calibrated against 12 to 24 months of your history, and the calibration report shows what the remaining error looks like.
- Judgment stays with you. Hylios does not tell you what to decide. It makes the trade-offs across cost, service, risk, and time explicit.
The methodology page sets out how the model is built, calibrated, and run.
When a spreadsheet is the better choice
Stay in the spreadsheet when:
- The question is small and one-off: one lane, one supplier quote, one cost comparison.
- The math is simple and the data fits on one sheet.
- You need a rough answer within the hour and the stakes are low.
- You want a quick cross-check of a number from any model, Hylios included.
Using spreadsheets and Hylios together
Keep your spreadsheets. A site list, a supplier list, shipment history, and freight invoices, shared as files, make the Hylios model more exact, and no integration project is needed. Direct connections to SAP S/4HANA Cloud and Oracle Fusion Cloud SCM are coming soon.
Then use each tool for what it does well. Run network questions on the twin. Use a spreadsheet for small one-off checks, and to hold any Hylios number up against your own books. Your files stay private to your workspace, are not used to train shared models, and are deleted on written request.
For a fixed-scope start, the network diagnostic builds a twin of your network from public data, trues it up against your actuals, and leaves the twin with you, for a fixed fee of $50,000 to $100,000 over 4 to 8 weeks. The other options and prices are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How does Hylios compare with a spreadsheet model?
A spreadsheet is quick for a small question but breaks at network scale and holds one scenario at a time. Hylios builds a working model of your whole network in hours from public data and the files you already have, and runs many scenarios on that one model. Each result shows cost, service, risk, and time as ranges, and every number shows where it came from.
Can Hylios use the spreadsheets I already have?
Yes. Hylios starts from public data and the files you already have. A list of your sites, a supplier list with countries, up to 12 months of shipment history, warehouse throughput, and freight invoices all make the model more exact. Your files stay private to your workspace, are not used to train shared models, and are deleted on written request.
How is a scenario in Hylios different from a scenario in a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet scenario is usually a copy of the file with different inputs and one number out. A Hylios scenario is a change run on the same model of your whole network, for 12 months by default, with results across cost, service, risk, and time shown as a central estimate with 80 and 95 percent ranges.
How can I check Hylios numbers against my own?
Every number shows where it came from. Hylios calibrates its baseline against 12 to 24 months of your observed history and presents the calibration as a report that shows, metric by metric, what the remaining error looks like. In the network diagnostic, the true-up shows where the outside-in estimate was high or low against your actuals, and by how much.
What does it cost to move beyond spreadsheets?
You can start free with the daily brief. Intelligence Pro is $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. A Twin of your own network is set up with you in a short working session. For a fixed-scope project, the network diagnostic is $50,000 to $100,000 over 4 to 8 weeks, and the twin stays with you.
When should I keep using a spreadsheet?
For small, one-off questions with simple math, such as one lane or one supplier quote, and as a cross-check. Move to a model of the network when the question touches many sites, products, or months, or when you need to compare several options across cost, service, risk, and time.