There's a quiet kind of intelligence in what this user is asking for, and it's worth pausing to appreciate it. They're not trying to build a flashy dashboard or impress anyone with complexity. They just want to stop manually hunting through rows of part numbers to figure out how long things take to arrive. That's not a small ask. It's the difference between a spreadsheet that stores data and one that actually works for the people who depend on it. The fact that they've already added a column for workdays shows they understand the problem. The next step is making the data do the heavy lifting instead of their eyes.
What they're describing is a pivot table in disguise, but that's not a criticism. It's a compliment. They've instinctively recognized that the same part number appearing multiple times isn't a mess to clean up. It's a pattern to be measured. Averaging leadtimes, counting appearances, summing quantities. That's not a niche request. That's the foundation of supplier performance, inventory planning, and honest forecasting. Most companies pay consultants to build what this user is trying to figure out on their own. The only difference is the tools they have on hand. And the fact that they're asking for pointers rather than waiting for permission to improve their workflow says something about how real work gets done.
Here's what we actually think. This is exactly the kind of task that should push someone toward a tool that understands their intent, not just their formulas. A traditional spreadsheet will get them partway there. They can write a SUMIF, an AVERAGEIF, maybe a COUNTIF. They can build a second sheet manually and update it when they remember. But that's maintenance, not insight. The moment they ask "what if I need to see this by month?" or "what if a part number changes format?" they're back to rewriting formulas. What they really want is a system that recognizes the part number, groups the rows, and gives them the answer without asking them to become a formula librarian. That's not a luxury. That's the difference between a tool they use and a tool that uses them.
So here's our concrete takeaway. Start with the pivot table, yes. It's the right first step and it will work. But don't stop there. Treat this as a test case for how much manual effort you're willing to accept. If you find yourself rebuilding the same summary week after week, that's not a spreadsheet problem anymore. That's a signal that your data should be answering questions on its own. The user who posted this is already ahead of most. They're not asking for a magic button. They're asking for a better way to see what's already in front of them. That's the mindset that turns a list of orders into a source of clarity. And it's available to anyone willing to ask the question.