Linked Excel BOM not updating part descriptions

  1. Inserted a BOM into an assembly.
  2. Saved the BOM as an Excel file.
  3. Deleted original BOM then inserted an Object (the linked Excel file).
  4. I tested the Excel file to see if edits were propagating back to the embedded table in SW.

Problem:  when I make edits to the Excel file (which successfully feeds back to SW once the Excel file was saved/closed) I expected to see my edits (i.e. Component descriptions) update in the Display Tree.  They do not...   I assume I'm simply doing something wrong.?

Perhaps I'm simply expecting too much of this functionality.?

Reason for this pursuit:  We've got several thousand part descriptions which need to be edited (and also several custom property fields) and it's infinitely faster to do this via Excel rather than double-clicking on individual cells in a Bill of Materials table directly in SW.

Is there a better way to handle this problem?