From Excel to logistics software: why spreadsheets will slow your growth

If you work in delivery, distribution or road services, there is a time when Excel ceases to be “a solution” and becomes the bottleneck. Not because Excel is bad (in fact, it's brilliant for a lot of things), but because Logistic operations are growing in complexity faster than spreadsheets.

And when that happens, the symptoms begin: routes that don't add up, drivers waiting for instructions, calls from customers asking “what time are you arriving?” , duplicate data, last-minute changes that break the schedule, and an entire team living in “putting out fires” mode.

In this article we are going to see Why Excel slows growth, what signs are already telling you this, and how to switch to logistics software without suffering (and above all, without losing control).

Why Excel “works”... until it stops

Excel (and its cousins: Google Sheets, CSVs, legacy templates) is often the first tool for organizing deliveries. It's cheap, flexible and everyone knows it.

The problem is that The last mile is not an Excel. It's a living system:

• Orders that arrive late
• Incomplete addresses
• Time windows
• Priorities
• Concidences
• Delivery confirmations
• Reattempts
• Customers who change the time
• Traffic, Weather, and Reality

As long as the volume is small, you can handle it. When you grow up, Excel doesn't scale with your operation: Only chaos escalates.

7 signs that Excel is already holding back your logistics

1) “The perfect route” depends on a person

If there is someone who “knows how to do it” and without that person planning suffers, you don't have a process: you have a hero. And that's not scalable.

2) Infinite versions: final_v3_ahora_sí.xlsx

Who has the latest version? What changed? Why does the driver have another list? Excel isn't meant for real-time operational version control.

3) Last-minute changes = redo everything

Adding 5 urgent stops shouldn't force you to redo 12 routes by hand. But with Excel, it usually happens.

4) There is no visibility en route

When your drivers leave, Excel stays in the office. And what happens on the street translates into calls, WhatsApp and “I'll tell you later”.

5) The customer forces you to play fortune teller

Without reliable arrival times (ETAs), the customer asks. And if you ask, your team answers. And if he answers, he gets distracted. Result: more errors.

6) The data is “dirty” (and more every week)

Misspelled addresses, faulty phones, incomplete zip codes, confusing notes... Excel doesn't force you to standardize. And if you don't standardize, Do you grow on weak data.

7) Measuring KPIs is hell

If to know punctuality, km, productivity or incidents you need to “cross” three sheets, you are losing the most valuable thing: learning.

The hidden cost of Excel: it's not the license, it's the time (and the errors)

Excel doesn't cost you money... but it costs you:

• Manual planning hours (every day, every week)
• Copy/paste errors
• Misassigned stops
• Dissatisfied customers
• Extra km
• Frustrated drivers
• Decisions based on “intuition”
• Missed opportunities Because your team is saturated

And what's worse: when it's time to grow (more areas, more fleet, more orders), Excel doesn't keep up. It forces you to choose between:

• Grow and lose quality, or
• Maintain quality and not grow

“But we already have a process in Excel...” (and that's why it hurts to change)

Totally normal. Excel becomes “the system” over time: macros, validations, tabs by zones, colors, formulas... and a sense of control.

Change is scary for two reasons:

1. Fear of losing that control
2. Fear of slow and traumatic migration

The good news: migrating to logistics software today has nothing to do with those eternal projects of years ago.
At Routal, there are customers who have implemented the solution in less than 24 hours. If you're already working in Excel, you'll need less than 5 minutes to see your planned routes.

The biggest enemy of scaling: data quality

Here comes a key (and very real) topic: before optimizing routes, you have to Clear data.

Your operation is only as good as the information you give it. If your addresses, phone numbers or time windows are wrong, any planning suffers.

Classic example: “Phone number in Excel”

Yes, it sounds like a strange search, but it's one of the most common problems.

• Phones without a prefix (+34?)
• Numbers with spaces, hyphens or text (“Call first” inside the field)
• Zeros on the left that disappear
• Excel interpreting the number as a formula or scientific notation

Result: the driver is unable to call, the customer is not notified and delivery is complicated.

Quick tip: In Excel, treat the phone as text, not as a number. And it standardises format (for example: +34XXXXXXXXX).

If your team has ever searched for “phone number in excel”, you know what we're talking about: when the data isn't standardized, the operation breaks down.

When everything comes in CSV: “From csv to Excel” is not the ultimate goal

Another everyday classic: you download eCommerce/ERP orders in CSV, convert them and work them in Excel.

The “csv to excel” search is common because the flow is usually:

1. Export CSV
2. I open it in Excel
3. I clean it “as I can”
4. Distribution by route
5. I'm back to exporting/printing/sending via WhatsApp

It works... until you have:

• Multiple order channels
• Several warehouses
• Different time slots
• Incidents
• Reattempts
• Live tracking

That's when logistics software gives you a huge advantage: connect data, planning and execution in a single flow, without relying on conversions and patches.

What logistics software does that Excel can't do (without going crazy)

1) Automatic route optimization (for real)

Don't “sort by zip code”. We talk about taking into account:

• Vehicle capacity
• Time windows
• Priorities
• Service times
• Restrictions (zones, schedules, vehicle types)
• Reduce km and more deliveries per route and time

2) Replanning in minutes

Urgent orders, cancellations, incidents... good software allows you to reoptimize without redoing everything by hand. 2 clicks.

3) Driver app and proof of delivery

Drivers need:

• Clear list of stops
• Navigation
• State per stop
• Notes and evidence (photo, signature, incidents)

Excel doesn't run on the street. Software, like Routal, yes.

4) Tracking and ETAs for the customer

Fewer calls. More trust.

• Real-time (or quasi-real) tracking
• Delay Notices
• Updated ETA
• More professional experience
• Better perception of the service (and that's happy repeat customers)

5) Metrics, KPIs and continuous improvement

No data, no improvements. Software helps you measure:

• Punctuality
• Km per delivery
• Deliveries by the hour
• Service times
• Incidents
• NPS/Satisfaction

The intelligent change: it's not “throwing away Excel”, it's professionalizing operations

Here's an important idea: Excel doesn't disappear. It is still useful for spot analysis, reporting, or preparing data.

What changes is this:

• Excel ceases to be the “center” of your logistics
• It becomes a support, not the engine

The engine should be a system designed to plan, optimize and monitor routes.

How to move from Excel to logistics software without drama (step by step)

Step 1: Identify your “minimum viable template”

Don't try to migrate 25 tabs and 300 columns. Start with the basics:

• Order ID
• name
• Full address
• city/CP
• Time window
• telephone
• notes
• packages/weight (if applicable)

Step 2: Standardize and Clear data

This is where migration is won (or lost).

Quick checklist for Clear data:

• Separate addresses (street/number/city/zip code)
• Consistent format phones (+34XXXXX)
• Unified time windows (HH:MM-HH:MM)
• Elimination of duplicates
• Defined mandatory fields
• Clear operational notes

Step 3: Start with an area or a type of route

Drive with a route, build trust in your team:

• A route
• An area
• A warehouse
• A team of drivers
• A type of service (delivery, installation, collection)

Step 4: Measure impact with simple KPIs

Before vs. After:

• Planning time
• Total km
• Deliveries by route
• Punctuality
• Incoming calls from “when are you arriving?”

Step 5: Scale with control

When the pilot works, you expand with confidence.

Where does Routal fit into all this?

Routal is designed just for this leap: moving from manual (and fragile) planning to scalable logistics.

With Routal you can:

• plan and optimize routes In minutes
• manage real last-mile restrictions
• Give your drivers a app to execute routes and report states
• provide the customer with follow-up and communication
• collect feedback with satisfaction surveys
• have visibility and data to improve every week

In short: less Excel “extinguishes fireworks” and more solid, measurable and scalable operation.

FAQs

“What if my Excel is very advanced?”

The more advanced, the more signs that you're already forcing a generalist tool for a specialized problem. If you rely on manual macros and processes, the risk grows with volume.

“Does switching to software mean losing flexibility?”

You usually gain operational flexibility (replan, monitor, communicate). And you maintain analytical flexibility by using exports or integrations when you need them.

“What's wrong with my CSV flow?”

You can still import/export when necessary, but the goal is that everyday life does not depend on “csv to excel” as the main chain of the process.

Conclusion: Excel is not the enemy... but it is the brake when you want to grow

Excel is a great tool. The problem is when you try to do with Excel what it requires:

• Optimization
• Route execution
• Traceability
• Communication with the customer
• Continuous improvement with data

If your operation is growing, the time to change isn't “when it's impossible.” It is When you can still do it with control.

Do you want to see what your operation would be like without the chaos of Excel?

If you want, we'll show you Routal with your real cases (zones, fleet, time windows, types of delivery) so you can see how much time and km you can save, and how it improves the driver and customer experience.

👉 Request a demo of Routal and we'll see it together.

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