In brief
There is no rule saying ‘at 5 trucks you need management software’ or ‘up to 20, Excel is enough’. The real threshold is coordination complexity. A fleet of three vehicles making highly dynamic urban deliveries may need more synchronisation than a fleet of ten trucks on repetitive routes.
Excel becomes a limitation when the cost of keeping it consistent outweighs the benefit of its simplicity.
Excel does not ‘expire’ at a certain number of trucks
Assess instead:
- orders per day;
- number of changes during the day;
- people updating the plan;
- number of drivers to inform;
- documents to collect;
- need for mobile access;
- how often the history of an order has to be reconstructed;
- integrations with customers or administration.
These factors determine when to move to a more structured system.
Ten signs of a limitation
1. There is more than one copy of the file
Email, desktops and shared folders contain different versions.
2. Changes are communicated twice
First Excel is updated, then the driver is sent a WhatsApp message.
3. You do not know who changed a piece of data
A time is different, but nobody remembers when it was changed.
4. Two people cannot work together with confidence
There is a fear that someone will overwrite rows or formulas.
5. Drivers cannot see the current plan
The office has the updated file; drivers on the road have old screenshots.
6. Documents live elsewhere
DDTs, CMRs and PODs are in emails, folders, phones and binders that are not linked to the order.
7. Statistics require manual ‘cleaning’
Before counting orders by customer, names and statuses have to be corrected.
8. Permissions are all or nothing
Anyone opening the file can see any data, including what their role does not need.
9. The file has become homemade software
Macros, critical formulas and dependencies that only one person understands.
10. One error blocks the day
A deleted formula or corrupted file disrupts operations.
The hidden cost of duplication
Suppose a dispatcher spends 3 minutes copying each change from the sheet into the chat. With 25 changes a day, that is 75 minutes. Calls, checks and corrections are added to that.
This does not mean software will automatically save 75 minutes: it means there is a measurable duplicated process to improve. That is a much sounder basis for choosing management software than technology fashion.
When to improve Excel and when to migrate
Improve Excel if the problem is mainly a disorganised structure: an ID is missing, statuses are not standardised, or the file is not shared.
Consider management software if the problem is inherent to the spreadsheet: synchronisation with drivers, role-based permissions, linked documents, change history, notifications and multi-user processes.
Avoid a ‘big bang’ transition. First define the right process, then choose the tool.
How to measure the problem
For two weeks, measure:
- minutes spent copying data again;
- calls caused by missing information;
- orders with the wrong version;
- documents not found straight away;
- hours needed to prepare statistics;
- cases in which the driver did not have the latest update.
These numbers become the requirements for the new system. If the software does not improve those points, having more features is of no use.
Decision checklist
- How many versions of the file exist?
- How many people edit it?
- Do drivers receive updates automatically?
- Is it possible to view the history?
- Are documents linked to orders?
- Do permissions reflect roles?
- Is the backup reliable?
- How much time is spent every day on duplicate data entry?
- Is the problem the file or the process?