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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Christmas, sales, Peak Season. The trucks are full, there is no free space in the warehouse and the WhatsApp traffic is bursting with smoke.
Just in these weeks it is very clear which companies have processes... and which ones depend on specific people to make everything work.

The uncomfortable question is simple:

If your traffic manager is missing tomorrow, do you have an operation... or do you have a problem?

This article is for three key profiles in last-mile logistics: Carlos (Head of Traffic), Marta (Director of Operations) and Jorge (Financial Controller). All three suffer from the same problem from different angles: the lack of standardization of processes.

The classic mistake: trusting the memory instead of the process

In many operations, the real “system” is not the ERP, nor the TMS, nor the Excel.
The system is called Charles.

Carlos knows by heart:

• Which driver knows each area best.
• Which customer doesn't want afternoon deliveries.
• Which vehicle doesn't fit on which street.
• Which customer “just likes it when Juan goes”.

That has an advantage: today works.
But it has several problems:

1. It doesn't scale: if you want to grow up, you can't clone Carlos.
2. It's not resilient: If Carlos leaves, gets sick or burns, the operation falters.
3. It's not measurable: what's in their head doesn't generate data... and without data, neither Marta nor Jorge can do their job well.

The standardization of processes is not going to diminish the importance of Carlos's experience, but rather turn your experience into clear rules, visible to all and replicable.

For Carlos, the traffic chief: from putting out fires to conducting the orchestra

Carlos, The Fireman.
More than 20 years in the warehouse, mobile in hand around the clock. Your reality:
a broken truck, a customer who calls in anger, a driver who doesn't show up... and all resolved with WhatsApp calls and audios.

Their fear is logical:

“If we put in an automated system, it's going to do absurd things and I'll pay for them.”

Therefore, with Carlos, the message has to be very clear:

“Routal digitizes your experience, it doesn't replace you. We give you the control to stop putting out fires and start managing.”

What does that mean in practice?

• Your tribal rules become system rules:
  • “This customer, only with this driver.”
  • “This vehicle, never in this area.”
  • “Do not schedule deliveries at this time.”
• The tool Automate the tedious (calculate routes, assign stops, adjust schedules), but you decide the framework.
• You stop spending your day manually reviewing routes and start controlling for exceptions, incidents and improvements.

Standardization for Carlos is not bureaucracy, it is Rest your head and truly regain control.

For Marta, the director of operations: that the operation does not depend on heroes

Marta, The strategist
Responsible for making sure everything works... but:

• He knows that the operation is overly dependent on Carlos's memory.
• Intuit that there are Money leaks in returns, declines, downtime.
• You don't have reliable data to answer key questions:
  • Should we buy more trucks or outsource?
  • Is this large customer really profitable?
  • Where does our money go in the last mile?

Your need is clear: Standardization and Scalability.

“Routal eliminates dependence on key people and gives you the financial and operational visibility to scale your business without chaos.”

How does standardization help Marta?

• Each delivery follows a homogeneous flow: plan → execute → record → analyze.
• Planning criteria no longer change depending on who is in traffic; they become company policy.
• You can compare routes, customers, zones and periods with objective metrics: cost per delivery, level of service, incidents, waiting times, etc.
• When the peak season arrives, you can simulate scenarios:
  “What happens if I add X vehicles?” , “What if I divide this area between two delegations?”

Resilience, for Marta, is being able to say:

“If Carlos leaves tomorrow, the operation continues. What is going away is undocumented knowledge, and I have already converted that into a process.”

For Jorge, the Financial Controller: without a process, there are no numbers that add up

Jorge, the master of excel.
He lives in the world of margins, cash flow and auditing. What you hate the most:

• Credit notes for “incomplete deliveries”.
• Disputes with customers because no one knows what actually happened in a delivery.
• The never-ending reconciliation between invoices and actual deliveries.
• Cash managed by drivers without perfect traceability.

Your problem is simple:

If the delivery process is not standardized and traced, The numbers don't close.

There the proposal has to be very tangible:

“Full financial traceability from the route to the ERP. Close the collection cycle and reduce portfolio days (DSO).”

With a standardized operation supported by Routal:

• Each stop generates a structured registration: who, when, where, how and result (delivered, failed, partial, etc.).
• The evidence (signature, photo, reason for incident) is associated with the delivery, not with a lost message on WhatsApp.
• The on-road charges remain plotted and reconciled: how much each driver charged, in what delivery and what invoice it corresponds to.
• Discussions with customers are reduced because there are detailed history and objective.

For Jorge, standardization is not an operational issue: it is a The topic of margin and financial risk.

The real cost of not being prepared (spoiler: it's not just money)

When the company has not taken standardization seriously, problems appear just when it is least convenient: peaks in demand, large new customers, regulatory changes...

The typical costs of not being prepared:

• Direct costs
  • More returns and second deliveries.
  • Overtime to “fix” what should have worked the first time.
  • Oversized fleet to compensate for inefficiencies.
• Hidden costs
  • Absolute dependence on 2-3 key people.
  • Strategic decisions taken blindly.
  • Constant tension between operations, commercial and finance.
• Opportunity costs
  • Not being able to take on new contracts because “we are already on the limit”.
  • Reject interesting projects out of fear that the operation will break down.
  • Deterioration of the customer experience at key moments (such as now, at Christmas).

La resiliency it is not to endure based on human effort, but to be able to adapt — quickly and without drama — because the process is clear and supported by technology.

Peak season, Christmas and why this is the best time to talk about processes

The Christmas and Kings campaign is the natural “stress test” of logistics:

• If everything depends on heroes, the system holds up... until it doesn't.
• If everything depends on processes, you can increase volume without multiplying the chaos.

Standardizing today is not setting up a pharaonic project, it's starting with something very specific:

• Define how you want the routes to be planned.
• Convert that criteria into rules within Routal.
• Ensure that each delivery generates useful data for operations and finance.

And from there, iterate. Better process, better data, better decision.

A Christmas touch to close 🎄

At Routal, we talk every day to companies that want to move from “lung” logistics to a process-based operation.
But, to be honest, at this time we are closing our most important agreements with Their Majesties the Three Wise Men and, in other latitudes, with a certain Santa Claus.

They have been standardizing processes for many years and have seen Routal as the ideal solution for Deliver in a timely manner to all the children in the world, without losing a gift... (not an invoice to whom you already know) 🛷✨

Because even at the North Pole, they already know that magic is very good, but what really gives peace of mind is a good process.

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The peak season is here: Black Friday, Christmas, sales... and you with your van full to the top and the clock ticking.

The last thing you want is to spend 30—40 minutes organizing stops, reading directions, and fighting with Google Maps.

That's why in Routal for Drivers we have launched a novelty designed just for that moment of chaos:

👉 route planning simply by taking pictures of package labels.

Yes, literally like this: You take out your cell phone, point to the label, click... and in less than 1 second that package is already on your optimized route.

How does photo planning work?

The idea is very simple: you focus on the packages, Routal does the rest.

1. Open the Routal for Drivers app.
2. Activate the “scan by photo” mode.
3. You're taking pictures of the labels, one after the other (without having to frame perfectly or waste time).
4. The app automatically reads relevant information (address, reference, etc.).
5. When you're done, Routal Generate the optimal route in seconds, sorting all the stops by distance, times and priorities.

💡 The result:

• Less than 1 second per package to incorporate it into your route.
• Without typing directions nor search manually on the map.
• Todo ready to start much earlier.

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Up to 30% less time spent planning 🕒

With this new flow, many delivery people are seeing something very clear:

• Before:
  • 20—40 minutes organizing the route by hand.
  • A lot of time looking at papers, different apps and doing mental calculations.
• Now with Routal for Drivers:
  • You scan packages at full speed (less than 1 second per tag).
  • The app It gives you back the best route in a few seconds.
  • The total preparation time may go down up to 30%.

What does that translate to for you?

• Get home early.
• Less stress at the start of the day.
• More time for what matters (or even to do more services, if you want).

Less gas, fewer laps, less stress ⛽

It's not just a matter of speed. With a well-optimized route:

• You do fewer useless kilometers.
• You avoid “crossing the city” several times.
• Reduces Gasoline consumption or diesel.
• And, by the way, You pollute less.

The app calculates the optimal route taking into account distances and sequence of stops, so that the route is as efficient as possible. You just follow the order set by the app and focus on delivering.

Ideal for the peak season: Black Friday, Christmas, sales... 🎁

If there's a time in the year when this functionality shines, it's now:

• When you go from 50 to 120+ packs in one day.
• When every minute counts and you go just in hours.
• When customers are more sensitive to delivery schedules.

In the middle of the campaign of Black Friday and Yule, the difference between 30 minutes organizing packages... or having the route ready in a matter of seconds is enormous.

With photo planning in Routal for Drivers:

• You start delivering sooner.
• You make better use of each time slot.
• They reduce delays due to poorly organized routes.

It works all over the world 🌍

The app of Routal for Drivers is designed for delivery people who work:

• In big cities or small towns.
• In Spain, Europe, Latin America or any other market.

As long as you have packages with legible labels and a connection to synchronize, you can:

• Scan,
• Plan,
• And go out to deliver
• wherever you are.

Hundreds of autonomous delivery people already use it every day

This is not “laboratory” functionality.

Hundreds of autonomous delivery people they are already using Routal for Drivers in their daily lives to:

• Organize your routes without wasting time.
• Reduce downtime at the start of the day.
• Improve your billing without lengthening your day so much.

And not just freelancers. Routal technology It is part of the daily operations of many delivery people from well-known companies such as: Seur, Correos, GLS, DHL, J&T Express or UPS ... among many others who already rely on our solutions to plan, optimize and monitor their routes.

Do you want to try it out in your next cast?

If you are a self-employed delivery person, work for a courier company or manage a small fleet, the new planning by label photos in Routal for Drivers It can change your day:

• 📸 You take pictures of the labels.
• 🧠 Routal understands and organizes.
• 🗺️ You have the best route ready in seconds.
• 🕓 You save up to 30% of the time you previously spent planning.
• 🏠 And yes, Do you get home early.