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Excel vs TMS Comparison Table
In the world of road haulage, efficient transport planning is paramount to success. Hauliers often find themselves at a crossroads, wondering which tool is the best fit for their specific needs: Microsoft Excel or Transportation Management Systems (TMS).
In this post, we’re putting the spotlight on these two essential tools, tailored specifically for hauliers. Here’s our review of the pros and cons of using Excel, or a TMS to plan your haulage work:
Feature | Excel | TMS |
Accessibility Excel and a TMS are both easily accessible from anywhere as long as you have the device the TMS is installed on, meaning you can access all your data from home! |  | |
Customisable Excel and a TMS can both be customised to only show the data on screen that you require, with the ability to filter the data you need. | | |
Easy-to-use One massive advantage to Excel is its ease of use for beginners, Mandata TMS took many of these ideas on board and there is a lot of noticeable similarities between a TMS and Excel. | | |
Job entry It’s easy with both Excel and a TMS to enter job information into all the required fields. | | |
Repeat job entry With a TMS all customer data is stored, meaning that it will all be inputted automatically once a customer is selected for a job, greatly reducing admin burden. |  | |
Repeat job schedules Repeat job schedules can be set up in a TMS with all the data inputted automatically, allowing you to plan jobs weeks, or even months in advanced. | | |
Store customer details Customer data is all saved within the TMS, meaning that you don’t have to re-key in addresses, key contacts, telephone numbers etc. | | |
Drag and drop job assignment Jobs can be assigned with a TMS quickly and easily using either our drag and drop functionality, or by right clicking and assigning. | | |
Live job status updates When combined with our driver's Manifests app, you can view live job status updates within your TMS, meaning you always have full visibility of job progress. Your customers can also see their jobs' progress in real-time, reducing the admin burden and helping to offer better customer service. | | |
POD upload When combined with our driver’s Manifests app, your drivers can upload all proof of collection and delivery documentation that they receive while out on jobs. All POD information will be automatically attached to the job record. | | |
Map-based planning Plan out the best routes for a driver to take, automatically calculating empty miles and total miles and supporting both full load and multi-drop work types, saving you time and money. | | |
Sign-on-glass signature collection When combined with our driver’s Manifests app, your drivers can collect electronic signatures via sign-on-glass functionality which will automatically attach to the job record. | | |
Two-way communication with drivers Your staff, using the TMS, can send and receive messages with your drivers through their Manifests app while they are out on the road. | | |
Easy invoicing With all signature and POD information attached to the job record automatically, countless hours are saved matching PODs to invoices, improving cash flow. | | |
Customer job booking With our online customer portal your customers can book their own jobs ready for your planners to assign to drivers. They can also access all historical POD data between the two of you, eliminating needless conversation. | | |
Data security As the TMS is cloud-based, your data will be stored with us, eliminating the need for you to invest in top-end cybersecurity. Furthermore, at Mandata, we have ISO 27001 certification, which means we are at the forefront of cybersecurity. | | |