Stratum vs Excel: Pros and Cons

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Transport and logistics teams have long relied on spreadsheets to plan jobs, track costs and manage resources. It’s familiar, flexible and often “good enough” when job volumes are low. But as haulage operations grow, so do the limitations of Excel, especially compared to an integrated Transport Management System (TMS).

In this side by side comparison, we’ll break down the pros and cons of using Excel vs Stratum TMS so you can see clearly where spreadsheets stop delivering value and where modern systems start driving it.

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Before evaluating a software investment, most transport businesses ask the same question: “Can’t we just keep using Excel?” After all, Excel doesn’t really have a licence cost and your team already knows how to use it.

But businesses don’t compete on capacity for manual work, they compete on efficiency, visibility and insights. A side by side comparison helps you weigh not just cost but impact, scalability and long-term value.

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Side by Side: Functionality Overview

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Pros and Cons — Excel

Pros

No licence cost — Excel is “free” with your office suite
Highly flexible for simple lists and one-off calculations
Low initial training curve for basic users

Cons

No real-time link to operational data
Manual updates and reconciliation are time-consuming
High risk of version control issues and human error
Difficult to scale as job volumes and complexity grow
Limited visibility into fleet status, utilisation and performance
No built-in alerts, compliance workflows or reporting automation

👉 In real operations, these cons don’t just slow you down — they hide problems until it’s too late to act.

Pros and Cons — Stratum TMS

Pros

Real-Time Operational Visibility: Jobs, drivers and fleet data are connected in one system
Automated Planning: Schedules update dynamically as statuses change
Integrated Reporting: Financials, utilisation and performance insights come from linked data, not manual formulas
Improved Accuracy: Automated data capture reduces errors and admin overhead
Customer Service Impact: Accurate ETAs and proactive updates improve relationships
Scalable Framework: Designed for growing fleets and complex operations

Cons

Initial Onboarding Effort: Any new system requires training and data setup
Upfront Investment: There’s a cost associated with capability, support and ongoing updates

👉 The cons here are short-term and manageable — and their impact diminishes rapidly once users are live and benefiting from automation.

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In Practice: What This Means for Your Business

1) Visibility You Can Act On

With Excel, operational visibility is static and retrospective, you look at data after the fact. With Stratum TMS, visibility is real time and proactive. Planners see actual job status, vehicle location and driver availability together rather than scattered across sheets.

2) Time Back for Your Team

Manual reconciliation, copy-paste updates and spreadsheet reconciliation are hidden productivity drains. Stratum automates many of these tasks, freeing planners and operations staff to focus on decisions, not data entry.

3) Better Decisions Based on Data, Not Guesswork

Excel can store data it just can’t connect it. Stratum’s TMS links jobs, costs, mileage, driver status and more in one platform. This makes it easier to spot margin pressure, resource bottlenecks and optimisation opportunities before they become problems.

4) Scale Without Breaking Processes

Spreadsheets might keep up today, but as your fleet, jobs and customers grow, the manual work multiplies exponentially. A TMS like Stratum is built to scale with your operation, reducing errors and admin while increasing consistency and reliability.

Conclusion: The Practical Outcome of This Comparison

A side by side comparison of Stratum TMS vs Excel shows two very different approaches:

Excel is a manual tool that gets overwhelmed by complexity, lacks real-time visibility and leaves growth opportunities hidden behind admin burden.
Stratum TMS shifts planning and operations from reactive and spreadsheet-bound to proactive, automated and connected. It gives your business the visibility, speed and insight needed to compete profitably.

If you’re questioning whether spreadsheets are holding you back — the answer isn’t in guessing. It’s in weighing the real cost of manual processes against the value of an integrated, modern transport management system.

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