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Excel alternative

Optivo and Excel compared: from the morning spreadsheet to routes ready in 5-30 minutes

With Optivo, planning goes from half a day to 5-30 minutes: you upload your file as it is and OptivoRoute, Optivo's route optimization software, builds routes with time windows, capacity and multiple depots. Excel and Google Sheets are the tools many companies still plan with by hand. The comparison is for planners who spend hours in the spreadsheet every morning.

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Why people look for an Excel alternative

Excel is the tool many companies still plan deliveries with: everyone knows it and it costs nothing extra. The limit comes when constraints add up: customers' time windows, different capacity per vehicle, multiple depots, owner-drivers to fill, retail chain delivery sequences. The spreadsheet holds one at a time and the planner keeps the rest in their head, spending hours every morning fixing routes. And when a delivery fails at midday, the spreadsheet does not know.

  • Hours every morning building and correcting routes by hand
  • One constraint at a time: time windows, capacity and depots are crossed by eye
  • No vehicle positions during the day; disruptions are handled over the phone
  • Proof of delivery comes back to the office on paper, when it comes back
  • No history of kilometres, fuel and missed deliveries to start from

Key differences

How Optivo is different

1

5-30 minutes instead of hours in the spreadsheet

With Optivo planning goes from half a day to 5-30 minutes, and the person who planned by hand moves to checking the plan. OptivoRoute starts from the same file: you upload it to Magic Order, the chat inside OptivoRoute, alongside CSV, PDF, photos or pasted text; the AI extracts the orders, looks up what is missing in your history and asks for confirmation when a value does not add up. In Excel the planner spends hours every morning building and correcting routes.

2

All constraints together

OptivoRoute applies the constraints together: time windows (including multiple ones), multiple depots, capacity per vehicle, priorities, owner-drivers and retail delivery sequences. Industry constraints are configured by the Italian team during onboarding. Optivo customers run it with three-compartment vans with adjustable partitions (dry, chilled, frozen) and with pickups paired to deliveries on the same route, with a return to the depot and a second departure. In the spreadsheet you optimize for kilometres, or for time windows, or for capacity, and the other constraints stay in the planner's head.

3

The day in real time

With OptivoTrack, Optivo's tracking system, you know where the vehicles are now, through a plug & play OBD device, CAN bus (the vehicle's data network) or hardware-free Cloud OEM (30+ brands from 12 automotive groups), and the Control Tower flags delays and missed deliveries and inserts new stops on the fly, recalculating the route. The optimized plan is kept and compared with the actual track: the gap shows vehicle by vehicle, in kilometres and in euros. The spreadsheet captures the morning plan, and whatever happens next goes through the phone.

4

Proof of delivery in the app

With Optivo the driver signs in to the app with email and password and closes a delivery in three taps (select, photo or signature, confirm); proof of delivery with signature, photo and notes stays in the system and the recipient receives notifications via WhatsApp, SMS or email. Fuel consumption, CO2 per vehicle and per route and missed deliveries become the history you decide from. With the spreadsheet, delivery confirmation is a signed document that reaches the office days later.

At a glance

Who it is built for Companies planning deliveries with time windows, capacity and multiple depots A few vehicles, routes almost identical every day
Planning time 5-30 minutes, with all constraints together Hours every morning, by hand
Route optimization Multiple time windows, capacity, multiple depots, retail sequences One constraint at a time, the rest in your head
Vehicle tracking Plug & play OBD, CAN bus or hardware-free Cloud OEM (30+ brands) None
Driver app Signature, photo and notes: three taps to close a delivery None; signed paper sheets
Disruptions during the day Control Tower: alerts and new stops with re-planning Phone calls and manual recalculation
Transport documents eFTI-compliant, generated by the system Filled in by hand
Contract Usually a subscription; on request an installed licence Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets licence
Price Quote on planned volumes Included in Microsoft 365; Google Sheets free

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Commercial models compared

Optivo sizes the quote on the volumes you plan and includes devices, driver app and onboarding. Excel costs nothing beyond the licence you already have; the cost sits in the planner's hours and the extra kilometres.

Optivo

The quote is sized on the volumes you plan, agreed upfront, not on the individual deliveries executed. Optivo-branded OBD or CAN devices are usually provided on free loan, or purchased if you want them on the balance sheet; hardware-free Cloud OEM where the vehicle allows it. Usually a subscription; on request also a licence installed on the company's systems, with a separate fee for services. Book a demo for a quote on your routes.

Excel

No licence cost beyond Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets. The costs are elsewhere: the hours of whoever builds routes by hand, the excess kilometres and fuel, the missed deliveries that leave no trace.

Results with Optivo

With Optivo kilometres drop by 10-20% and fuel by 10-15%, vehicles needed by 5-10%; planning takes 5-30 minutes.
Results of Optivo projects, with payback in 3-9 months

10-20%

fewer km with Optivo

When Optivo is the right choice

Optivo is for you if…

You plan deliveries every day with time windows, capacity and multiple depots, and you spend hours in the spreadsheet every morning. Customers ask where their delivery is and today you find out by phoning the driver. You want kilometres, fuel and CO2 per vehicle to bring to management. You want an Italian team that starts from your file and configures the constraints with you. With Optivo kilometres drop by 10-20% and fuel by 10-15%, vehicles needed by 5-10%, with payback usually between 3 and 9 months.

Excel at a glance

Excel and Google Sheets are spreadsheets included in the Microsoft 365 licence or free with Google. In delivery planning they hold the list of orders and the routes decided by the planner, who crosses addresses, time windows and capacity by hand, drawing on what they know about customers and roads.

Who plans with Excel

Excel and Google Sheets serve planners who build routes by hand, with the list of orders in the spreadsheet and the experience of someone who knows the customers and the roads.

How to move from Excel to Optivo

The switch starts from the file you use today: no template to rebuild and no change in how you read the routes.

  1. 1

    Upload your Excel file as it is

    Your Excel file goes in as it is through Magic Order, the chat inside OptivoRoute, alongside CSV, PDF, photos and text. The AI recognizes addresses, completes missing data from the history and asks you to confirm whatever does not add up. No required template, no preparation.

  2. 2

    Configure constraints with the team

    During onboarding the Italian team sets time windows, capacity per vehicle, depots, owner-drivers and retail delivery sequences. Planners see the routes as a list, on the map and on the stop timeline, and correct them by hand when needed.

  3. 3

    Choose how to track vehicles

    Optivo-branded plug & play OBD or CAN bus devices, usually on free loan or purchased for the balance sheet; hardware-free Cloud OEM for factory-connected vehicles. Installation takes a few minutes per vehicle.

  4. 4

    Measure before and after

    The optimized plan is kept and compared with the actual track, and the gap shows vehicle by vehicle, in kilometres and in euros. After the first weeks you have kilometres, fuel and missed deliveries to set against the spreadsheet period.

We'll walk you through the switch on your own data: orders, vehicles and the end date of your current contract.

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FAQ

Can I keep using my current Excel file?

Yes. You upload it as it is to Magic Order, the chat inside OptivoRoute, with no template: the AI extracts the orders, looks up what is missing in your history and asks for confirmation when a value does not add up. The same goes for CSV, PDF, photos or pasted text. The file stays your starting point; what changes is who builds the routes.

How does Optivo's cost compare to Excel?

Optivo's price is built on the number of vehicles, the modules you choose and the volumes you plan, agreed upfront, not on the individual deliveries executed, and includes devices, driver app and onboarding. Payback with Optivo is usually between 3 and 9 months. Excel costs nothing beyond the Microsoft 365 or Google Sheets licence; the cost sits in the planner's hours and the extra kilometres.

How long does it take to move to Optivo?

Onboarding can be immediate for standard configurations and takes up to a few weeks with customization or training: the platform runs in the cloud, constraints are configured during onboarding, and devices take a few minutes per vehicle to install. The first optimized route can be seen in the demo itself, with your file.

Do my planners need to learn new software?

They learn it starting from what they know: their file goes in as it is, and routes show as a list, on the map and on the stop timeline, with manual corrections they can undo and redo. The calculation is done by the optimization engine instead of a person, and Optivo's Italian team configures the constraints during onboarding and follows planners directly. Drivers sign in to the app with email and password and close a delivery in three taps.

What happens if something changes during the day?

The Control Tower shows vehicles in real time, flags delays and missed deliveries and lets you insert new stops on the fly with re-planning. The planner decides whether to apply the proposal. In the spreadsheet the same thing takes phone calls to drivers and a manual recalculation.

Is vehicle tracking included or sold separately?

OptivoTrack, Optivo's tracking system, is part of the same platform. It is activated with an Optivo-branded plug & play OBD or CAN bus device, usually on free loan or purchased for the balance sheet, or with hardware-free Cloud OEM on factory-connected vehicles, 30+ brands from 12 automotive groups, in compliance with the EU Data Act.

Updated on:

How this comparison was made

Comparison written by Optivo from the competitor's public sources, checked on the date shown.

Information about Excel and Google Sheets was checked against the sources listed as of the update date. Prices, products and terms may change: check the official channels before deciding.

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