Excel Tricks to Speed Up Your Delivery Planning

If you handle parcels every day, you know how easy a spreadsheet can turn into a mess. The good news? A few simple Excel moves can turn chaos into clear, fast routes. Below are hands‑on tips you can start using right now, whether you run a tiny courier service or a big warehouse.

1. Use Simple Formulas to Calculate Costs

Instead of guessing how much each shipment will cost, set up a basic cost calculator. Put your base rate in one cell, add a per‑kilometre charge in another, then use =B2*C2+D2 to get the total. Copy the formula down the column and you’ll have instant quotes for every package.

2. Highlight Late Shipments with Conditional Formatting

Open a column for "Delivery Deadline" and another for "Actual Delivery". Select the actual dates, go to Conditional Formatting, and create a rule like "Cell Value < Deadline" with a red fill. Every late parcel lights up in red, so you can spot problems at a glance.

Combine this with a quick filter to see only the red rows. You’ll know exactly which routes need a faster hand or a different courier.

3. Pivot Tables for Weekly Route Summaries

Got hundreds of rows of delivery data? Pull a Pivot Table and drop "Driver" into rows and "Number of Packages" into values. Add "Delivery Date" as a filter and you’ve got a weekly snapshot of who’s doing what. Adjust the table to show distance travelled or fuel used – just drag the fields you need.

Pivot tables update automatically when you add new rows, so your dashboard stays fresh without extra work.

4. Data Validation to Keep Entries Clean

Typos in postcodes or weight entries cause delays. Set up data validation for those columns: choose "Whole number" for weight, set a minimum and maximum, and use a drop‑down list for UK postcodes you service. Excel will block entries that don’t match, saving you time fixing errors later.

5. Create a One‑Click Delivery Schedule

Make a master sheet with driver names, start times, and assigned zones. Then add a button (Insert > Shapes) and link it to a macro that copies today’s rows to a new sheet called "Today’s Runs". You get a ready‑to‑print schedule with a single click.

Even if you’re new to macros, the recorder can capture the steps for you. Press "Record", do the copy‑paste, stop recording, and assign the macro to your button.

6. Visualise Progress with Simple Charts

Turn your delivery counts into a bar chart. Highlight the driver column and the count column, choose Insert > Chart, pick a bar style, and you’ll see who’s handling the most parcels. Add a line for "On‑time %" to compare speed against volume.

Charts make team meetings quick – everyone sees the picture without digging through numbers.

These Excel tricks are easy to set up and pay off fast. Spend a half hour building the templates, and you’ll cut down on manual checks, avoid late deliveries, and keep your same‑day service running smooth. Ready to try one? Open a new workbook, copy the formulas above, and watch your delivery planning get a serious upgrade.