Google Sheets/Excel

Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel are the two most widely used spreadsheet applications in business. Google Sheets is cloud-native and built for real-time collaboration through a browser, while Excel is a desktop and cloud application with deeper support for complex formulas, macros, and large datasets. Together, they represent the most common non-ERP tools businesses use to manage operational and supply chain data. Companies of every size and industry rely on one or both for day-to-day data management.

For logistics and supply chain teams, these spreadsheets frequently serve as the de facto system for tracking sales orders, purchase orders, inventory levels, shipment schedules, and vendor information — especially at organizations that have not yet adopted a dedicated order management or ERP platform. Teams build custom workbooks to manage order pipelines, monitor stock across locations, and coordinate fulfillment activities. Both tools support formulas, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and data validation for organizing and analyzing supply chain data.

When used as an order source, Google Sheets and Excel typically contain structured order data — line items, quantities, ship-to addresses, expected dates, and customer or supplier details — organized in tabular formats. They are the most common starting point for businesses that need to centralize and share order data across teams before moving to a more automated system.