| Criteria | Excel | FollowNet One |
|---|---|---|
| Status updates | Manual, by each analyst | Automatic — integrated with Siscomex, CEMercante, partners |
| Deadline alerts | Do not exist — depend on who remembers | Automatic and predictive before free time expires |
| Visibility per process | One tab per process, no traceability | Complete timeline of each process in real time |
| Partner access | Manual file sending by email | Access portal configurable by profile |
| KPIs and dashboards | Chart made by hand in each report | Integrated BI with indicators updated automatically |
| ERP integration | None — manual import | Integration with SAP, OSGT (Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE Global Trade), TOTVS and via XML/API |
| Audit and history | Not traceable — who edited what? | Complete history by process and by user |
| Scale with volume | Spreadsheet freezes above a certain volume | Designed for thousands of simultaneous processes |
Why the spreadsheet works, until it stops working
At first, the spreadsheet works. Few processes, one person who knows everything by heart, and a manually updated status column handles it. The problem appears as volume grows: every new shipment is another row, every partner another email, and the status is only correct while someone remembers to update it. When nobody sees the free time alert in time, the spreadsheet does not warn you, and the cost becomes demurrage. It is not that Excel is bad; it simply was not built to run processes with dozens of simultaneous stages, deadlines and partners.
What changes with foreign trade software
Instead of a spreadsheet that depends on whoever updates it, the foreign trade software pulls status automatically from the sources (Siscomex, CEMercante, partners) and shows each process on a real-time timeline. Deadline alerts are predictive: the system warns before free time expires, not after. Partners access a portal configurable by profile, with no manual file exchange. And the history is auditable: who did what, when. The practical difference is moving from reactive mode (firefighting once the problem has already happened) to exception-based mode, where the team focuses only on what needs action.
Before FollowNet One, we controlled everything in a spreadsheet. It seemed to work — until the day the spreadsheet was not updated and we paid demurrage for no reason.
Antonio Dantas — Crane Worldwide Logistics