The SONAR Excel Add-In allows users to integrate SONAR’s market intelligence directly into their spreadsheets, streamlining workflows for transportation analysts and pricing teams. This tool enables seamless data management by allowing customers to choose the specific data they need—such as rates, capacity, and volumes—without requiring coding knowledge or IT department involvement. Users can download the add-in from the Microsoft Store and, after requesting log-in credentials, import desired data sets by specifying the date or range.
A key advantage is the ability to pull SONAR data directly into internal Excel files, eliminating the need for reformatting, uploading, or matching templates. This means users can work within their existing file structures, accelerating analysis and eliminating manual processes. The add-in facilitates incorporating weekly or monthly updates with scheduled API pulls into customized Excel dashboards.
Specific applications include benchmarking contract rates regularly, combined with capacity and lane scores. Shippers can compare their rates to real-time spot and contract benchmarks to evaluate competitiveness and identify opportunities to shift between contract and spot coverage. The tool aids in assessing capacity, optimizing routing guides, and pricing bids or projects by using compliance and acceptance data alongside market trends. For instance, users can evaluate uncovered loads most at risk daily using WRI, capacity, and other scores to proactively manage volumes and scheduling. It also supports creating historical or seasonal studies to evaluate high/low sales periods and market fluctuations.
The Excel Add-In enhances mini-bid strategies by allowing users to instantly benchmark bid submissions against market rates for each lane and leverage capacity and demand trends for more effective negotiation. For master bid file integration, it pulls rate and lane trend data directly into existing files. This provides real-time decision support, incorporating market intelligence like Lane Difficulty Scores, OTRI, OTVI, HAUL, and Spot & Contract RPMs directly into existing workflows.
SONAR provides fast and comprehensive global supply chain data, covering truckload, rail, air, ocean, and warehousing, all supported by a team of experts. The Excel Add-In makes this data more accessible for analysis directly within spreadsheets, which remains an efficient method for data management. Existing SONAR customers can contact their customer success manager to get started, while new users can request a demo to see the Excel Add-In in action.
Click here to learn more about SONAR’s Excel Add-In.
