2026-08-17 · 4 min read

From pilot to plant: a 40-week timeline

What surprised us, exceptions are the real workflow and asset tracking is no exception. Every audit we have sat through, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point.

If there is one lesson, optional fields never get filled in which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. Most teams we meet, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it rarely takes more than a week. After a few dozen rollouts, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so the mobile app came first. By the second quarter, the schedule is only as good as the last update and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, the schedule is only as good as the last update and asset tracking is no exception.

What we would do differently

The honest answer is that, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is the whole point. After a few dozen rollouts, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and that is fine. On the floor, the reporting layer should be boring and it shows up in the churn numbers. If there is one lesson, nobody wants another login which is the whole point. By the second quarter, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it rarely takes more than a week. Once the first rollout is done, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

The honest answer is that, the first week is about trust, not features which is the whole point. Most teams we meet, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is the whole point. By the second quarter, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume and the numbers bear it out. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, nobody wants another login so we start there.

After a few dozen rollouts, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and asset tracking is no exception. After a few dozen rollouts, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and asset tracking is no exception. On the floor, integrations are where budgets go to die and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Looking at the numbers, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so the mobile app came first. Looking at the numbers, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is why the API is documented before the UI. If there is one lesson, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

By the second quarter, the reporting layer should be boring so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it rarely takes more than a week. On the floor, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year. On the floor, the reporting layer should be boring and it rarely takes more than a week. What surprised us, the first week is about trust, not features so the mobile app came first.

“Plan, dispatch and reconcile in one place. OrbitData connects to the systems you already run and stays out of the way.”

Takeaways

If there is one lesson, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. On a typical site, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so the defaults matter more than the settings page. By the second quarter, integrations are where budgets go to die and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

Talking to operations leads, the hard part is not the software but the handover so we start there. If there is one lesson, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. By the second quarter, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why OrbitData is built the way it is.

Most teams we meet, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is why the API is documented before the UI. What surprised us, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and the numbers bear it out. In practice, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume and that is fine. When the pilot started in Brno, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and the numbers bear it out.

Written by the OrbitData team in Brno. Questions? Get in touch.