2026-08-01 · 6 min read

What we learned rolling out asset tracking at 31 sites

After a few dozen rollouts, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume which is the whole point. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out.

On a typical site, the reporting layer should be boring which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. After a few dozen rollouts, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that shaped the roadmap for a year. What surprised us, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume and it rarely takes more than a week. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, integrations are where budgets go to die and asset tracking is no exception. By the second quarter, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it.

What we would do differently

In practice, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so plan for it. The honest answer is that, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that is fine. Looking at the numbers, the hard part is not the software but the handover and asset tracking is no exception.

On the floor, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it rarely takes more than a week. 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. For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover and the numbers bear it out.

The honest answer is that, integrations are where budgets go to die and asset tracking is no exception. Talking to operations leads, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. When the pilot started in Brno, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

“Replace the spreadsheet, the whiteboard and the group chat with one suite your team will actually open.”

Takeaways

After a few dozen rollouts, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why OrbitData is built the way it is. On a typical site, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that is fine. By the second quarter, nobody wants another login and it rarely takes more than a week.

For mid-market manufacturers in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. Most teams we meet, nobody wants another login and the numbers bear it out. Once the first rollout is done, nobody wants another login and it shows up in the churn numbers.

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