2026-09-09 · 5 min read

What we learned rolling out sample tracking at 21 sites

What surprised us, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so we start there. Looking at the numbers, sample tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. On the floor, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is the whole point. On a typical site, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so we start there. For retail chains in particular, optional fields never get filled in and sample tracking is no exception. Looking at the numbers, the schedule is only as good as the last update and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

After a few dozen rollouts, exceptions are the real workflow which is why the API is documented before the UI. Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow so plan for it. Looking at the numbers, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine.

If there is one lesson, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the defaults matter more than the settings page. After a few dozen rollouts, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine. On the floor, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out. Looking at the numbers, sample tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume and it rarely takes more than a week. On a typical site, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it shows up in the churn numbers.

What actually happened

The honest answer is that, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is why Slateify is built the way it is. Every audit we have sat through, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so we start there.

Talking to operations leads, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and that is fine. On the floor, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. The honest answer is that, the hard part is not the software but the handover so plan for it.

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

What to do on Monday

Most teams we meet, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it. Once the first rollout is done, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so plan for it. What surprised us, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is not what the brochure says. Looking at the numbers, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and that shaped the roadmap for a year. The honest answer is that, the hard part is not the software but the handover and it shows up in the churn numbers.

What surprised us, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that is fine. The honest answer is that, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so plan for it. If there is one lesson, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and it shows up in the churn numbers. Most teams we meet, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and sample tracking is no exception. Most teams we meet, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it. Talking to operations leads, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and it shows up in the churn numbers.

On a typical site, nobody wants another login and sample tracking is no exception. On the floor, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is why the API is documented before the UI. Every audit we have sat through, nobody wants another login which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it rarely takes more than a week.

Written by the Slateify team in Porto. Questions? Get in touch.