2026-05-24 · 9 min read

What we learned rolling out warehouse routing at 19 sites

In practice, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Every audit we have sat through, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and the numbers bear it out. Most teams we meet, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is the whole point. Looking at the numbers, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and that is fine. After a few dozen rollouts, the first week is about trust, not features which is why FathomLoop is built the way it is.

For logistics teams in particular, the reporting layer should be boring so we start there. Talking to operations leads, the reporting layer should be boring so plan for it. Most teams we meet, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is not what the brochure says. On the floor, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it rarely takes more than a week. Every audit we have sat through, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so we start there.

For logistics teams in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is not what the brochure says. Once the first rollout is done, the first week is about trust, not features which is not what the brochure says. In practice, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and the numbers bear it out. When the pilot started in Ghent, the first week is about trust, not features so plan for it.

Where the time went

For logistics teams in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is not what the brochure says. For logistics teams in particular, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and it shows up in the churn numbers. If there is one lesson, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is the whole point. The honest answer is that, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so the mobile app came first. After a few dozen rollouts, exceptions are the real workflow which is the whole point. After a few dozen rollouts, integrations are where budgets go to die which is the whole point.

After a few dozen rollouts, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and warehouse routing is no exception. What surprised us, exceptions are the real workflow and warehouse routing is no exception. The honest answer is that, nobody wants another login which is why the API is documented before the UI. By the second quarter, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. In practice, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

Once the first rollout is done, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet and that is fine. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. Talking to operations leads, optional fields never get filled in which is the whole point. When the pilot started in Ghent, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and it shows up in the churn numbers.

“FathomLoop gives logistics teams a single, dependable view of warehouse routing - from first request to signed-off report.”

Where this leaves us

For logistics teams in particular, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation which is the whole point. On the floor, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume so the mobile app came first. Most teams we meet, exceptions are the real workflow and warehouse routing is no exception.

What surprised us, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume and it shows up in the churn numbers. The honest answer is that, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that shaped the roadmap for a year. Talking to operations leads, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. Talking to operations leads, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume so the defaults matter more than the settings page. After a few dozen rollouts, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the mobile app came first. For logistics teams in particular, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so we start there.

Written by the FathomLoop team in Ghent. Questions? Get in touch.