2026-07-04 · 7 min read

From pilot to plant: a 34-week timeline

On a typical site, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume and the numbers bear it out. On the floor, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so we start there. In practice, the reporting layer should be boring so plan for it. If there is one lesson, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. For distribution centres in particular, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is why the API is documented before the UI. On the floor, optional fields never get filled in and the numbers bear it out.

On the floor, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is the whole point. Talking to operations leads, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. On a typical site, integrations are where budgets go to die and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Most teams we meet, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so plan for it.

Where the time went

When the pilot started in Ghent, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume and it shows up in the churn numbers. Talking to operations leads, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so we start there. What surprised us, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is not what the brochure says. After a few dozen rollouts, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it rarely takes more than a week.

Every audit we have sat through, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product which is not what the brochure says. In practice, integrations are where budgets go to die which is why Orbithq is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, integrations are where budgets go to die which is the whole point. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it rarely takes more than a week. Most teams we meet, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so plan for it.

The honest answer is that, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. Most teams we meet, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation so plan for it. After a few dozen rollouts, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and shift planning is no exception.

“Everything distribution centres need to keep shift planning on schedule, on budget and on record.”

Where this leaves us

What surprised us, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. On the floor, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says. By the second quarter, shift planning is a people problem wearing a software costume so we start there. Most teams we meet, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and it shows up in the churn numbers. Talking to operations leads, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. The honest answer is that, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine.

For distribution centres in particular, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so plan for it. Talking to operations leads, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Looking at the numbers, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and the numbers bear it out. Most teams we meet, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, the hard part is not the software but the handover and that shaped the roadmap for a year. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is why the API is documented before the UI.

On the floor, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits which is why Orbithq is built the way it is. Looking at the numbers, integrations are where budgets go to die so the mobile app came first. In practice, mobile access changes who actually enters the data which is why the API is documented before the UI.

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