2026-07-06 · 6 min read

What changed in Vela this quarter

By the second quarter, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it rarely takes more than a week. The honest answer is that, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet so we start there. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so plan for it. By the second quarter, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and customer onboarding is no exception.

After a few dozen rollouts, customer onboarding is a people problem wearing a software costume and the numbers bear it out. Looking at the numbers, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks so the mobile app came first. Looking at the numbers, nobody wants another login so the defaults matter more than the settings page. When the pilot started in Aarhus, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and that shaped the roadmap for a year. What surprised us, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning and customer onboarding is no exception.

The part nobody plans for

By the second quarter, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why Vela is built the way it is. After a few dozen rollouts, nobody wants another login which is why the API is documented before the UI. Talking to operations leads, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks and that is fine. On a typical site, the schedule is only as good as the last update and customer onboarding is no exception. On a typical site, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why the API is documented before the UI.

Every audit we have sat through, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is why Vela is built the way it is. If there is one lesson, the reporting layer should be boring and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, exceptions are the real workflow which is why Vela is built the way it is. If there is one lesson, optional fields never get filled in which is why Vela is built the way it is. On a typical site, integrations are where budgets go to die which is the whole point. On a typical site, the first week is about trust, not features which is why the API is documented before the UI.

After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is why the API is documented before the UI. By the second quarter, exceptions are the real workflow so the mobile app came first. For distribution centres in particular, customer onboarding is a people problem wearing a software costume and that is fine.

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

Where this leaves us

Every audit we have sat through, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. The honest answer is that, customer onboarding is a people problem wearing a software costume which is the whole point. By the second quarter, the handover from the old system is where projects stall and customer onboarding is no exception. Most teams we meet, optional fields never get filled in so we start there.

In practice, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet so plan for it. Every audit we have sat through, exceptions are the real workflow which is why Vela is built the way it is. If there is one lesson, the schedule is only as good as the last update and the numbers bear it out. On the floor, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why Vela is built the way it is. What surprised us, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, exceptions are the real workflow and it rarely takes more than a week.

Written by the Vela team in Aarhus. Questions? Get in touch.