2026-09-05 · 9 min read

The audit that changed our roadmap

Looking at the numbers, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Most teams we meet, asset tracking is a people problem wearing a software costume which is not what the brochure says. Once the first rollout is done, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so we start there. When the pilot started in Malmo, the reporting layer should be boring and it shows up in the churn numbers. For distribution centres in particular, the hard part is not the software but the handover so we start there.

On a typical site, exceptions are the real workflow and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong so the mobile app came first. What surprised us, a two-week pilot answers more than a three-month evaluation and it rarely takes more than a week. In practice, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is why Onyxhq is built the way it is. Once the first rollout is done, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so we start there. Once the first rollout is done, the first week is about trust, not features which is why Onyxhq is built the way it is.

On a typical site, optional fields never get filled in and it shows up in the churn numbers. Looking at the numbers, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says. After a few dozen rollouts, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why Onyxhq is built the way it is.

What we would do differently

In practice, nobody wants another login which is why the API is documented before the UI. Every audit we have sat through, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the defaults matter more than the settings page. For distribution centres in particular, integrations are where budgets go to die which is not what the brochure says. On the floor, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

After a few dozen rollouts, the reporting layer should be boring and that is fine. Once the first rollout is done, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and the numbers bear it out. When the pilot started in Malmo, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is why the API is documented before the UI.

“Everything distribution centres need to keep asset tracking on schedule, on budget and on record.”

Where this leaves us

On the floor, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and that is fine. In practice, optional fields never get filled in which is not what the brochure says. After a few dozen rollouts, the hard part is not the software but the handover and asset tracking is no exception. In practice, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is why the API is documented before the UI.

In practice, optional fields never get filled in so the defaults matter more than the settings page. Looking at the numbers, optional fields never get filled in 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 we start there.

Written by the Onyxhq team in Malmo. Questions? Get in touch.