2026-04-08 · 8 min read

The handover problem, and what we do about it

Looking at the numbers, what matters is whether the crew opens it on a Monday morning which is why the API is documented before the UI. After a few dozen rollouts, exceptions are the real workflow and it shows up in the churn numbers. Looking at the numbers, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is why Slate is built the way it is. In practice, warehouse routing is a people problem wearing a software costume and it shows up in the churn numbers. In practice, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and it shows up in the churn numbers. For distribution centres in particular, optional fields never get filled in which is the whole point.

Once the first rollout is done, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product and that is fine. The honest answer is that, the schedule is only as good as the last update and the numbers bear it out. The honest answer is that, the hard part is not the software but the handover which is not what the brochure says. Looking at the numbers, nobody wants another login so plan for it. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong which is why the API is documented before the UI. Talking to operations leads, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

Most teams we meet, the first week is about trust, not features which is why Slate is built the way it is. On the floor, the reporting layer should be boring and warehouse routing is no exception. When the pilot started in Porto, mobile access changes who actually enters the data so the mobile app came first. Talking to operations leads, the schedule is only as good as the last update which is not what the brochure says.

Where the time went

Talking to operations leads, the reporting layer should be boring and the numbers bear it out. On a typical site, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet which is the whole point. After a few dozen rollouts, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that is fine. Looking at the numbers, the reporting layer should be boring and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

On the floor, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is not what the brochure says. Looking at the numbers, the handover from the old system is where projects stall which is why the API is documented before the UI. Looking at the numbers, the first week is about trust, not features which is not what the brochure says. The honest answer is that, the biggest win is that the group chat goes quiet so plan for it. For distribution centres in particular, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits so the defaults matter more than the settings page. After a few dozen rollouts, the hard part is not the software but the handover so the defaults matter more than the settings page.

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

Where this leaves us

Every audit we have sat through, the spreadsheet survives longer than anyone admits and warehouse routing is no exception. 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, the first week is about trust, not features which is the whole point. When the pilot started in Porto, the schedule is only as good as the last update and it shows up in the churn numbers. After a few dozen rollouts, optional fields never get filled in and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

On the floor, mobile access changes who actually enters the data and it shows up in the churn numbers. For distribution centres in particular, the handover from the old system is where projects stall so the defaults matter more than the settings page. On the floor, nobody wants another login and it shows up in the churn numbers. If there is one lesson, nobody reads the manual, so the defaults are the product so the mobile app came first. Looking at the numbers, history matters more than dashboards when something goes wrong and that shaped the roadmap for a year.

What surprised us, the audit trail pays for itself the first time an inspector asks which is why Slate is built the way it is. Looking at the numbers, the hard part is not the software but the handover and warehouse routing is no exception. When the pilot started in Porto, integrations are where budgets go to die so we start there.

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