In today’s fast-changing business landscape, organizations must find effective ways to align strategy with execution. For Decklar, a Silicon Valley IoT startup turned scale-up, OKRs became the framework that transformed their approach to innovation and team alignment across seven countries.
This case study explores how Decklar implemented and refined their OKR program over five years, creating a culture of accountability and innovation that helped them develop breakthrough technologies like its disposable “Bee Label” tracking device.
Company Background: AI Decision Intelligence in the Supply Chain
Decklar (formerly Roambee) pioneers Real-Time Decision AI with Unified Visibility, reshaping the supply chains of Global 2000 leaders to be transparent, automated, and sustainable. Within weeks, these enterprises transform key processes like replenishment, goods receipt, revenue forecasting, quality release, security, and asset management into dynamic, risk-informed operations.
Decklar is the only AI-native platform built as a System of Action – not a System of Record – finally solving what others haven’t been able to for Global 2000 (G2000) enterprises running some of the world’s most complex supply chains.
Leveraging 10+ years of Roambee’s self-enriching visibility data, Decklar fuses real-time shipment and asset signals (the physical layer) with digital data from planning and TMS systems. It then applies Decision Intelligence to deliver precise execution and planning recommendations across the enterprise.
This is “Real-Time Decision AI.”
The OKR Implementation Journey
Strong Foundation and Executive Sponsorship
Decklar’s OKR journey began with solid executive sponsorship from both the CEO and senior leadership, which proved essential for success. Breton devoted 100% of her time initially to lead the program implementation.
While the company looked at common OKR resources and vendor-provided training, they ultimately developed their own approach tailored to their needs:
“We had to make it our own because we tweaked the program. We followed certain things that worked better for us, and we’ve been evolving it over time.”
This customization included creating proprietary training materials and establishing a knowledge hub on SharePoint with videos and specific tools, making OKR resources accessible to all employees.
Crafting High-Quality OKRs
Decklar developed a structured approach to creating effective OKRs:
- The leadership team presents drafts for their teams before each quarter and year
- Teams discuss and challenge alignment with company-wide objectives
- OKRs undergo “necessary and sufficient” tests to ensure they’re genuinely impactful
- Cross-team collaboration is encouraged through OKR-centric discussions
This disciplined approach to OKR creation helped establish a foundation for success.
Evolving the Program
Decklar’s approach to OKRs evolved through several distinct phases:
- Initial Rollout (First 2 Years): Every employee owned at least one OKR, which built “muscle memory” and drove engagement.
- Refinement (Years 3-4): The company incorporated OKRs into its ISO 9001 quality management system, making it an auditable business process.
- Maturity (Year 5+): Introduced “moonshot objectives” shared across teams, with OKRs focused on four strategic buckets:
- Growing revenue
- Creating competitive advantages
- Making customers happy
- Saving costs and improving operations
Throughout these phases, Decklar was deliberate about measuring not just OKR achievement but the program’s effectiveness itself: “We weren’t only rating and scoring the OKRs but the effectiveness of the program – the adoption, the value it was bringing to employees, how it was remaining relevant across the organization.”
Navigating Challenges
The company faced several challenges during their OKR journey:
Distributed Teams and Time Zones
With employees across seven countries working remotely, coordination was difficult. OKRs provided a common language and framework that helped bridge geographical and time zone gaps.
Tool Migrations
When their original OKR management tool was acquired by Microsoft in 2022, forcing a migration, Decklar used the disruption as an opportunity to rethink and improve their approach. They’re facing another tool migration in 2025 and plan to leverage it for further improvement.
“We used that disruption as an opportunity to rethink our playbook and see how we could improve the program and processes,” Breton notes.
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Collaboration with OKR Partners and Teams
Key Lessons from Decklar’s OKR Journey
Breton shared several key takeaways from Decklar’s six-year OKR experience:
- Remain Open-Minded
Embrace change and use disruptions as opportunities to improve your approach. - Encourage Out-of-Box Thinking
Allow employees to experiment with different approaches until they find what works best. - Secure Executive Buy-In
Support from senior leadership is essential for program success. - Invest in Education and Communication
Make OKRs omnipresent in company conversations. “When employees start complaining that OKRs are everywhere – in quality, in performance, in all one-on-ones – that’s when you know it’s going to kick in because it has permeated across your organization.” - Focus on One Core Goal
When introducing OKRs, identify the single most important thing you want to achieve and structure the program around that. “Have that main thing that you want to deliver, and then structure the program around that. It will keep you on track.”
Conclusion
Decklar’s story demonstrates how a thoughtfully implemented OKR program can transform an organization – driving innovation, aligning distributed teams, and creating breakthrough products. By tailoring the approach to their specific needs, measuring program effectiveness, and evolving their implementation over time, they turned OKRs from a Silicon Valley management trend into a powerful strategic tool.