SERVICE
Digital & AI
Technology and AI investments chosen for their return, built to run in production, not in a demo.
Median return on AI use cases we have taken to production
Typical time from use case selection to live operation
Average reduction in run cost after a technology review
OVERVIEW
AI and analytics use cases, technology strategy and data foundations, selected on business value and delivered into the workflows where people make decisions every day.
Few companies lack AI ambition. Many lack AI results. The pattern we see most often is a long list of pilots, each promising on its own, none of them changing how the business runs. The models work; the work around them does not change.
Our Digital & AI practice starts with the decision a model is meant to improve: which asset to repair, how much stock to hold, which customer to call. We size the value of a better decision, check whether the data can support it, and build only where both add up. Then we change the workflow, the incentives and the systems so the model is used every day.
We apply the same discipline to technology spend in general. An outside review of architecture, contracts and the project portfolio routinely finds a quarter or more of run cost that can be removed, and that money is often what funds the next wave of AI work.
QUESTIONS WE ANSWER
What clients bring to this practice
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WHAT WE DO
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AI value assessment
A ranked list of use cases scored on value, feasibility and data readiness, with a business case for each one worth pursuing.
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AI in operations
Forecasting, scheduling, maintenance and quality models built into the systems and routines that frontline teams already use.
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Technology strategy and spend review
An outside view of the architecture, vendor contracts and project portfolio, with a plan to cut run cost and fund what matters.
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Data foundations
The minimum data platform, ownership and quality controls needed for the priority use cases, rather than an enterprise program with no end date.
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Digital customer journeys
Redesign of the journeys that drive the most cost or churn, measured on completion, conversion and cost to serve.
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AI governance and risk
Practical policies for model approval, monitoring and accountability that satisfy regulators without stalling delivery.
INDUSTRIES
Where this practice works most often
Are you independent of technology vendors?
Yes. We take no referral fees or reseller margins, so our recommendations on platforms and partners are not shaped by who pays us.
Do you build the solutions yourselves?
Our data scientists and engineers build the first production version alongside your team, then hand it over with documentation and training.
How do you measure the return on AI?
Against a baseline agreed with finance before work starts, using the same operating metrics the business already reports on.
What if our data is not ready?
It rarely is. We scope the smallest fix that supports the first use cases and build the rest of the foundation as value comes in.
Webinar: scenario planning for the 2027 board calendar
scenario-planning-2027-webinar
Event
Elena Marsh and Priya Raman
A one-hour online briefing for directors and executives on building scenarios, triggers and prepared moves into the board's regular cycle.
Scenario planning that boards will actually use
scenario-planning-for-boards
Article
Elena Marsh and Thomas Reid
Most board scenario exercises produce a thick report and no decisions. A lighter approach, tied to triggers and pre-agreed moves, makes them useful.
Making cost savings last: a breakfast roundtable for CFOs
making-cost-savings-last-roundtable
Event
David Okafor and Hannah Cole
A closed-door breakfast in London for finance leaders planning their next cost program, built on the findings of The CFO Cost Agenda 2026.
Operations AI Benchmark 2026: from pilots to the P&L
operations-ai-benchmark-2026
Report
Marcus Lindqvist and Priya Raman
How 286 operations leaders are using AI in maintenance, planning and quality, how much of it reaches production, and what the companies seeing returns do differently.
Zero-based organization design, done properly
zero-based-organization-design
Article
Hannah Cole
Designing an organization from a blank page sounds radical. Done well, it is the most practical way to remove layers and duplication without starting a political war.
The first 100 days after a merger
first-100-days-after-a-merger
Article
Lukas Brenner and Amara Nwosu
The first hundred days after closing set the pace for everything that follows. What to settle before day one, what to do quickly, and what to leave alone.
The CFO Cost Agenda 2026: why savings fade and what keeps them
cfo-cost-agenda-2026
Report
Thomas Reid and David Okafor
A survey of 412 chief financial officers on cost programs, how much of the savings survive, and the practices that separate durable results from temporary ones.
Making AI pay back in operations, not in pilots
making-ai-pay-back-in-operations
Article
Marcus Lindqvist and Kenji Watanabe
Most operations AI never leaves the pilot stage. The few use cases that pay back share a set of traits that have little to do with the model itself.
Pricing power after the inflation years
pricing-power-after-inflation
Article
Elena Marsh and Priya Raman
Companies raised prices faster than costs between 2021 and 2024. Customers remember. How to set prices now that the cover of general inflation is gone.
Why cost programs fail in year two
why-cost-programs-fail-in-year-two
Article
David Okafor and Thomas Reid
Most cost programs hit their first-year targets. The savings disappear in the second year, for reasons that are predictable and largely avoidable.