How we work
Four steps, fixed scopes, and documentation thorough enough that you could replace us. That last part is deliberate.
The four-step method
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Assess — understand what you actually have
A fixed-scope engagement that profiles your data for completeness, consistency and granularity, and maps the decisions that are currently made without it. It produces a written summary of what your data can support today, a prioritised list of opportunities, and a recommendation for the first project. You keep this document whether or not you continue.
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Structure — make the inputs reliable
Automate the extracts, standardise the item, supplier and location records, and add quality checks that fail loudly rather than silently. We build this only to the depth the first decision requires. Building a complete data platform in advance of a need is the most common way these projects run out of money before delivering anything.
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Model — answer the question
Build the calculation, forecast or optimisation that addresses the decision. Every model is tested against a naive baseline and against your current process, so the improvement is measured rather than assumed. If the model does not beat what you already do, we tell you.
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Embed — put it where the work happens
Into your ERP, your BI tool or the spreadsheet your planners already open. We train the people who will use it, hand over the code and documentation, and agree who maintains it. A model nobody uses has failed regardless of its accuracy.
Engagement models
Three ways to work with us. Pricing is confirmed in writing before any work starts.
| Model | What it is | How it is priced |
|---|---|---|
| Data readiness assessment | Fixed-scope review of your data and decisions, ending in a written summary and a prioritised recommendation. | Fixed price, quoted before any work begins. The initial 30-minute conversation is free. |
| Project build | A scoped build — an inventory review, a forecast model, a planning tool, a traceability system — with agreed deliverables and a written timeline. | Fixed price against an agreed scope, quoted in writing before the work starts. |
| Ongoing support | Pipeline monitoring, model retraining and a defined amount of change work each month. Optional. | A fixed monthly fee, agreed up front and cancellable with notice. |
We quote every engagement before it starts and we do not bill open-ended hourly work. Tell us what you are trying to decide and we will tell you what it costs.
Our principles
Four commitments that shape how we scope and deliver. They are the reason some of our proposals are smaller than you might expect.
We build tools teams will actually use
Adoption is a design constraint, not a training problem. That means building into software your team already opens, matching the vocabulary they already use, and preferring a simpler method that gets used over a better one that does not. If a planner has to leave their workflow to consult our output, we have designed it wrong.
We document everything
Every method, assumption and limitation is written down in language an operations manager can read. This protects you from staff turnover — ours and yours — and it makes the work auditable. A model whose logic nobody can reconstruct is a liability, however accurate it was on the day it was built.
You own your models and your data
Code, documentation and infrastructure sit under your accounts and are handed over at the end. We build on standard, widely known technology so another developer can maintain it. We do not hold your models in a system you cannot access, and we do not treat lock-in as a commercial strategy.
We say when something is not worth doing
Sometimes the data will not support the question. Sometimes the payback does not justify the project. Sometimes a spreadsheet is genuinely the right answer. We will tell you, and we would rather lose the work than deliver something that quietly fails a year later.
Common questions
What happens in the free assessment?
Thirty minutes, usually a video call. We ask what decisions are difficult, what systems you run, and what data exists. You do not need to prepare or share files beforehand. We end by saying whether there is a worthwhile project, what it would be, and roughly what it would cost — including when the honest answer is that there is not one yet.
Why fixed scope rather than hourly?
Because open-ended hourly engagements transfer all the risk to you and give us no incentive to finish. A fixed scope forces us to understand the problem before quoting, which is where most consulting projects fail. If the scope changes, we agree the change in writing before continuing.
What if the assessment says we are not ready?
Then we say so, and we tell you what would have to change. That happens often enough that it is a normal outcome rather than an awkward one. Taking on work that will not deliver is worse for us than not taking it.
Do you need access to our systems?
Usually not. Most work runs from exports. Where a live connection is genuinely needed for an automated pipeline, read-only access is nearly always sufficient, and the credentials sit under your control.
What does ongoing support cover?
Monitoring the pipeline, retraining models as accuracy drifts, and a defined amount of change work. It is optional. Plenty of clients take the handover and run it themselves, which is a success rather than a lost sale.
Find out what your data can already tell you
A free 30-minute data readiness assessment. We look at what you have, tell you what it can support today, and name the first thing worth building. No preparation needed.