Choose a ready-made product on evidence, then put it into use.
We write your requirements as scenarios from your own work. Vendors show those scenarios, and your people score them. The decision memo explains the choice. Then the product is configured, connected, tested and taken up by the people who depend on it, with us leading the work or acting for you alongside the vendor or an integrator.
A large company, simplified Example
Selection view
Customers
- Marketing
- Sales
- Service
- Online channels
Operations
- Planning
- Supply chain
- FulfilmentBuy
- Procurement
Corporate
- Finance
- People
- Legal and risk
- Reporting
Foundations
- Data
- Integration
- Infrastructure
- Security
- You get
- A shortlist tested on your scenarios, a five-year cost comparison and a decision memo. Then the product in use, measured against the baseline.
- Typical length
- Selection: 8 to 12 weeks. Implementation: set in the plan.
- Priced as
- Selection: a fixed fee per selection. Implementation: by milestone.
When you need it
- We have to replace a core system, and vendors are already pitching.
- Our ERP’s maintenance end date is setting the timetable.
- A renewal is coming, and we don’t know whether to stay.
- A previous purchase didn’t deliver what was promised.
- We bought the software, and it still isn’t working.
- Several vendors are involved, and nobody owns the whole.
What you get
Selection
- Requirements catalogue
- Scenarios and requirements, ranked, and reusable during implementation.
- Long list and shortlist
- With the reason each product stayed in or dropped out.
- Demonstration scripts and scorecards
- Every vendor judged on the same tasks.
- Five-year cost comparison
- All shortlisted products on one basis, with the assumptions stated.
- Decision memo
- The choice, the reasoning, the risks, and what to secure in the contract.
Implementation
- Implementation plan and cutover runbook
- Who does what, when, and how to roll back.
- Configured and connected system
- Documented, so the next change doesn’t start from scratch.
- Migrated data
- With reconciliation reports the business has signed off.
- Test evidence
- Scenarios, results and sign-off.
- Training materials and handover
- For users, key users and whoever runs the system day to day.
- Results report
- Before and after, measured the same way, including how many people use the system.
Five-year cost comparisonIllustrative
| Cost over five years | Product A | Product B | Product C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscription or licence, maintenance and support | 420 | 360 | 570 |
| Implementation | 180 | 150 | 210 |
| Integration with the ERP | 60 | 30 | 90 |
| Data migration | 40 | 40 | 50 |
| Training | 30 | 20 | 30 |
| Expected price increases | 40 | 20 | 20 |
| Total | 770 | 620 | 970 |
| Fit score from scripted demonstrations, out of 5 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.0 |
- Money in thousands, in the client’s currency. Price increases follow each vendor’s stated cap, compounded yearly.
- Product B has the best fit and the lowest five-year cost. Before signing: its price cap in writing, data returned within 30 days of leaving, and named implementation staff.
What we do: selection
- Requirements
- What the product must do, written as real scenarios from your business and ranked by importance.
- Market scan
- A long list from across the market, including products nobody has pitched to you.
- Shortlist
- Three or four products that meet the essentials, checked for fit, price, the vendor’s finances and its customers of your size.
- Scripted demonstrations
- Vendors show your scenarios with your sample data, and your people score them on one scorecard.
- References and proof of concept
- Calls with customers of a similar size, and a short proof of concept where a requirement is critical or unusual.
- Five-year cost
- Licences, implementation, integration, data migration, training, support and expected price increases, on one basis.
- Commercial terms
- Price caps, renewal, exit, data return and service levels, reviewed before you sign. Legal terms stay with your lawyers.
What we do: implementation
- Plan
- Scope, sequence, cutover approach and who does what, agreed before work starts. Go-live dates avoid peak periods and period-end closes.
- Configure first
- The product is configured for your processes before anything is customised, so the core stays close to standard.
- Connect
- Integrations with your other systems, built and tested early.
- Move the data
- A stream from the first day: early extracts, cleansing, rehearsals, and a reconciliation the business signs off.
- Test
- Your scenarios, run by your people, before anything goes live.
- Train by role
- Key users in each team, training for each role, and help close at hand through the first weeks.
- Cut over
- Rehearsed end to end at least once, with a rollback point at each step.
- Settle and measure
- Close support after go-live for an agreed period, then adoption and the baseline measured again, in the same units.
How it runs
Selection
A twelve-week selection, at the long end of the range:
- Weeks 1–3
Requirements and long list
Workshops with the people who do the work, and a scan across the market.
- Decision point
Requirements approved
You approve the scenarios, their ranking and the shortlist criteria.
- Weeks 4–6
Shortlist and scripts
Essentials checked, vendors invited, demonstration scripts written from your scenarios.
- Weeks 7–9
Demonstrations and checks
Scripted demonstrations with your data, reference calls, and a proof of concept where needed.
- Weeks 10–12
Cost, terms and decision
Five-year costs, commercial terms and the decision memo.
- Decision point
The choice
You choose a product, or none. Implementation is a separate decision.
Implementation
The plan sets the length and the milestones before work starts.
- First month
Mobilise
Plan, team and environments, with the data and integration streams started early.
- Decision point
Design approved
Your business owners sign off how the product will run your processes.
- Middle months
Configure and connect
Short iterations with demonstrations, and data migration rehearsed in parallel.
- Final weeks
Test and rehearse
System and user testing, and a full cutover rehearsal.
- Decision point
Go or no-go
Your named business owner decides on go-live, against criteria agreed at the start.
- Go-live
Cutover and settling in
The cutover itself, then extra support while people settle in.
- Decision point
Handover
Support moves to whoever runs the system day to day, and the results are measured.
What you provide
Selection
- People who do the work, for requirements and scoring: a few hours each.
- A decision-maker at the demonstrations.
- Sample data, anonymised where needed.
Implementation
- A business owner for each area the change affects.
- Key users with time set aside for testing and training.
- Prompt decisions on process changes.
- Your IT and security teams, for environments and access.
Length and pricing
- Selection: a fixed fee per selection. It depends on the product category and the number of vendors on the shortlist.
- Implementation: by milestone, against a plan agreed at the start.
Questions
Can you implement a product you didn’t select?
Yes. We start with a review of the decision and the plan, so both sides know what is being taken on.
Our implementation has stalled. Where do you start?
With an implementation review of 2 to 3 weeks: where the project stands, what is blocking it, and a realistic plan to finish. You can stop there and hand the plan to your current team.
Can you work alongside our integrator or the vendor?
Yes. We can lead the implementation, or act for you alongside the vendor or integrator: reviewing estimates and change requests, and checking each stage against the plan before you approve it.
We already know the candidates. Can you skip the long list?
Yes. We check the market for anything you’ve missed, which takes a few days, then start from your shortlist.
Tell us what you’re trying to decide or fix.
A line or two is enough. We read every enquiry ourselves and reply within two working days.
What happens next
- We reply to arrange a call. If we’re not the right fit, we say so.
- A first call of 30 to 45 minutes with the person who would lead the work.
- A written proposal for the first stage: scope, deliverables, length and fee.
We can sign a non-disclosure agreement, yours or ours, before you share anything sensitive.