Consulting · Digitalisation roadmap
Do not digitalise everything. Do the right thing first.
Most businesses do not fail for lack of tools, they fail for lack of an order of work. We record your processes, name the bottlenecks and their causes, and hand you a prioritised list you can work through for months.
Why digitalisation projects stall in mid-sized businesses
Almost every business has a list in mind: quoting, time tracking, the paperwork for the tax adviser, a CRM at some point. What is missing is rarely the idea. What is missing is the decision about where to start and what deliberately stays undone.
Without that decision, one of two things happens. Either nothing starts, because every step looks like a major project. Or three things start at once and none reaches the point where it saves time. Both feel like standstill, even though money was spent.
The second common mistake is starting with software instead of the process. A bad process does not improve with a new tool, it just goes wrong faster and more expensively. That is why this engagement begins with recording what actually happens, not with a product demo.
The result is not a concept paper for the shelf. It is an order of work with reasons: this step first, because it costs time every week and can be done in a few days. This one later, because it depends on the first. This one never, because the effort never catches up with the benefit.
We sell you nothing during this engagement. Whether you implement the measures yourself, with your existing provider or with us is your decision and changes nothing about the result.
What happens during the consulting days
- Survey along the real processes
- We follow the paths work takes through your business: from enquiry to invoice, from job to filing. Not from an org chart, but from what your people actually do, including the spreadsheets and notes nobody officially knows about.
- Bottlenecks and their causes
- Every point where work stalls, is done twice or depends on one individual gets named. More important than the observation is the cause: unclear ownership, a media break, missing data, or a tool that simply does not cover the case.
- Assessment by effort and benefit
- Every measure gets an estimate for time saved, implementation effort, running cost and dependencies. That makes an order of work defensible rather than asserted.
- Implementation guidance per measure
- For each recommendation: what exactly to do, who in your team can do it, what has to be bought in, and how you will know it worked.
How the engagement runs
- Initial call, free of charge, about 30 minutes We check whether the question fits and what you want to hold at the end. If consulting is the wrong instrument, we say so here, not after two days.
- Day 1: on-site survey Conversations with you and with the people who actually do the work. We look into the systems, not only at the slides about them.
- Analysis between the on-site days We sort the observations, work through effort and benefit and prepare the list of measures. This time is not billed as a consulting day.
- Day 2: walkthrough and prioritisation We go through the list together, correct where our assessment misses your reality, and set the order of work.
- Report and handover You receive the written report with the survey, the bottlenecks, their causes and the prioritised measures. Then you decide in your own time, with nobody chasing you.
What you hold at the end
- Written consulting report
- Survey, named weaknesses with causes, recommendations with implementation guidance. Written so that someone who was not in the room can work with it.
- Prioritised list of measures
- Each with estimated effort, expected benefit and dependencies, sorted by what should be done first.
- Rough cost estimate
- An order of magnitude for one-off and running cost of the recommended measures, so you can budget before requesting quotes.
- A list of what to leave alone
- Usually the most useful part. What sounds good but does not pay off in your business, and why.
What is not part of this engagement
- No implementation
- Setup, development, data migration and training are separate services with their own quote and their own invoice. This engagement ends with the report.
- No licences and no hardware
- Procurement is not part of the consulting fee. Where a measure requires software, the report states the order of magnitude; buying it happens separately.
- No legal or tax advice
- Where a measure raises legal or tax questions, we name them and refer you to your lawyer, tax adviser or data protection officer.
- No expert opinion
- The report is a basis for your decision, not an expert opinion for third parties.
Effort and price
Usually two to three consulting days
A business of up to ten people is normally surveyed and analysed in two days; larger or multi-site businesses need three. 1,250 euro per consulting day of eight hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation. The scope is agreed in writing before we start, so there are no surprises at the end.
1,250 euro per consulting day of 8 hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation.
What that means in figures
| Consulting days | Fee, net |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,250 euro |
| 2 | 2,500 euro |
| 3 | 3,750 euro |
| 4 | 5,000 euro |
| 5 | 6,250 euro |
1,250 euro per consulting day of 8 hours, plus VAT, travel and, where required, accommodation.
Digitalisation roadmap: Frequently asked
What does a digitalisation roadmap cost?
1,250 euro per consulting day of eight hours, plus VAT, travel and accommodation where required. Two to three days is typical, so 2,500 to 3,750 euro net. The scope is agreed beforehand, and the analysis time between on-site days is not billed on top.
How long until we have the result?
From survey to finished report usually two to three weeks, depending on how quickly appointments can be scheduled. The report follows within two weeks of the last consulting day.
Do we have to implement with you?
No, and that is deliberate. The report is written so you can hand it to any provider. We are happy to quote for implementation, but the engagement is not tied to it.
Who from our side needs to take part?
You or the management for the objective, plus one person from each area that does the daily work. Two to four people for one to two hours each is usually enough. Operations continue as normal.
What if we already have software that does not fit?
Then the report states whether configuration can fix it or whether replacing it is cheaper, with an assessment of effort and risk. Replacement is rarely the first recommendation, because it is expensive and disruptive.
Will we get recommendations for specific products?
Where useful, yes, with our cards on the table: where we sell a product ourselves, the report says so. For a structured comparison of several systems, system selection is the fitting service.
Talk it through first
A 30-minute call clarifies whether an engagement is the right instrument. If it is not, we say so there.
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