SME Transformation

Readiness Assessment

I map your current processes, identify automation potential, and assess your team's readiness for change. Honest about what is ready and what is not.

Opportunity Design

I prioritise actions by impact and feasibility. Not every process should be automated. I help you invest where it actually counts.

Implementation

I work inside your team to implement selected tools and workflows. I train, document, and iterate until it works in your reality — not just in a demo.

Capability Transfer

Your team owns the outcome. I build internal capability so the transformation continues after the engagement ends.

There is a useful distinction between AI as a workflow automation tool and AI as a strategic capability. Most life science SMEs are not yet in a position to use AI strategically — and that is fine. The immediate value of AI adoption for most organisations is operational: reducing time spent on repetitive documentation tasks, accelerating literature review and data extraction, and systematising knowledge that currently lives only in people's heads.

Concrete examples where process digitisation delivers measurable time savings: converting paper-based or email-based change control processes to structured digital workflows typically saves two to four hours per change request and eliminates version control problems. Automating the routing and templating of SOPs — writing structure, review reminders, approval chains — removes a significant administrative burden from scientific staff. In regulatory workflows, using language tools for document drafting and cross-referencing reduces the time from draft to reviewable document by a meaningful margin.

Change management is the bottleneck, not the technology. Every failed digital transformation I have seen failed for the same reason: tools were implemented on top of processes that people did not trust, understand, or use consistently. No amount of workflow automation fixes an underlying process problem. This is why the readiness assessment comes before any tool selection, and why implementation happens inside the team rather than being handed over.

What this engagement does not do: proof-of-concept projects that produce a demo and a report and then require someone else to implement. Every engagement ends with a working system that your team owns and operates independently. If the starting point is not right for implementation, I will tell you that at the assessment stage rather than after six months.

How do I know whether my company is ready for AI adoption?

Readiness is less about technology and more about process clarity. If your core workflows are undocumented or inconsistently followed, automating them will lock in the inconsistency. The first step in any AI readiness assessment is process mapping — understanding what actually happens, not what is supposed to happen.

What is the difference between process digitisation and AI adoption?

Process digitisation means moving from analogue or manual workflows to structured digital ones. AI adoption means applying machine learning or language model tools to analyse, generate, or automate within those workflows. Digitisation usually needs to come first.

How long does a typical SME transformation engagement last?

Scope varies significantly. An AI readiness assessment and implementation roadmap can be completed in four to six weeks. A full transformation programme including implementation and team enablement typically runs three to six months.

Do you work with companies that have no prior digitisation?

Yes. Starting from a low baseline is often an advantage — there are no legacy systems to work around and no entrenched digital habits to change. The process mapping phase takes longer, but the implementation is cleaner.