Strategy, roadmap and ROI
Strategy, roadmap and ROI
Why pilots fail
- 95 % of GenAI pilots with no measurable P&L impact (MIT NANDA, 2025)
- buying from a specialist succeeds ~2× more often than building in-house
- 40 %+ of agentic projects will be cancelled by end of 2027 (Gartner)
AI strategy on one page
graph TB
A["Ambition – why, what by 2028"] --> U["Priority use cases – 3 to 5"]
U --> P["Platform and data"]
P --> G["Governance and risk"]
G --> L["People and skills"]
Fit test (0–2 points)
Volume · text/data work · data available · error tolerance · baseline · process owner. 9–12 candidate, 6–8 rework, 0–5 not now.
Prioritisation
| lower feasibility | higher feasibility | |
|---|---|---|
| higher value | Strategic bets – predictive VMS maintenance, AI in WIM | Quick wins – tender compliance matrix, technician assistant |
| lower value | Avoid – autonomous invoice approval, AI rating of people | Fill-ins – posts, translations |
Roadmap
| 0–3 months – Foundations | 3–9 months – Scale | 9–18 months – Transform |
|---|---|---|
| AI policy, pilot group, champions, 3 quick wins with a baseline | extend based on results, first agents, Cowork pilot | Foundry, ERP and service integration, AI in products + AI Act |
Between phases: continue / adjust / stop.
ROI
Time benefit = hours × rate × adoption × realisation factor + quality + revenue + less risk. Costs: licences and credits, setup, run, training, time spent reviewing output.
Time saved ≠ money saved
Decide up front where the freed-up time goes. A worked example is in the Excel calculator (sheet Example – tenders).
Measure it yourself
Vendor claim (Lumen: 4 h/week, ~$50 M) vs independent evaluation (UK DBT: satisfied users, no evidence of productivity gains). Measure the baseline, adoption, outcome and quality.