Our Approach
Experience + AI = Unprecedented Buyer Protection
The Combination That's Relevant and Rare
Most consultants sell hours. They have experience, but limited proprietary IP. Some are now using AI for research and documentation. But AI-washing over standard consulting isn't transformation.
We've rebuilt our entire methodology around AI. Not AI-accelerated conventional consulting. AI enabling analysis depth and customization scale impossible through traditional methods.
And we have the experience to make AI actually work. 1,000+ projects. We've seen it all. Every major ERP. Every industry. Three decades of challenging vendor tactics that disadvantage buyers.
Without the experience, AI just accelerates weak methods. Generic requirements faster. Complicit contract review faster. Standard consultant opinions faster.
With the experience, AI becomes transformational. Client-specific analysis at scale. Systematic contract protection. Quantified scoring methodology. Analysis depth that was previously not possible—no matter how many consulting hours were applied.
What Makes This Different
1. Proprietary IP, Not Just Experience
Traditional consultants: Experience plus some minor standard structure that "comes along for the ride"
Our approach: Purpose-built AI-integrated methodology refined across 1,000+ projects
Important strategic and business process details—derived from relevant client factors, library of standard functions, client existing planning, and industry insights
Challenge ERP access contracts with ~50 commercial terms objectives with AI-driven corrective language
10-factor implementer screening and scoring system
Weighted evaluation methodology across all selection factors
Enterprise Discovery management platform
AI-managed procedures protecting consistency and completeness
This IP enables us to work at least 3x faster while delivering significantly deeper results compared to consultants attempting similar results.
2. Client-Specific Configuration, Not Templates
AI doesn't standardize our process—it enables personalization at scale.
Every project configured specifically for:
Your company size (revenue category, complexity, business units)
Your industry (manufacturing processes, business model, regulatory environment)
Your strategic priorities (what you're trying to achieve)
Your current systems (what you're replacing or integrating, satellite applications)
Your constraints (budget, timeline, internal capabilities, M&A)
Works for $10M companies and $1B+ companies. Discrete manufacturing and process manufacturing. Simple operations and complex multi-site environments.
Same rigorous methodology. Completely different configuration each time.
3. Buyer Advocacy, Not Vendor Accommodation
The ERP industry has structural incentives misaligned with buyer interests.
Cloud subscriptions shifted unprecedented control to vendors. Contracts written by vendor attorneys for near-dictatorial control of the buyer. Pricing models designed for escalation over time. Implementers often beholden to vendor relationships.
Most consultants (especially large firms) accommodate this reality. Protect vendor relationships. Generally accept standard contract terms and don't really challenge pricing. Limited vision for implementers—probably friends.
We challenge it systematically. Three decades of:
Negotiating aggressive cost reductions (30-50% typical on initial access costs)
Fixing broken contract terms (~50 objectives, iterative until protected or vendor rejected)
Finding implementers based on YOUR needs, not superficial sales presentations
Standing up to vendor manipulation tactics—which are pervasive and cultural
Protecting buyers from long-term cost escalation
This isn't comfortable for vendors. They will resist. It's exactly what buyers need.
4. Quantified Analysis, Not Consultant Opinions
Traditional consulting: Experience-based recommendations. "In our opinion, ERP X is the best fit."
Our approach: Advisory services foundationally AI-driven with targeted human augmentation and validation. Vastly more efficient and comprehensive than traditional methods.
Strategy and Business Process Priorities:
Opportunities and risks carefully collected and quantified, with scoring factors visible. The important stuff is brought forward—not the noise.
ERP Selection:
Your AI screened and human vetted functional priorities tested and scored for candidate vendors
Cost analyzed initially and over time
Commercial terms evaluated against ~50 objectives
Implementer candidates scored across 10 weighted factors
Overall ERP performance score rolling up all factors
Result: You make decisions with comprehensive quantified information. Not relying on consultants' subjective experience and incomplete decision factors.
5. Enterprise Discovery Repository (Your Knowledge, Your Control)
Traditional consulting: Findings captured in consultant or client team member reports, notes, emails, and other locations. Rarely consolidated and aligned—filed away and forgotten. Knowledge either lost or in a format that is not easily searchable or usable.
Our approach: Modern collaboration platform. Client-controlled. All work organized, searchable, and accessible. Builds through service levels: ERP strategy, ERP selection, and pre-implementation planning.
Used during implementation:
Implementation team has organized business knowledge
No redundant discovery work or redundant knowledge reservoirs
Strategic priorities and large volumes of other details inform all design decisions
Complete continuity from strategy planning through go-live
You own it. You control it. No third-party dependency. Local hosting or cloud hosting of the Enterprise Discovery knowledgebase (your choice). Complete data portability. Modern search and organization capabilities.
6. Dramatically More Efficient (Competitive Pricing, Better Outcomes)
Our comprehensive AI-powered methodology enables us to work at least 3x faster than traditional ERP consulting attempting to reach similar results:
What took weeks now takes hours:
Business priorities: Validation of AI results taking hours vs. weeks of workshops
Contract review: AI scans status of ~50 commercial control objectives vs. costly legal review of only basic terms
Implementer search: AI locates and scores candidates vs. manual research and initial vetting
Strategic analysis: AI processes patterns based on informed discovery vs. consultant interpretation
What was effectively impossible is now systematic:
Extensive background factors analyzed per client (manually not reachable—even with huge consulting budget)
Complete contract terms protection identified (difficult to do manually—presuming a reviewer even knew what to look for)
Implementer candidates scored across 10 factors (too time-consuming if done manually)
Experience Earned. AI Amplified. Buyers Protected.
Most ERP advisory firms will not successfully make the AI transition. They sell hours. Limited IP. No systematic methodology to transform, nor the vision and skill required.
We've been building the IP for three decades. AI integration is the latest evolution, not a pivot.
For Buyers
The most sophisticated ERP advisory available. Cost effective. Not compromised by ERP industry forces like most advisors and analyst firms.
For Independent Consultants
IP licensing that enables you to better compete.
The result: Advisory capability that is truly cutting edge.
ERP Selection – Leupold & Stevens
Long term ERP license costs were initially very difficult to calculate. Working with EAI-SoftSelect we were able to insist on a predicable ERP license fee approach and achieve much lower initial and ongoing license fee costs.
ERP Selection – Cornell Pump
Negotiating ERP costs is complicated and the ERP software vendors take advantage of the buyer’s lack of experience. EAI-SoftSelect’s experience and influence helped us level the playing field. We clearly saved money and lowered our long term risk.
ERP Selection – Provo Craft
EAI-SoftSelect was a great partner throughout the process of choosing an ERP solution. They helped us control the terms throughout the ERP buying process, and we achieved impressive results in reduced ERP license fees.
Having an experienced partner like EAI-SoftSelect, helped us negotiate for the products we need and set our expectations for the process of implementing these solutions.
