AI for operations and transformation consulting
Feed it the client’s own exports and it builds the spend cube, should-cost model, capacity plan and steering deck, with every number traced to the file it came from.
Housing-should-cost.xlsxExample| Cost element | Basis | Should-cost | Lakehead | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material | 6.8 kg Class 30 iron at $1.32/kg | 8.98 | 9.10 | +0.12 |
| Casting | 0.11 hr green-sand line at $54/hr | 5.94 | 6.95 | +1.01 |
| Machining | 0.09 hr CNC at $68/hr | 6.12 | 6.05 | −0.07 |
| Scrap | 3% of material and conversion | 0.63 | 0.60 | −0.03 |
| SG&A and profit | 15% on cost | 3.25 | 3.70 | +0.45 |
| Total per unit | 120,000 units a year | 24.92 | 26.40 | +1.48 |
NoteCasting conversion runs $1.01 a unit over should-cost, about $121,000 a year, so ask Lakehead for its cycle time and yield.
Ask it for
“Build the FY25 spend cube from the AP and PO exports: consolidate supplier name variants, classify to our L4 taxonomy, and list off-contract spend above $50k.”
Spend-cube-FY25.xlsx“From the BOM, routing hours and machine rates, should-cost the 47-2209 cast-iron housing at 120,000 units a year and show the gap to Lakehead’s $26.40 quote.”
Housing-should-cost.xlsx“Level the five bid letters for the Anderson warehouse racking against the scope sheet, plug every gap at my rates, list silent lines for written clarification.”
Bid-tab-racking-v2.xlsx“Size the contact center from the July to September volumes and handle times, with FTEs by shift, shrinkage, weekly overtime and the bottleneck queue.”
Contact-center-capacity.xlsx“Turn the initiative tracker, the freight savings log and finance’s comments into Thursday’s SteerCo deck, action titles on every slide.”
SteerCo-2026-05.pptx“Page-turn the final readout against the model and the invoice data, and tick every number back to its source. Flag whatever won’t tie.”
Readout-tieout.pdf
Inside the Operations & Transformation Consulting mode
Executive storyline and decks
Writes the governing message and action titles for SteerCo and IC packs, and every exhibit points back to the tab that proves it.
Proposals and RFP responses
Breaks an RFP down into a compliance matrix, and drafts the response tabs, past-performance examples and required forms such as the SF330.
Statement of work
Puts deliverables, acceptance criteria and exclusions in the SOW or PWS, along with the SLAs, change control and the QASP.
Project budget and cost forecast
Keeps the project budget current with commitments and actuals logged against it every month, plus a bottom-up EAC and fee burn by role and phase.
Tie-out and page-turn review
Page-turns decks, expert reports and QoE packs before they leave the building, and calls out every number that has no support behind it.
Value creation and transformation
Sizes cost and operating levers against a counterfactual baseline in a diagnostic or diligence, and tracks forecast against realized in the EBITDA bridge.
Operating metrics and reviews
Pulls OTIF, forecast roll-ups and cohorts into the weekly operating review and QBR packs, with commentary the client can test against the numbers.
Workload capacity and staffing model
Turns volumes, handle times and shrinkage into FTEs by shift, and shows the overtime line and the queue or workstation that caps output.
Business case and capital allocation
Frames the case for closing a DC or automating it on NPV, IRR and payback, and flags the assumptions the client’s CFO will attack first.
Spend cube analysis
Classifies AP and PO data into a spend cube, normalizes the supplier name variants, and measures savings only against the baseline you state.
Should-cost model
Builds clean-sheet models from BOM, routing hours, labor and machine rates, so you can challenge a supplier quote line by line.
Bid tabulation and leveling
Levels subcontractor bids against the scope sheet and plugs gaps and exclusions at consistent rates. Buyout savings count only for like scope.
Distribution network and cost-to-serve
Runs network scenarios and cost-to-serve by customer, lane and DC, so footprint choices can be argued from landed cost and service.
Inventory policy and performance
Recommends safety stock, reorder points and min/max by ABC/XYZ segment, and lists excess and obsolete stock with a disposition for each item.
Sustainability and decarbonization
Costs each abatement measure per tonne CO2e and nets the overlaps. It checks the target against SBTi criteria and builds on your GHG baseline.
- Office skills
- Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF
- Tools
- Read, edit and write files, Search files, Run code, Search and read the web, View images
- Connectors
- SharePoint, Google Drive, Gmail, and additional custom connectors
- House style
- Your fonts, layouts and rules, on every file
How it works
- 1
Fill the engagement folder
Pull the AP and PO exports, BOMs and routings, call volumes, the bid package, interview notes and last month’s steering deck out of the client’s systems and drop them in the folder.
- 2
Ask for the deliverable
It works the numbers in Excel first, then builds the workbook or deck with the source file behind each number. The workbooks keep their formulas live, and anything it could not reconcile comes back as a note instead of a guess.
- 3
Tie it out, then make the call
Page-turn the pack as though a first-year analyst had built it. Re-run every calculation against the source exports, pressure-test the assumptions with the client’s finance team, then decide what leaves the folder.
Who it’s for
Consultants who improve how a client operates, in performance improvement, cost, procurement, supply chain, organization and transformation programs, at consulting firms and as independents, from analyst to partner.
Questions
How do I stop it inventing numbers?
Its skills tell it to cite the source file for every figure and to flag anything it could not reconcile instead of guessing. The tie-out skill then tickmarks each figure in a finished deck back to support and names what it cannot tie. Read its output the way you would read a new analyst’s work, because the signature is yours.
Can we put client data through it under our NDA?
That call belongs to your firm, your compliance team and the contract. Ultramarine Work changes files only in the project’s folder. When a request needs it, it can read files elsewhere on your computer, never passwords, keys or app data, and you can turn that off in settings. The model runs on Paper Instruments’ servers, so the content it works on is sent there to be processed. Paper Instruments is SOC 2 Type II, and our security and compliance details are on our compliance page.
Do we have to tell clients we used AI?
Some professional codes and many client contracts now expect it, but the decision is your firm’s, not ours. The app drafts and checks, nothing more. A named consultant reviews every file it touched and decides what the client sees.
How does it count savings so finance accepts them?
It counts savings only against a baseline you and the client agree on before negotiations start. Each saving is measured as a reduction or an avoidance against that line, and the two never appear in the same total. Blending them is what invites a challenge from the client’s finance team. What comes back is a tracker workbook you can defend.
Can we use it to draft RFP and tender responses?
Yes, the mode includes RFP responses, statements of work and project budgets, so a tender response is drafted like any other deliverable. The solicitation’s instructions decide how AI may be used, and some buyers now ask suppliers to disclose it, so work through the requirements before you start drafting. Check every factual claim before the bid is signed, because AI-assisted content can state facts that sound plausible but are false, and you decide what goes out.