AI Consulting Services
Practical AI aimed at the workflows that move throughput, cost, and EBITDA.
$2.3B
in EBITDA benefits
150+
private equity firms served
4,500+
problems solved
8K+
workshop participants
EMPOWERMENT
Aim AI at the Work That Moves Margin
Industrial AI efforts stall in familiar places. Copilot licenses go unused after the first month, a vision pilot on one packaging line never reaches the second plant, and maintenance logs written in free text give models little to learn from. Duplicate part numbers in the item master undercut every forecast, while engineers paste customer drawings into public tools with no policy covering export-controlled data.
VDS starts from the workflow that costs the most and works back to the data, systems, and people it depends on. Each use case is funded on its projected EBITDA impact, and operators stay with it until supervisors run it as part of the shift.
WHY CHOOSE VDS
AI Consulting Where Value Creation Is the Starting Point
VDS operators work inside the business with plant, finance, and IT leaders until each AI use case runs in daily operation, backed by decades of industrial operating experience. The Value Driven Approach® measures every use case against what customers pay for, and the VDS Business System® makes the new way of working stick after launch.
Shop-Floor Judgment
VDS consultants bring 15 to 30 years running plants and supply chains, so every AI idea gets tested against how schedulers, buyers, and maintenance crews really work before any build begins.
Proof Before Pilots
Using the Diagnostic® and Value Driven Approach, VDS finds where time and margin leak, so AI goes first to workflows with measurable upside and data clean enough to support it.
Experts in the Room
Through 360° Client Alignment®, data engineers, process leads, and change specialists join the client’s team, build beside its owners, and stay accountable until the new workflow runs without them.
AI SOLUTIONS
AI Services Matched to Where You Start
Start wherever you are, with shared direction, proof your data is ready, or hands-on help going live. Build a sound base with Digital & Technology for ERP, infrastructure, and security, and connect plant data through Industry 4.0 / Digital Transformation.
AI Workshop
Two days onsite with business, operations, and technology leaders to agree where AI should go first, ending with a 90-day action plan.
AI Readiness Assessment
A close look at data, systems, workflows, people, and controls that shows what is ready now and which gaps to close first.
AI Implementation
Chosen use cases taken into daily operation with named owners, built-in controls, tracked KPIs, and the adoption work that makes them last.
WHAT TO EXPECT
From First Idea to Measured Return
Move from a readiness check and ranked opportunities to controlled rollout and measured return. Keep momentum after launch with the VDS Business System®.
Clear Readiness Read
Data quality, system access, workflow maturity, and governance are scored plainly, so leaders know which use cases can start now and which need groundwork first.
Ranked Use-Case Backlog
Every opportunity is scored on EBITDA impact, time to value, complexity, and data condition, with a named owner and the first step needed to validate it.
Controlled Rollouts
New use cases launch on one line, site, or process with human review on decisions touching quality, safety, or customers, then extend once the results check out.
Adoption on Every Shift
Supervisors, planners, and crews get training, updated standard work, and coached super-users, so the tools become part of daily routine across the operation.
Value You Can Audit
Baselines set before launch and a monthly scorecard link each use case to cost, hours, and EBITDA, giving leadership and the board reporting they can verify.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
VDS AI consulting covers the full path from finding opportunities to running them in daily operations. Work can begin with an AI Workshop or an AI Readiness Assessment, then moves the strongest use cases into AI Implementation. Each use case has a workflow owner and a measurable operating target.
Start with the workflows that cost the most time or margin, then check whether the data behind them is usable. Order entry, demand planning, maintenance scheduling, and quality inspection are common candidates in industrial companies. A short review of data condition, system access, and ownership shows which use cases can go first and which need groundwork.
Time to value depends on data condition and scope, so every use case gets a target date and a KPI before work begins. The AI Workshop ends with a 90-day action plan, which puts the first moves on the calendar right away. Use cases that need data cleanup or system integration run in phases, each delivering something usable.
Every deployment begins with clear rules on which data can enter which tools. Access controls, audit trails, and human review on decisions affecting quality, safety, or customers are built into each workflow, and customer drawings and export-controlled data stay in approved environments. Platform alliances that support this work appear on the Our Partners page.
AI work follows the same method whether or not a sponsor is involved. Where a sponsor owns the business, use cases tie to the value creation plan, and a use case proven at one portfolio company can be repeated at others with shared controls and board reporting. The Private Equity page covers the sponsor view in depth.
APPLIED AI EXCELLENCE
Operating Discipline Behind Every AI Use Case
AI engagements draw on the measurement discipline behind published VDS work, including performance-tracking systems built for a leading technology company and a combined operations and IT overhaul at a global consumer packaged goods company. Every use case gets a baseline before launch, so return is tracked from day one.
LET'S CONNECT
Ready to Turn AI Into Operating Gains?
Bring one costly workflow and leave with a ranked starting point.
Map where AI pays off and what your data needs in one conversation, then scale from a single plant to the enterprise.