AI Vendor Selection & Procurement Advisory
Every vendor demo looks brilliant. We help you find out which one survives contact with your data, your systems, and your contract lawyer — before you sign, not after.
What is AI vendor selection advisory? It is independent, vendor-neutral support for buying AI software and services: defining requirements from actual workflows, researching the market, analyzing build-versus-buy, shortlisting vendors, scoring demonstrations against a consistent rubric, designing proofs-of-concept that test your real cases, evaluating security and data-handling, comparing total cost of ownership, and supporting contract negotiation — including exit and data-portability terms. The goal is a decision you can defend to the board and unwind if you ever need to.
Who this is for
- Leadership teams with two or three vendors pitching and no consistent way to compare
- Organizations burned before by software that demoed well and delivered little
- Buyers in regulated industries where security review can't be an afterthought
- Teams deciding between building on AI platforms and buying packaged tools
What's included
- Requirements definition from your actual workflows
- Market research and vendor landscape mapping
- Build-versus-buy analysis with honest trade-offs
- Vendor shortlisting against weighted criteria
- Technical and security evaluation (with your IT)
- Demonstration scoring on a consistent rubric
- Proof-of-concept design using your real cases and documents
- Commercial comparison and total-cost-of-ownership analysis
- Contract-risk review coordination with your counsel
- Negotiation support — pricing, SLAs, data terms
- Exit and portability considerations, in writing
- Implementation-partner selection where needed
Vendor-neutral, on your side of the table
No referral fees
We take no commissions, referral fees, or resale margins from AI vendors. Our only revenue in a selection engagement is your fee.
Test the system, not the demo
Demos are theater. Our proofs-of-concept run on your documents, your edge cases, your volumes — the scorecard we publish shows the questions.
Plan the exit before the entrance
Data portability, export formats, and termination terms get negotiated when you have leverage — before signature.
Vendor selection FAQ
Why not just let vendors compete on price?
Because AI tools fail on fit, not price. The expensive failure mode is a tool that can't read your documents, can't integrate with your ERP, or locks your data in — none of which shows up in a pricing comparison. Structured evaluation on your real cases costs a fraction of one bad annual contract.
Can you evaluate a vendor we've already chosen?
Yes — pre-signature review is common: we pressure-test the claims, design the acceptance criteria, and strengthen the contract on data, exit, and SLAs. It's cheaper than renegotiating after go-live.
Do you implement what we select?
If you want. Selection and implementation are deliberately separable — the requirements, scoring, and PoC results transfer to any competent implementer, including your internal team. Where clients want one accountable partner, we carry it into an Olyra 120 implementation.
What about building instead of buying?
Sometimes building on AI platforms beats buying a niche tool — and sometimes it's a maintenance trap. Our build-vs-buy analysis is scenario-based: volumes, change-rate, internal skills, and five-year cost. The guide shows the framework.
Find out what AI can actually do for your operations.
Start with an AI Operations Audit — a fixed-scope diagnostic that maps your workflows, scores your AI readiness, and hands you a prioritized 120-day roadmap. If we don't find real opportunities, you'll know that too.
Request an AI Operations Audit → Prefer to talk first? Book a 30-minute scoping call.