Leadership & Vision
Does the leadership team have a clear AI vision, budget commitment, and executive sponsorship? Is there alignment between strategic intent and operational reality?
Our Methodology
The CAIPF Assessment
A structured, two-phase AI readiness engagement built specifically for European manufacturing and supply-chain SMEs. Fixed price. No surprises. Honest results.
Book a Discovery CallWhat is CAIPF?
CAIPF — the Corvalys AI Project Framework — is a proprietary methodology developed by Corvalys for planning, assessing, and governing AI implementation in micro, small, and medium enterprises. It combines the rigour of established project frameworks (inspired by PRINCE2) with AI-specific governance, EU AI Act compliance by design, and a six-dimension readiness model tailored to manufacturing and supply-chain operations.
Unlike generic digital transformation audits, CAIPF is built for the operational reality of European SMEs: limited IT resources, ERP-dependent data, paper-based quality processes, and OEM compliance obligations. It tells you not just whether you are ready for AI, but exactly what needs to be fixed before your first euro of AI investment is committed.
The six assessment dimensions
Data & Analytics Foundation
Is operational data accessible, structured, and trustworthy? Are data flows between ERP, MES, and quality systems mapped? Is there a single source of truth, or fragmented silos?
Technology Infrastructure
Can your current technology stack support AI integration? Are your ERP, MES, and quality systems at a version and configuration level that exposes usable APIs or data export? Is your security posture GDPR-adequate?
Culture & Skills
Is the organisation ready for AI-assisted work? Are there skills gaps? Is there resistance to change or, equally dangerous, unrealistic expectations? Is there a nominated AI champion?
Process Readiness
Are core workflows documented, repeatable, and observable? Or are they informal, tribal-knowledge-dependent, and invisible to any AI system? Paper-based processes cannot feed AI — they must be digitised first.
Governance & Ethics
Is there an AI policy? Is anyone accountable for data quality and model oversight? Are the EU AI Act and IATF 16949 audit-trail requirements understood and planned for? Governance is not optional — it is a prerequisite for deploying AI on OEM-facing processes.
Each dimension is scored 0–100. The composite score places your organisation in one of three readiness bands: AI-Ready (66–100), AI-Aware (50–65), or AI-Lagging (0–49). Most manufacturing SMEs we assess score between 50 and 65 — close enough to act, but not close enough to skip the foundations.
The two-phase engagement
AI Readiness Report
From €3,500
What you receive
- CAIPF scorecard across all 6 dimensions, per respondent
- Five pre-mortem failure scenarios with probabilities
- ROI opportunity estimate (conservative and optimistic)
- Strategic direction: what to fix and in what order
- Live readout session with all key decision-makers
Phase I tells you WHAT and WHY. It does not include a costed implementation plan, vendor recommendations, or data integration architecture. Those are Phase II outputs.
Start with Phase IDeep-Dive Analysis & Implementation Plan
From €5,000
What you receive
- Structured interviews with each functional area owner
- Root cause analysis for every critical gap identified
- Full data flow and integration mapping (ERP, MES, QMS)
- Fixed-price, prioritised implementation plan per initiative
- Quick-win pilot scoped and ready to sign
- ROI model built on your specific operational data
Phase II ends with something you can act on immediately: a signed first engagement or a clear decision that the moment is not right. Either outcome is useful. No other consulting engagement offers you that.
Book Phase IIWhy not a standard digital transformation audit?
| Standard audit | CAIPF Assessment | |
|---|---|---|
| Designed for | Large enterprises | Manufacturing SMEs specifically |
| EU AI Act | Retrofitted | Built in from Phase 1 |
| IATF 16949 | Not addressed | Core compliance thread |
| Data integration | Generic | ERP/MES/QMS-specific (incl. TeamSystem) |
| Output | Recommendations report | Executable plan with fixed-price pilot |
| Price transparency | Variable / TBD | Fixed price, agreed before work starts |
| Human-in-the-loop | Optional | Mandatory — CAIPF Principle 6 |
Who is the CAIPF Assessment for?
The CAIPF Assessment is designed for manufacturing and supply-chain SMEs with 15–200 employees who are considering their first structured AI investment, have experimented with AI tools without a clear strategy, face compliance obligations (IATF 16949, EU AI Act, GDPR) that apply to any AI deployment on production or quality data, or want to understand exactly where they stand before committing a budget.
It is not suitable for companies that have already defined a detailed AI roadmap and need only implementation support, or for pure technology vendors. If you are unsure which category you fall into, the free 30-minute diagnostic call will tell you.