AI consulting for manufacturers — from someone who builds industrial software.
Mid-sized manufacturers share a profile: lots of data, legacy systems, scarce IT capacity. That's exactly where my consulting starts. With Valiro I'm building an industrial platform myself — I know what breaks.
Why industrial AI has different requirements than a B2C chatbot
Manufacturers work with bills of materials, technical drawings, service logs, machine data, and ERP systems that have been running for ten years. A generic ChatGPT integration solves little here. What you need is AI that understands your documents, data, and processes — and slots into your IT landscape without ripping it out.
With Valiro I build a platform designed exactly for this context: AI-powered search across project and document corpora, mobile-first for field service teams, integration with common ERPs. From this experience I know where the trap doors are: data quality, permissions, offline capability, adoption by people who've used the same tools for twenty years.
My consulting for industrial mid-market companies carries that reality. We start not with the model but with the process. We respect your existing IT. And we deliver outcomes that hold up on the shop floor and in the field — not just in the demo.
Industrial AI use cases with real ROI
From actual workshop and implementation projects of recent years.
- 01
Technical document search (RAG)
Service techs and sales find answers across BOMs, manuals, protocols in seconds rather than hours. Typical effect: 3–7 hours per employee per week.
- 02
Quote and order preparation
AI-assisted creation of quotes and statements of work from inquiries, technical specs, historical orders. Cuts lead time typically by 40–60%.
- 03
Service report structuring
Voice notes or free text become structured service protocols, flowing automatically into your ERP. Saves field staff 30–60 min/day of doc work.
- 04
Inspection and quality image analysis
Vision models flag anomalies in component images, inspections, tool wear. Human-in-the-loop for the final call.
- 05
Internal knowledge management
A guarded AI assistant that surfaces senior staff experience — critical in industries facing skills shortages and retirements.
- 06
Customer support pre-qualification
Inbound requests get classified, enriched with relevant docs, routed to the right person. Reduces response time and misroutes.
What you can typically expect from industrial AI projects
- 5–7 h
saved per employee per week in document-heavy roles
- 40–60%
faster on quote and order preparation
- 6–10 mo.
typical ROI horizon for a well-scoped pilot project
Common questions from industrial mid-market clients
Does AI work with old ERP systems?
Yes. We work with the existing APIs or databases and build a thin integration. Replacing the ERP is almost never a prerequisite — and if it is happening, we plan AI integration into the new system.
What about data protection for sensitive engineering data?
Engineering and order data are among your most sensitive assets. We use EU-hosted models, on-premise options, or open-source models in your cloud — depending on sensitivity classification.
Our staff isn't all digital-native. Will AI even get used?
Adoption is my top concern on every industrial project. We design the solution to fit existing workflows and we train actively. A tool people avoid is wasted money.
We don't have a data science team. Can we still do this?
Yes — actually better. You don't need a data science team for modern AI applications. You need someone who builds LLM-based solutions and understands your business processes. That's exactly what you get with me.
What does a typical industrial AI pilot cost?
Pilots typically range from €30,000 to €80,000 depending on data quality and integration depth. Strategy workshops start at €2,500. Concrete numbers in the intro call.
You might also like
Let's talk for 30 minutes.
I listen, ask questions, and tell you honestly whether and how I can help.