The case: Meridian Supplies
Meridian Supplies is a fictional distributor of packaging and consumables with 38 staff. KessidAI is the company's AI assistant. It is connected to the accounting and stock systems and the owner asked it whether to buy a reporting tool.
KessidAI's recommendation to the owner
Approve the ReportFlow AI subscription.
Your five office staff spend about 200 hours a month preparing recurring reports. ReportFlow AI can automate an estimated 60% of that work.
KessidAI's conclusion: the potential capacity value is more than three times the subscription, a potential net benefit of USD 31,200 a year. Recommend approval this week so that the first automated reports run next month.
- 200 hours a month is the finance manager's estimate from last quarter's timesheets, across five people and all recurring reports.
- The weekly sales and stock report goes to the owner and the two sales managers every Monday morning. They say they cannot run the week without it.
- 60% is the vendor's estimate after a 30-minute demonstration on one sample report.
- USD 30 an hour is the internal costing rate finance uses for office staff.
- The subscription is USD 12,000 a year, paid in advance. Set-up is included, the vendor says, if Meridian's staff supply clean data exports.
- Two of the five staff already use a free AI assistant on their own accounts.
- What the released hours would be used for, and whether that use earns or saves money.
- How much set-up and data-cleaning work falls on Meridian's own staff.
- Who checks the automated reports before they go to the owner and the sales managers.
- Whether every report inside the 200 hours is still read by anyone.
- What Meridian can do if the vendor's 60% turns out to be 20%.
You are responsible for this decision. What do you do?
Choose one action. Then write the one assumption your choice depends on: the thing that, if it turned out to be false, would change your mind.
Write your choice and your assumption on page one of the workbook. The facilitator will ask for a show of hands. Nothing on this page is collected.