How we work
Map the process. Agree the criteria. Build it in. Measure it.
Every engagement runs the same four steps, in the same order: the process is mapped before a tool is chosen, success is agreed in writing before anything is built, and the result is measured against what was agreed. The order is the method.
We define success before we build.
The four steps, in full.
Map the process
We document the current state end to end, in BPMN — every step, every handover, every exception people work around. The mapping is done with the people who run the process, not from an org chart. What the map shows is rarely the process as it was designed.What you get
A documented process map, yours to keep.
Rank by expected return
Every automation candidate in the map is ordered by expected return and implementation cost. Technically interesting is not a ranking criterion. Some candidates come back as not worth automating, and that is a legitimate result of the audit.What you get
A ranked list of automation candidates.
Agree success in writing
Before any build starts we agree the metric, the baseline, the target, and the method by which it will be measured. It is signed. If the built system does not meet it, that is a fact both sides can check rather than a matter of interpretation.What you get
Written success criteria, signed before the build.
Build integrated, then measure
The automation is built into the systems already in production — ERP, CRM, accounting, commerce — not alongside them. After go-live we measure it against the criteria agreed in step three and write down what the measurement showed.What you get
A working system and a measured result.
Written success criteria
Why the criteria are written down.
The market norm is a working proof of concept with success left undefined. At handover there is no agreed answer to whether it worked — which is why disputes over deliverables are common in this category. We settle the question before the build: the metric, the baseline, the target and the measurement method are agreed in writing and signed. Afterwards nobody has to argue about the result, because the standard was set before there was anything to defend.
- Metric
- Manual touch-points per invoice
- Baseline
- Measured during the audit
- Target
- Agreed before the build
- Measured
- On an agreed date after go-live
The baseline and the target are shown as placeholders on purpose. Filling them with example figures here would be an outcome claim, and we have no published project data to support one.
Process first, tool second.
We start with the process because we have no product to sell. There is no licence behind the recommendation that the recommendation has to justify. Depending on what the process needs, the answer can be robotic process automation, a workflow tool, a straightforward API integration between two systems you already pay for — or a change to the process that removes the need to automate it at all. Neutrality is not a courtesy here. It is what makes the ranking in step two worth reading.
Integration is where automation projects fail.
A demo runs on sample data, in an environment built for the demo to work in. A production system runs on your data, inside the ERP, CRM, accounting and commerce systems your business already depends on, with every exception and edge case those systems have accumulated. The distance between the two is most of the work, and it is the part that is invisible while you are watching the demo. We build on the production side of that distance: into the systems in place, with someone responsible for the automation after go-live.
How we work with you.
In German, Romanian or English
The commercial conversation and the technical one happen in the same language — with the people doing the work, and without an intermediary.
EU-based
Arkhon Consulting is based in Brașov, Romania. The company, the contracts and the people delivering the work are inside the EU.
The founders review delivery
Freelance partners join for specialist work and for capacity — the same people across an engagement, not a rotating roster. Both founders review what is delivered and stay accountable for it.
Audit, pilot, implementation, care
Engagements are commissioned one rung at a time and you can stop after any of them. The audit is fixed in scope, and the process map is yours whether or not we build anything.
Start with one process.
The audit is fixed in scope: one process, mapped end to end, with the automation candidates ranked and the success criteria drafted. The map is yours whether or not we build anything.