How is pricing structured for custom work?

Custom engagements are priced per phase after the diagnostic. Each phase has a fixed scope and investment. Time-and-materials is only used for genuinely exploratory work where scope cannot be bounded in advance. Every engagement starts with a written scope and investment letter.

Can the firm work alongside existing consultants or integrators?

Yes. Many custom engagements involve coordination with existing technology integrators, advisory firms, or internal project teams. The custom solution design provides the architectural spine; execution can be distributed across teams with clear RACI and governance.

What if the problem changes mid-engagement?

Scope changes are handled through governed change control — the same discipline applied in N1. Every proposed change is evaluated against cost, timeline, and downstream risk before it enters the backlog. Flexibility is built into the phasing model, but undocumented scope expansion is not.

Do custom solutions include implementation or just design?

Both, depending on what the diagnostic reveals. Some engagements are design-only: solution architecture, governance model, and implementation roadmap handed over to internal or third-party teams. Others include full delivery through stabilization. The scope is determined by the problem, not by a predefined package.

Services

Custom Solution Creation

Not every business challenge fits a standard engagement model. When your organization faces a problem that spans multiple disciplines — operations, data, technology, and governance — we design and deliver custom solutions built from first principles, scoped to your operating reality, and governed from day one.

15+ yrs

Cross-discipline experience

40+

Custom programs delivered

Industries served

100%

Governed and documented

Approach

Every custom engagement begins with a diagnostic: what is actually happening, what should be happening, and what is preventing the gap from closing. This is not a template exercise — it is a structured investigation that identifies root causes before prescribing solutions.

From there, we architect a solution that draws on the right combination of business analysis, process redesign, system integration, data structuring, and governance design. The solution is scoped in writing, phased for risk management, and built to hand over cleanly to your internal teams.

Custom does not mean unstructured. Every engagement follows the N3 Framework: governance first, operations second, intelligence last. The difference is that the deliverables are tailored to the problem rather than selected from a fixed menu.

When Custom Solutions Make Sense

Cross-functional challenges

Problems that span departments, systems, and reporting lines — where no single service category captures the full scope.

Post-acquisition integration

Merging operations, harmonizing data, aligning processes, and establishing unified governance across previously independent entities.

Greenfield operations

Standing up new business units, product lines, or geographic operations from scratch — with no legacy playbook to inherit.

Regulatory or compliance transformations

Redesigning processes, data flows, and reporting to meet new regulatory requirements while preserving operational continuity.

Technology stack transitions

Moving between platforms, consolidating fragmented tooling, or designing integration architectures that connect legacy and modern systems.

Organizational restructuring

Realigning roles, workflows, approval chains, and data ownership when business structure changes outpace system design.

What You Receive

Every custom engagement produces documented, transferable artifacts:

Diagnostic assessment with root cause analysis

Custom solution architecture and phasing plan

Governance model and RACI matrix

Process maps (current-state and future-state)

Integration and data flow specifications

Implementation roadmap with risk mitigation

Knowledge transfer documentation and runbooks

Case Study

Multi-Entity Energy Company

Energy · Private Equity Backed

3 → 1

Unified operating model

60%

Procurement cycle reduction

14 → 1

Dashboard consolidation

10 mo

Full integration timeline

Challenge

A PE-backed energy company had acquired three regional operators in 18 months. Each ran different ERP instances, procurement workflows, and reporting structures. Leadership needed a unified operating model before the next acquisition, but no single consulting service covered the full scope.

Approach

Designed a custom integration program spanning ERP harmonization, procurement workflow unification, master data governance, reporting consolidation, and role-based access standardization. Phased delivery over 9 months with governance checkpoints at each milestone.

Outcome

Unified operating model live across all three entities within 10 months. Procurement cycle time reduced by 60%. Single reporting pack replaced 14 overlapping dashboards. The governance framework became the template for the fourth acquisition.

Environment

Oracle ERP Cloud + JD EdwardsMaster data governancePower BI reportingCross-entity RBAC

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about custom solutions

Every custom engagement starts with a paid diagnostic phase — typically 2–4 weeks — that maps the problem, identifies root causes, and produces a written scope document with phased deliverables, investment, and risk assessment. Nothing is built until the diagnostic is signed off. This protects both sides from scope ambiguity.

Facing a challenge that doesn’t fit a standard engagement?

Schedule a consultation to diagnose the problem and design a solution built for your organization.

Schedule a Consultation