Building a case they can defend without you
The sponsor takes your case into a room you are not in. If it only holds together while you are presenting it, you have not built a case — you have given a pitch.
01 The shape of it
Four pools, and the rule that governs all of them
Every credible case in this category draws from these four. The fifth card is the constraint that keeps the other four believable.
Cash released
Working capital freed from the cycle. The easiest to size, the hardest to argue with, and the one a CFO can verify without trusting you.
Source: their DSO, DIO, DPOCost removed
Reconciliation effort, manual reporting, avoided overtime. Sized in days and people, converted to money by them rather than by you.
Source: their close and reporting effortRevenue protected or won
Margin leakage closed, availability improved, decisions taken in time to matter. Harder to attribute, so claim it conservatively or not at all.
Source: their price and service dataRisk avoided
A deadline met, a penalty not incurred, an audit survived. Rarely the headline, frequently the reason the budget actually exists.
Source: their regulator and audit findingsThe claim discipline
Every figure you present is either theirs, or published on /impact with a named client. There is no third category. An invented range is the fastest way to lose a technical evaluator.
Source: /impact, and nowhere else02 Questions
Six checks on a case before it leaves your hands
The sponsor will be asked all six. Better by you than by their CFO.
- Is every number in this case either theirs or attributable to a published study?
- Can the sponsor explain the arithmetic without me in the room?
- What is the most hostile question their CFO will ask, and is the answer in the document?
- Have we stated what we are not claiming, explicitly?
- Does the case survive if the benefit is half what we modelled?
- Is the first phase small enough that failing it is survivable for the sponsor?
03 Sequence
Building it in five steps
The order is deliberate: their numbers first, ours last.
04 Reference
The proof bank
Eight deployments, as published on /impact. Figures and quotations are as recorded in each engagement — use them as they are written, and never round them upward.
| Client · sector | What is published | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| ECU Worldwide · logistics | 20–40% sales growth across 20+ countries; 30+ systems unified; 300+ offices, 2,400 trade routes | Many systems, no single version of the truth |
| ITQ · travel technology | 99.8% fare-rule accuracy against an 82% industry average; 60% lower penalties; hours to seconds | An AI use case that needs governed inputs |
| EFS · facilities management | 11 systems and 6.5M records unified; 6,100+ attributes; 110k+ daily transactions; phase 2 run in-house | A fragmented estate, and a buyer who wants to own it afterwards |
| Amex India · banking | 200+ regulatory reports automated; 25 finance processes migrated; 12-day close cut; weeks to hours | Manual finance and regulatory reporting |
| ADNH · hospitality | Food wastage from 23% to under 8%; P&L from three weeks to two days; +22% kitchen efficiency | Margin invisible below the revenue line |
| PCBB · banking | ISO 20022 readiness ahead of the deadline; automated OFAC screening; Fedwire integration | A regulatory deadline with a fixed date |
| CBI Bank · banking | 85% less manual integration effort; 200+ reports redesigned; 70% of time on analysis; ROI within year one | A core system migration with reporting to protect |
| Aster DM Healthcare · healthcare | One item master across 30+ hospitals, 125+ clinics and 250+ pharmacies; Oracle ERP + HIS | Master data spread across sites |
05 Language
Say this, not that
Everything in the right-hand column is a claim you cannot source, which means it is a claim their evaluator will test.
On your own figures, one day of DSO is worth this much — here is the arithmetic, and here is the input you gave me.
Customers typically see a 20 to 30% improvement.
CBI Bank reports 85% less manual integration effort and ROI within year one, as published.
Banks like you usually pay it back in under a year.
We will not guarantee the benefit. We will make the first phase small enough that you can judge it on evidence rather than on a promise.
We are confident you will see the return.
06 Questions
Frequently asked
Can I apply a figure from one sector to another?
As an illustration of shape, yes; as a projected benefit, no. Say which client it came from and what was different about them. Evaluators respect the distinction and notice when it is missing.
What if the case is genuinely small?
Then say so and scope the first phase to match. A small, honest case that lands builds the second phase; an inflated one gets audited after go-live and ends the relationship.
See what the buyer sees
Every claim in this module traces back to a page the customer can read for themselves.