Short answer: Digital transformation consulting is an outside expert service that analyses your business processes, redesigns them, helps you choose a system, implements it and moves your people onto the new way of working. BCG found that 70% of digital transformations fall short of their objectives, but getting a handful of key factors right lifts the odds of success from 30% to 80%. A consultant's real job is to put those factors in place.
Many business owners treat digital transformation as "buying new software". The system gets installed, staff try it for a couple of weeks, then drift back to Excel and Telegram groups. The money is spent and nothing changes. Digital transformation consulting exists to prevent exactly that: the consultant first learns how the business actually runs, then defines what has to change, and only then picks the technology. This article explains what a digital transformation consultant does, when hiring one makes sense, and how to tell a good one from a licence reseller.
What is digital transformation consulting?
Digital transformation consulting is independent expert help for rebuilding a company's processes, data and management around digital systems.
It is different from ordinary IT services. An IT contractor installs the software you ask for. A consultant starts with "why?": which process is leaking money, where is data typed in twice, which numbers does the owner not see in time. We cover the wider logic of digitalisation in our article on what digitalisation is and why it is vital for business.
What does a digital transformation consultant do?
A well-run project usually goes through five stages, and the consultant has a clear job at each one.
- Diagnostics. Map the current state: how sales, purchasing, warehouse, production and accounting work, where documents flow, where losses happen. The output is a list of problems with a rough cost for each.
- Process design. Draw "as-is" and "to-be" maps. Decide who is responsible for what and who approves each decision.
- System selection. Choose an ERP, CRM or other solution against written requirements. Key questions: local tax and document rules (such as e-invoicing), an Uzbek-language interface, total cost of ownership, room to grow.
- Implementation. Configure the system, migrate data, connect integrations, test.
- Change management. Train staff, prepare key users, and close the back doors to the old tools.
The first and last stages are the ones most often skipped, and that is exactly why projects fail.
Why do so many digital transformations fail?
This is not a problem unique to Uzbekistan. International research paints the same picture:
- A BCG study of 825 senior executives found that 70% of digital transformations fall short of their objectives (BCG, 2020).
- In McKinsey's 2018 global survey, only 16% of respondents said their digital transformation both improved performance and sustained those gains over the long term (McKinsey, 2018).
The causes are rarely technical. They are managerial: unclear goals, leaders who are not involved, processes left untouched, people left unprepared. We list the most common mistakes in 7 mistakes in ERP implementation.
When do you need a digital transformation consultant?
Not every business needs outside help. But if two or three of these sound familiar, an independent review will pay for itself:
- You have more than 20 employees or several branches, and every department runs its processes differently.
- Reports are compiled by hand, arrive late, and numbers from different sources do not match.
- You already tried to roll out a system, and people stopped using it.
- 1C, Excel and several standalone programs are not connected to each other.
- The owner has to step into almost every decision personally.
Another reason to bring in a consultant is a fresh pair of eyes. Internal teams get used to "we have always done it this way" and stop seeing the problems. An outside specialist brings experience from many companies and can tell faster which process must change and which should be kept. When choosing a system, a consultant also works from the business's real requirements rather than vendor marketing.
If you are not sure where to begin, read business process automation: where to start.
How do you choose a good digital transformation consultant?
Judge a consultant on evidence, not on a polished slide deck:
- Real projects. Public case studies, number of clients, client retention. Talk to clients if you can.
- Certification. Are there officially certified specialists on the platform you are choosing?
- Local knowledge. Tax rules, e-invoicing, digital product marking and local accounting requirements.
- Starts with diagnostics. Be careful with anyone who quotes a price and sells licences at the first meeting.
- Training and support. Who will help after go-live?
We go through partner selection criteria for Odoo in how to choose an Odoo partner in Uzbekistan.
What changes after automation: in numbers
These figures show how a structured approach (clear goals, leadership involvement and change management) changes the outcome:
- Odds of success: 30% on average, 80% when BCG's six factors are in place (an integrated strategy with clear goals, leadership commitment, high-calibre talent, agile governance, progress monitoring, and a business-led technology platform) (BCG, 2020).
- Change management quality: 13% of projects with poor change management met or exceeded objectives, versus 88% with excellent change management (Prosci).
- A clear change story (explaining why the company is changing) makes success more than 3 times as likely (McKinsey, 2018).
- Rewriting standard operating procedures around the new technology and giving people digital tools that make information accessible more than doubles the likelihood of success (McKinsey, 2018).
- Organisations with fewer than 100 employees are 2.7 times as likely to report success as those with more than 50,000 (McKinsey, 2018), so small and mid-sized businesses start with better odds.
The takeaway is simple: technology alone does not deliver results. Processes, people and management do, and the consultant ties them into one system.
How does Deep Vision work as a consultant?
The team of Deep Vision founder Amon Olimov runs digital transformation projects on Odoo ERP. We are an official Odoo Gold Partner. According to our partner page on Odoo, the team has 7 Odoo-certified experts, 24 client references (mostly wholesale, retail and manufacturing, plus construction, logistics and entertainment), our largest client has more than 100 users, and customer retention is 89% (Odoo).
How we work:
- We start with diagnostics and a process map, and configure software afterwards.
- A typical rollout takes 2–6 months; standard Sales and Inventory often go live in 6–8 weeks.
- We have ready-made modules for local requirements: Asl Belgisi digital marking and Didox e-invoices.
- Our team translated Odoo into Uzbek, so staff work in the system in their own language.
- We have run 4 hackathons, 3 seminars and an online course on Odoo, and Odoo is taught with Deep Vision at 3 universities to more than 300 students a year, experience that carries over into training client teams.
One of our public cases is Timsoll, an auto parts company from Kokand: 18 branches, more than 7,000 SKUs, and the time to set up a new product cut from 6–8 months to 2–3 days. Another client with more than 100 employees reduced licence costs from $30,000 to $11,000 a year. More on why Deep Vision as your Odoo partner.
To discuss your project, fill in a short brief or see our Odoo implementation service.
Frequently asked questions
How is a digital transformation consultant different from a software vendor?
A vendor sells a ready-made product. A consultant studies the problem first, redesigns the process, and only then selects and implements a suitable system.
How long does consulting take?
Diagnostics usually takes a few weeks. A full Odoo project in our experience takes 2–6 months, while standard Sales and Inventory often go live in 6–8 weeks.
Does a small business need a consultant?
Not always. But McKinsey's data shows smaller organisations have better odds of success, so a well-organised small project can pay off quickly.
What results should you demand from a consultant?
Measurable goals: time to produce reports, stock discrepancies, days to collect receivables. Write them down at the start of the project.
What happens after go-live?
A good consultant does not just hand over the system. They prepare key users, support you through the first months and extend the system as new needs appear.
Sources
- BCG — Flipping the Odds of Digital Transformation Success, 2020
- McKinsey — Unlocking success in digital transformations, 2018
- Prosci — The Correlation Between Change Management and Project Success
- Odoo — Deep Vision partner page
To start your digital transformation the right way, fill in the brief or call +998 77 093 00 07.