ERP discovery is one of the most time-consuming and risk-heavy phases of any implementation. Whether you’re deploying SAP, NetSuite, Dynamics, or another enterprise platform, discovery traditionally takes 80–100 hours of consultant time—even for mid-sized projects.
And while most consulting firms accept this as normal, very few stop to examine why it takes that long, which activities are value-creating, and which are simply artifacts of a manual, workshop-heavy legacy process.
This guide breaks down:
For the broader methodology and context around ERP/CRM discovery, see our companion pillar post here:
👉 Automated Discovery & Requirements for ERP/CRM Projects
https://www.clearwork.io/blog-posts/automated-discovery-requirements-for-erp-crm-projects-a-modern-guide-for-consulting-firms
Let’s start by unpacking the legacy model—and why it persists.
ERP systems touch everything:
Finance. Supply chain. Procurement. Inventory. Sales. Customer service. Reporting.
Because these systems underpin entire operational backbones, discovery isn’t just “understanding what the system should do”—it’s understanding:
This complexity is why consultants routinely log 80–100 hours for discovery, even before a single configuration item is created.
But most firms—even strong delivery organizations—don’t break down how that time gets spent.
Below is the true picture.
Consultants spend the first chunk of discovery tracking, reading, and interpreting:
Most of this is manual pattern recognition—extracting insights by hand.
This includes:
Workshops remain the backbone of traditional discovery—but they also create the largest bottleneck due to scheduling and SME availability.
Consultants translate whiteboard notes and narratives into polished:
This is high-effort, low leverage work.
Turning dozens of pages of notes into:
This is where format and documentation consume more time than analysis.
Consultants map requirements against system capabilities, asking:
IMPORTANT:
Fit–gap often requires rewatching workshops, rereading requirements, and revalidating assumptions—creating a multiplier effect on time.
Finally, consultants:
Only after this does the design/build phase begin.
These are the reasons discovery is slow, expensive, and often incomplete:
Teams rarely capture the full picture because SMEs can’t attend every session.
Workshops become repetitive because different teams ask similar questions.
ERP discovery often becomes “how it’s supposed to work” rather than “how it actually works.”
Changes are hard to track → rework appears later in build or test cycles.
This is the biggest value leak.
This is where AI changes everything.
AI doesn’t replace consultants.
It replaces the manual administrative overhead that slows them down.
Let’s break down the biggest time savings.
Old way: 10–15 hours
AI way: <1 hour
AI can extract:
Consultants start 50% further ahead.
Old way: 20–30 hours of scheduling + facilitation
AI way: 5–10 hours total
AI-guided interviews allow SMEs to answer structured questions on their own time.
Consultants use workshops for alignment—not discovery.
Old way: 15–20 hours
AI way: 2–5 hours
Give an AI engine:
It produces BPMN-style diagrams that consultants refine.
Old way: 20–25 hours
AI way: 3–6 hours
AI converts:
Into structured requirements instantly.
Consultants review → adjust → finalize.
Old way: 10–15 hours
AI way: 2–4 hours
AI cross-references requirements against known ERP capabilities, flagging:
Consultants do the decision-making; AI does the matching.
This section builds credibility.
AI does not replace:
AI accelerates analysis. Consultants elevate it.
This is where consulting firms should move.
Summaries → insights → draft process steps.
Capture 70–80% of discovery without scheduling.
Workshops become validation—not verbal documentation.
Consultants refine instead of draft.
Bring clarity and speed to design.
This model aligns directly with the framework in the pillar post.
https://www.clearwork.io/blog-posts/automated-discovery-requirements-for-erp-crm-projects-a-modern-guide-for-consulting-firms
ClearWork Automated Discovery applies this hybrid, AI-driven methodology by:
For teams looking to modernize discovery while keeping consulting expertise front-and-center, ClearWork provides the operating system for this new era.
👉 Explore ClearWork Automated Discovery:
https://www.clearwork.io/clearwork-automated-discovery
Because it requires gathering cross-functional inputs, mapping complex processes, documenting requirements, and performing detailed fit–gap analysis—most of which is done manually.
Workshops and SME availability; coordinating calendars can extend discovery by weeks even when the project itself is ready to start.
Document review, summarization, first-draft requirements, process mapping, stakeholder Q&A, and initial fit–gap analysis can all be accelerated significantly.
No—AI accelerates documentation, while consultants still guide decision-making, validation, alignment, and quality control.
ClearWork automates the repetitive steps in discovery, generates structured requirements, and enables a hybrid asynchronous model—reducing discovery from 80–100 hours to 20–40 while improving completeness and speed.
ERP discovery is traditionally one of the slowest, most resource-heavy phases of an implementation, yet much of the work is repeatable and highly automatable. By adopting a hybrid model—async stakeholder inputs, AI-driven analysis, and focused workshops—teams can cut discovery time by more than half while improving accuracy and stakeholder coverage. If you’re ready to modernize ERP discovery and start projects faster, explore ClearWork Automated Discovery.
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