Case Studies

AI Readiness, Governance & Pilot Activation

3 minute read

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A global packaging company knew AI could transform its business, but disconnected efforts across departments meant the organization had no standardized way to prioritize, govern, or scale its ideas. Catena Solutions partnered with the client to assess AI readiness across the enterprise, evaluate nearly 50 potential use cases, and build a governance model and 24-month roadmap to guide future investment. The engagement resulted in a fully scoped Phase 1 pilot and a repeatable framework for turning AI opportunities into structured, governed execution.

Project at a Glance:

• ~50 AI use cases identified and evaluated across the enterprise
• 24-month AI roadmap built to sequence future initiatives by value and readiness
• AI Governance & Operating Model established with intake workflows, prioritization criteria, and AI Council recommendations
• Phase 1 pilot defined and scoped for execution
• 7 business functions engaged across the organization
• Reusable AI Pilot Activation Playbook delivered to support future AI initiatives

The Challenge: How Could the Client Know Which AI Opportunities to Prioritize?

The client saw AI opportunities everywhere. Teams across Commercial, Marketing, IT, Procurement, HR/Talent, Innovation, and Operations were independently exploring AI enabled applications without a shared framework for evaluating, prioritizing, or governing that work.

Leadership faced several interconnected challenges:

• AI initiatives were emerging across the business without centralized coordination or governance
• Competing priorities and limited resources made it difficult to advance initiatives consistently
• Leadership lacked clarity on which opportunities could deliver the greatest business value
• Existing technology investments created potential for AI enablement, but no scalable approach existed to capitalize on them

The client needed an objective outside perspective to assess true AI readiness, align stakeholders around priorities, and translate scattered enthusiasm into a structured path forward.

The Solution: How Did Catena Solutions Build a Scalable AI Strategy & Governance Model?

Catena conducted an enterprise AI readiness assessment to establish priorities, governance, and a clear path to execution.

Key activities included:

• Conducting stakeholder discovery sessions and leadership interviews
• Assessing AI capability maturity, governance readiness, and resource capacity
• Reviewing the existing technology, analytics, and data landscape
• Identifying and prioritizing AI opportunities based on business value, feasibility, and complexity
• Developing an AI Opportunity Heat Map and 24-month roadmap
• Designing AI governance and operating model recommendations
• Preparing a pilot activation package with a business case, KPI framework, workflow design, technology recommendations, and execution plan
• Building an AI Pilot Activation Playbook to guide future initiatives

The consultant’s prior experience leading enterprise AI strategy, operating model design, and pilot activation enabled the team to quickly diagnose the client’s current state and establish a practical path forward.

Turning AI Use Cases into an Actionable Pilot

Catena established governance before expanding the opportunity backlog, defined business ownership before implementation, and required use cases to be fully scoped before moving into development.

These principles shaped one of the engagement’s most important decisions: narrowing the ambitious Commercial Knowledge Assistant concept into a focused Phase 1 pilot centered on Lead Time Lookup. More expansive capabilities were positioned as future roadmap opportunities pending further validation.

This approach allowed the client to move forward with a manageable, well-defined pilot rather than attempting to launch a broader AI solution before the necessary governance, ownership, and readiness requirements were in place.

Creating a Repeatable Model for AI Execution

Strong interest across the organization created momentum but also increased the risk of scattered execution. Catena organized dozens of competing ideas into a sequenced roadmap based on business value and implementation readiness.

The assessment also surfaced gaps in governance maturity, ownership clarity, data readiness, and security considerations that had not previously been visible to leadership. Catena developed the frameworks needed to address those gaps and create a more consistent approach to future AI initiatives.

The engagement shifted the conversation from “What interesting AI ideas do we have?” to “Which opportunities are ready, governed, and sequenced for execution?”

The Benefit: What Were the Deliverables of the AI Readiness Assessment?

• A formal AI Governance & Operating Model, including intake workflows, prioritization methodology, decision rights, and AI Council recommendations
• A prioritized AI opportunity portfolio drawn from roughly 50 assessed use cases
• A 24-month enterprise AI roadmap sequencing future investment
• A validated Phase 1 Lead Time Lookup pilot with a business case, KPI framework, workflow design, and technology recommendations
• A reusable AI Pilot Activation Playbook and supporting measurement and technology evaluation tools

The engagement gave leadership a practical path from AI exploration to execution. With clear governance, prioritization criteria, ownership, and a validated first pilot in place, the organization can now make more informed AI investment decisions and scale future initiatives through a repeatable framework.