Beyond Time and Materials: Consulting's Evolution around process management in the AI Era
Show notes
In this dual-guest episode in German from the All About Process Management Conference in Stuttgart, Caspar and Russell welcome Sven Schnaegelberger (founder of BPM-U and AI startup leader) and Markus Wolf (co-founder of Bibi Experts). The conversation centers on how BPM consulting must transform beyond time-and-materials billing as AI reshapes the industry. Sven notes that while toolmakers have advanced substantially, they still face technical challenges embedding AI meaningfully. Crucially, process mining, modeling, and workflow disciplines are converging around "context"—fundamentally reshaping how BPM professionals deliver value. The hosts trace consulting's twenty-year evolution, revealing that pressure to shift to value-based models has long existed but consistently failed because customers lacked internal capacity for the prerequisite organizational changes. Consultants demanded full mandate; customers couldn't deliver. This impasse perpetuated traditional billing despite universal recognition of its inadequacy. Three forces now align to make value-based models viable. First, consultants must invest time in AI capability building and junior training—not just billable customer hours. Second, customers increasingly recognize AI requires value conversations ("What is this worth to our business?") rather than simple ROI calculations. Third, pioneering firms like Tanaka deliberately reject traditional licensing tiers, instead having genuine value dialogues with each customer about worth and impact. This shift toward ambiguity and collaboration, while initially disorienting to procurement departments, represents market maturation. The hosts conclude that industry-wide dialogue through conferences is essential for practitioners to share experiences and collectively imagine sustainable consulting models for the AI era, perhaps through consultant-only barcamps focused on business model evolution. 1. Time-and-materials to value-based consulting becomes viable when consultants invest in AI capability building, not just billable hours to customers. 2. Process mining, modeling, and workflow disciplines converge around context, fundamentally reshaping how BPM professionals create value. 3. Customers and vendors must engage in genuine value dialogues about technology worth rather than relying on fixed pricing or guaranteed ROI. 4. Consulting business models are evolving across billing structures, staffing approaches, and how professionals measure and account for their contributions. 5. Industry-wide dialogue through conferences is essential for consultants to share experiences and collectively design sustainable models for the AI era. If you have suggestions or questions, please reach out to us via questions@bpm360podcast.com If you enjoy our content, please like, rate, subscribe… we do appreciate that…