Exception: AI adoption to address operational inefficiencies
Website:
Company Name:
Industry:
AI Consultancy
Location:
Edinburgh, Scotland
Overview:
Exception UK is a specialist digital consultancy delivering to clients in the public and private sectors.
The Challenge:
The client faced significant operational inefficiencies across several departments, including legal document review, procurement, meeting productivity, and business analysis. The company needed a solution that could streamline these tasks, reduce time spent, and enhance overall efficiency.
One key challenge was ensuring smooth integration of AI tools into existing workflows. Exception addressed this by working directly with client teams to adapt the tools to their needs. Additionally, ethical considerations were prioritised from the outset with the first part of the project setting out principles and boundaries. Ethical concerns and challenges were handled across the C-suite and down through the organisation, with varying impacts depending on function and seniority level.
The Solution:
AI was chosen for its ability to automate repetitive tasks, reduce human error, and handle large data volumes quickly. The company identified that AI could improve the efficiency of key business functions, leading to reduced operational costs and more time for higher-value work.
Exception worked closely with the client to identify the best AI solutions. After assessing various AI technologies, including natural language processing (NLP) for document analysis, machine learning for data processing, and workflow automation tools, Exception’s team ensured that the chosen solution would seamlessly integrate into their existing operations.
The Outcomes:
The success of the project was measured by the time saved across key tasks, with significant improvements in efficiency. Additionally, the AI-driven project delivered a potential of 5% OPEX saving for each division that adopted the technology, which resulted in considerable cost reductions at scale.
AI implementation has identified substantial time across various tasks, with time reductions ranging from 50% to 89%. Specifically:
Interview transcription time reduced from 1.5 hours to 10 minutes (89% time saving)
Excel-based data analysis tasks were reduced by up to 75%
Legal and project document reviews were streamlined with time savings of 50%–75%
Presentation creation time was cut by 75%, reducing 4-hour tasks to just 1 hour
Meeting productivity saw a 62.5% time saving for generating minutes and action lists
Procurement processes were sped up by reducing data extraction tasks from 2 hours to 30 minutes
High-level IT business analysis time was reduced by 75%
Legal document insights gained a 50%–75% time saving, improving responsiveness and accuracy
These improvements, coupled together, brought out the 5% potential OPEX saving, have transformed the operational capabilities of the client, enabling them to do more without increasing their overheads.
The adoption of AI has streamlined repetitive tasks, freeing up staff to focus on higher-value work. The enhanced efficiency has improved the organisation's ability to manage public finances better and deliver more value.
