AEI's Consulting Approach

We've worked with a number of consulting firms and QAD implementation partners over the years. In one case we were the sole technical arm of one QAD implementation partner for over 5 years!

Unlike many other professional services firms, our approach to consulting is simple. We add demonstrable value at a fair price. We do this by avoiding the business practices that leave clients fealing taken advantage of, or even abused.

Here are some of the things we do to ensure a solid, long term relationship:

• We Don't Hyper-Bill! We have always worked at a fair price. What's fair? How about $125/hr for short term work and under $110/hr for longer engagements. We have seen ourselves billed out as sub-contractors at over $250/hr! That's good margin if you are the prime contractor but it really hurts if you are the customer. We bill fairly.

• We Don't Inflate Our Bills With Management Fees. We have seen many instances where a one or two day job earns the client a 5+ day bill! Why? Because the prime contractor has added project management fees, administrative fees, minimum charges, etc. that we believe simply pad the bill. With AEI, we tell you in advance what our fee structure will be. And, you only get billed for work performed. We guarantee that there will be no suprises.

• With AEI, a 3-Day Job is a 3-Day Job!. We don't inflate our project estimates to match or exceed your budget. We give honest, fair estimates based on our experience. If there is some risk, we tell you. If the project is sufficiently well defined that we can flat-rate the work, we'll do that too.

• We Resell Work at Resale Prices. We have seen many clients charged full custom rates for off the shelf software. Again this is a good deal for the prime contractor, but it is really hard on a budget! With AEI, if we have an off the shelf solution (e.g.: an existing custom report), we sell it as such - not as a new, custom work. The result; you pay much less.

• We Use Only Experienced, Competent, Consultants. Have you every paid premium rates for a beginner? You won't with us because our staff have years of experience (average 10 years IT experience) working with the products we support.

• Same Face - Different Day. Ever used a consulting firm only to get a new person every time you call? That costs you money and it results in an inferior level of service. With AEI, our staff will work with you from one project to the next. No need to ramp up a new person each time so the project is completed faster, with better results at a lower overall cost.

• We Don't Lock You In. Tired of all or nothing consulting firms that use leverage in one area to get you to buy over-priced or poor quality services in another? AEI is happy to work with your other providers and partners to help maximize your results. You can use our quote to keep your current vendor competitive. Or, give us a small job and see how we perform.

• When We Deliver - We Really Deliver. When we deliver a project, we include all source code, documentation and any other items needed for you to become self-sufficient. We'll even train your staff to take over the project. We deliver code that is commented, easy to understand and (if required) includes supporting documentation. We are not consulting parasites (hanging on for every last drop of blood). We like to finish the job so we can get on with your next job.

• We Work Off Site. In most cases, we can do the work off-site, either on local systems or via VPN or dial-up connectivity to your development system. Working off site saves time and money. If we need to visit - we will, but you may not see us as much as you'd think.

The claims we make are radical, but we back them up. For proof, check out our Free QAD Reports and our Free Complete Installation Guide. I could give you hyperlinks but I'd prefer you browse our site and find them for yourself!

Our ultimate objective in every conslutation is simply to make you look good. We will work with your staff and your partners. We work quickly. We deliver superior results and we bill fairly. Why? Because we want to be the partner of choice for your next project. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _