Digital, Ecommerce & AI Consultancy
Everyone is buying AI.
Almost nobody is ready for it.
We help digital and ecommerce businesses turn that pressure into results. The technology is not the problem. The thinking that should come before it is. That is the work we do.
of ecommerce AI agent projects never make it past the pilot stage
of AI initiatives at scale-ups and SMEs falter before scaling, driven by governance and data gaps
lost annually by mid-market companies to AI implementation complexity, before any return
question we ask: what problem are you actually solving?
Who we are
We are not here to sell you AI. We are here to make it work.
Groundwork is a co-operative of senior digital, ecommerce and AI practitioners. Everyone who works with a client has led inside a real business, at real scale, with real accountability. No juniors learning on your budget. No account managers between you and the work. We have no vendor relationships to protect and no tools to push. We also offer pro-bono digital and AI services to charities, and founder-friendly rates for most early-stage, founder-led startups, because the organisations doing the hardest work deserve the best thinking.
“The board asked for an AI strategy. Someone delivered a vendor shortlist.”
A pattern we see everywhere
Why AI investments fail
Three patterns we see every time.
We have watched this play out inside businesses of every size. Three failures account for most of the wasted budget. All three are preventable.
Wrong problem, right tool
Most AI initiatives start with a capability and work backwards to justify it. The result is a solution in search of a problem: expensive to build, impossible to measure, quietly abandoned within six months.
The Groundwork answer. We start with the customer problem and the business outcome. The tool choice comes last.
Ready to buy. Not ready to build.
Messy data. Undocumented processes. Teams that quietly disagree on what success looks like.
The Groundwork answer. Our AI readiness audit tells you exactly what stands in the way before a single pound is committed.
Pilot theatre
A proof of concept that dazzles in the demo but was never designed to scale. The pilot lives on in a slide deck. The problem lives on in the business.
The Groundwork answer. We design for production from day one.
What we do
Three tracks. One standard of work.
Every engagement is shaped to the problem in front of us. These are the places we do our best work.
AI strategy and readiness
For businesses under pressure to act on AI. We cut through the noise, assess your real readiness, define the problems worth solving.
Learn moreEcommerce and digital growth
For ecommerce and digital brands ready to grow. We turn AI, data and smart operations into measurable revenue, margin and retention.
Learn moreAI operations and automation
Configured, managed AI systems that remove operational drag. Built for your business, maintained by us.
Learn moreHow we work
The methodology behind every engagement.
Simple, honest, and built around your outcome rather than our billable hours.
Discovery call
A free thirty-minute conversation about what you are trying to build. No pitch.
Audit and proposal
A clear read on your readiness, a defined scope, and a fixed price.
Do the work
Senior practitioners only. The people you meet are the people who deliver.
Hand over properly
Capability that stays in your team. Built to last without us.
Track record
Experience earned at scale.
Individually, our practitioners have led product and digital inside some of the UK's most recognised organisations. That depth is what we bring to every engagement.
Sky
Consumer identity, 30M+ profiles
Lastminute.com
Founding team
Merlin Entertainments
Digital commerce, £200M+ portfolio
Barclays
Product leadership
Nando's
85% digital transactions
Nokia / O2
Mobile at scale
Sky
Consumer identity, 30M+ profiles
Lastminute.com
Founding team
Merlin Entertainments
Digital commerce, £200M+ portfolio
Barclays
Product leadership
Nando's
85% digital transactions
Nokia / O2
Mobile at scale
Ready to do the groundwork?
Book a free thirty-minute discovery call. No pitch, no obligation. Just an honest conversation about what you are trying to build.
Book a discovery callOr email us at [email protected]