Stern Technology Advisory
Select advisory, alongside executive work.
Permanent executive leadership is my primary path. Alongside it I take on a small number of advisory engagements, each scoped to a specific decision. There is no team behind the practice, no software resale, and no implementation partner relationship shaping the advice.
Transformation and ERP Advisory
Transformation and ERP advisory for mid-market retailers and manufacturers: readiness, vendor-independent selection, sequencing, and the operating-model decisions the platform will force.
Key deliverables
- Readiness assessment covering data, integration, operating model, and vendor relationships
- Independent vendor and systems integrator evaluation
- Sequenced modernization plan tied to business outcomes rather than platform milestones
- Implementation governance with vendor accountability built in
- Stabilization plan through the first year after go-live
Retail Systems and Store Technology
Retail systems and store technology for multi-site retailers: point of sale, payments, associate tools, shelf-edge pricing, integration architecture, and rollout governance.
Key deliverables
- Current-state review of point of sale, payments, store network, devices, and workflows
- Target architecture and source-of-truth model for product, pricing, inventory, and order data
- Vendor evaluation scenarios built from real store conditions, not scripted demos
- Pilot and rollout governance covering readiness, training, and stabilization
- Executive business case connecting store labor, payment economics, and integration risk
Program Stabilization and Executive Oversight
Independent executive oversight for transformation programs where vendor status reporting is no longer enough, including AI governance where agents are moving into operations.
Key deliverables
- Independent read on program health, scope, and vendor accountability
- Governance model, executive reporting, and decision cadence
- Re-sequenced plan that respects operational constraints
- Adoption readiness and change impact assessment
- AI governance controls where agentic workflows touch operational systems
Fit
Call Morris when
- A transformation is stalled or losing executive confidence.
- An ERP or platform decision is becoming expensive and political.
- Vendors are driving the roadmap.
- A post-acquisition integration needs accountable technology leadership.
- A store technology pilot needs to become a reliable chain-wide program.
- Leadership needs an independent assessment before committing capital.
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