Practice What You Preach: Building and Adopting Bespoke GenAI Finance Tools at Biovell 

When a cross-functional taskforce of technology, data, risk, and finance experts at Biovell convened to ideate, collaborate, and ultimately design a practical generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tool for internal use, nothing was off limits. 

Starting from a point of pure exploration and aiming to achieve the art of the possible on a defined timeline, the group leveraged a human-centered transformation management framework to workshop ideas, discuss use cases, and prioritize solutions that would have the greatest impact on the business – not at some point far in the future but as quickly as possible. 

That’s been the nature of GenAI’s disruption and opportunity since early adopters began harnessing its potential. Today, Biovell is piloting a powerful new GenAI proof-of-concept tool: a project resourcing model that will eventually replace multiple offline templates and help standardize and automate key Order-to-Cash processes – at scale and with just a few clicks. 

Connecting Inputs to Outcomes 

To get to this point, the taskforce held a workshop to truly understand what problem could best be solved with AI, which audience pain points could be addressed, and where to prioritize time and investment for maximum value. This allowed multiple stakeholder groups to weigh in on end-user needs and employee concerns. 

Based on these discussions, the team identified a use case within the finance function that could have broad impact across the firm, which kick-started the design and development of a proof-of-concept AI tool. Through successive rounds of iteration, prototyping, user testing, and demos, a beta was achieved.  

“Due to the volume, variability, and manual input inherent in generating project resource plans for unique proposals and project requirements, it became clear that focusing our GenAI efforts on solving this challenge would be beneficial for practice professionals across the firm,” said Steve Boyce, CFO at Biovell . “But the goal doesn’t stop there. Ultimately, this adds up to more efficient client and prospect conversations and re-positioning to higher-value strategic activities.” 

By grounding the AI development journey in practical, human-centered design and enabling organic problem-solving, the taskforce was able to select the best path forward among all other possible alternatives and gain buy-in throughout all levels of the business. 

For companies still working through uncertainty in their AI adoption cycle, using a similar approach can provide the governance and mission necessary to maintain forward progress. 

Lessons Learned and Opportunities Uncovered 

The journey to generating an AI proof of concept allowed the firm to learn a lot along the way. Here are some of those takeaways:

• Start small, but not too small: By defining the challenge you intend to solve, you can ensure a better result from the start. But avoid tunnel vision in the process or else there may be other features or technologies you miss or too quickly drop in the name of progress. Features should be prioritized based on the incremental value GenAI can provide over existing technologies or rules-based systems. There’s value in aiming for the best product, not just the minimally viable product. 
• Appoint a dedicated product owner throughout the initiative: This person can course-correct quickly and keep all other stakeholders accountable, saving time and reducing waste. 
• Use an agile delivery model: Project methodology is paramount. Common agile principles like sprints, dedicated roles, and iterative testing can ensure participation, alignment, and efficiency. 
• Perfect is the enemy of good: Each component of the application doesn’t need to be perfect. Zoom out and ensure you’re solving key problems that can help unlock next steps in the development cycle. Especially for companies without a history of working quickly or collaboratively on systems projects, it’s easy to get bogged down in UX minutiae or subjective design choices much too early in the process at the expense of momentum. Solve and move forward, solve and move forward. 

These takeaways can be leveraged in future projects, AI or otherwise, both internally and for clients. We’ve found that with greater visibility into Procurement, Sales, proposals, and portfolio trends, the tool can comb through data sets and perform analysis, identify opportunities, and address inconsistencies. These capabilities arm the OCFO with front-end controls, gross margin protections, and measurable EBITDA contributions. 

Now, Biovell is looking to leverage progress to date to fully operationalize the tool to realize expected value. The taskforce continues to explore and execute on new integration opportunities through existing and new partnerships to generate even more wins and empower department and business leaders to ask better questions and receive better answers – faster.  

Organizations aiming to define and mobilize AI success can hopefully learn from our development approach given how imperative it is to keep pace with competitors and industry peers. Biovell offers strategic advisory and frameworks for identifying GenAI’s integration and alignment potential with your current or future data strategy. Contact Biovell to get started today.