The case for ClaudeWe ran the play on ourselves

Pioneer used Claude to collapse a sprawl of SaaS subscriptions into one internal platform, Homebase, built for how our business actually runs. Finance, HR, sales, delivery and operations now live in one place. Delivered in under three months with our CEO, CFO and Data & Analytics team. We are just getting started.

Pioneer team working together in a session room
$0K
Annual run rate removed
< 0 mo
Concept to company wide
0
Platform, six functions
0
Person core build team
The Challenge

Our own operations were spread across a stack of subscriptions that no single team owned.

Illustration of a small stack of software subscription tools

Financial reporting, timekeeping, HR, sales tracking and our standard operating procedures each sat in a different tool, each priced per seat, each renewing on its own clock.

None of it fit the way we work. Out of the box software forced workarounds, and the workarounds became administrative burden on our accounting and HR teams and on every consultant filing time.

Our Approach

We ran the play on ourselves.

01

Inventoried every system, its function at Pioneer, and its strengths, weaknesses and fit for our needs, then ranked the work by priority.

02

Used Claude with our Data & Analytics team to design and build Homebase in working increments, shipping to real users each week.

03

Data & Analytics ran the final mile, hardening citizen developed tools so they were safe, secure and properly stored.

04

Stood up a rapid response team during cutover with fast, candid feedback loops, cutting cycle and deployment time.

What We Built

One platform, six functions, no per seat sprawl.

Finance, HR, sales, delivery and operations now live in one place. Delivered in under three months with our CEO, CFO and Data & Analytics team. We are just getting started.

homebase.pioneer.com/people
HR Homebase overview page with career planning, surveys and onboarding sectionsHR Homebase overview page with career planning, surveys and onboarding sections — high resolution preview
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HR HOMEBASE

Onboarding, surveys, reviews and career paths.

homebase.pioneer.com/financials
Homebase FP&A Financials dashboard with revenue breakdowns by location, practice and client
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FP&A FINANCIALS

Revenue, budget and forecast in one view.

homebase.pioneer.com/roadmap
Homebase Revenue Roadmap showing pipeline coverage by market and an editable account table
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REVENUE ROADMAP

Pipeline, targets and account health by market.

homebase.pioneer.com/psa
Pioneer PSA home screen with utilization metrics, timesheet approvals and team to-do list
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PSA AND TIME

Timekeeping, approvals, utilization and expenses.

Outcomes

Nearly $200K in annual expense removed so far, with more retirements queued.

Materially less administrative burden on our accounting, HR and delivery teams.

One source of truth for reporting, timekeeping, sales collateral, interview guides and SOPs.

Software tuned to our business instead of workarounds built around someone else's.

Lessons Learned

Start with the work, not the tool.

The savings came from inventorying and mapping our process first, before deciding what to build.

Executive sponsorship moves the timeline.

The CEO and CFO in the build room is why this took weeks instead of quarters.

Ship small, retire fast.

Every increment had to be in real use before the old subscription was cancelled.

Ready to Start

Ask us how the same approach applies to your operating stack.

We can walk clients through Homebase live.

Cole Rein, Pioneer Management Consulting
Cole Rein
AJ Perron, Pioneer Management Consulting
AJ Perron
Paul Meloche, Pioneer Management Consulting
Paul Meloche
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