Types of Value

Savings, revenue, quality, speed, risk

AI automation can create value through cost savings (less labour or rework), revenue (faster responses that win deals, higher conversion), quality (fewer errors, more consistent outputs), speed (shorter cycle times, early-payment discounts captured) and risk reduction (fewer compliance misses). Quantify what you can in money with stated assumptions, list the rest qualitatively, and avoid double counting (fewer errors and less rework time may be the same benefit).

Value types for the invoice example

Quantify with assumptions; list the rest.

value type        example                                       quantified?
cost              staff minutes per invoice                      yes (time x rate x realisation)
quality           fewer keying errors -> less rework/penalties   yes (errors x cost per error)
speed             3-day -> 1-day cycle, early-payment discounts  partly (discount rate x share)
risk              fewer duplicate payments                       estimate from history
experience        fewer supplier chase emails                    qualitative

Watch for double counting

If fewer errors means less rework time, count it either as error cost or as time, not both.

Quick check: Which is an example of double counting?

• Stating assumptions
• Counting labour savings once
• Listing qualitative benefits separately
• Counting fewer errors and the rework time they would have caused as separate savings