AI Consultancy · Waikato & Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
AI That Saves Waikato & Bay of Plenty Businesses Time & Money.
From cleaning rounds to accounting practices, workshops to farms, we find the quick wins that save real hours every week, without the jargon or the enterprise price tag.
"Built from the floor up, not the boardroom down."
Government Co-Funding
The MBIE AI Advisory Pilot co-funds up to 50% of eligible AI advisory and strategy costs, capped at $15,000 per business. Expanded to 150 NZ businesses and running until January 2027.
Available to NZ SMEs via the Regional Business Partner Network. Delivered by MBIE-registered advisors. Eligibility criteria apply.
How It Works
Start here. Then choose your path.
Everyone starts with the free audit — it tells us both what you're working with. After that, the right next step depends on how complex your needs are.
Free AI Audit
Answer 12 questions about how your business operates. Get an instant, personalised AI readiness report — no sales call, no obligation. Most businesses complete it in under 10 minutes.
- Identifies your top AI opportunities
- Scores your readiness across 4 areas
- Gives you a plain-English starting point
- Free — always
Your report covers
Operations & Workflow
Where manual processes are costing you hours every week
Data & Systems
What you already have that AI can connect to
Team Readiness
How prepared your people are for new tools
Quick Win Opportunities
The 2–3 things you could automate this month
After your free audit — choose your path
Your audit results and the complexity of your needs determine which route makes sense.
Quick Wins
From $997 · 2–4 weeks
Your audit has flagged a clear opportunity and you know what you want to fix. No full discovery needed — we scope the specific problem on a call, then build the solution.
- Focused on 1–2 specific automations
- Scoped from your free audit results
- Results in 2–4 weeks
- Best for: clear pain points with known solutions
Discovery & Audit
$3,500 · 2–3 weeks · then scoped implementation
Multiple systems, complex workflows, or bigger ambitions? We come to your business, map workflows in person, and interview your team. Leads to AI Automation Setup ($2,500–$4,500) or the Full FORGE Package ($18,000+).
- On-site workflow mapping sessions
- Team interviews & process review
- Full opportunity identification report
- 60-min findings review call
- Prioritised implementation roadmap
- MBIE co-funding eligible
Gerren Goddard
Founder, Forge & Field · Matamata, Waikato
Why Forge & Field
Built from the floor up, not the boardroom down.
Most AI consultants have never run a shop floor or worked a warehouse shift. I've done both: ten years in retail, from supermarket floors to running my own furniture and bedding department as a Harvey Norman proprietor, then years as a Senior Warehouse Operator. I know what it's like to be the owner doing the admin after close, so I look for fixes that don't disrupt what's already working.
Forge & Field is a Waikato & Bay of Plenty AI consultancy focused on practical, measurable results for SMEs, from service businesses and small practices to trades, manufacturing, warehousing and agriculture. No fluff. No lock-in. Just automation that saves you time from week one.
Retail, ownership & operations
10 years in retail, including running my own department as a proprietor. Three-year management development programme in customer service and team leadership. Then warehouse operations with SAP and process control systems.
IT + AI skills
Currently completing an NZ Diploma in IT Technical Support. I bridge the gap between operations teams and technology.
Waikato & Bay of Plenty local
Based in Matamata, serving businesses across Waikato and Bay of Plenty. No flying-in consultants who've never seen a warehouse at 5am.
Your team first
Every solution I build comes with training, documentation, and real handover — not just a setup and an invoice.
The FORGE Process
Built in the field. Sharpened at the forge.
Every great NZ business starts in the field — in a van, on a job site, behind a counter, out on the land. That's where the real work happens, and it's where we start too.
Find
We listen first. Discovery sessions and real workflow mapping reveal how your business actually operates — the jobs, the gaps, the hours lost.
Optimise
We identify where AI genuinely fits and where process fixes come first. We prioritise with a simple now/next/later approach.
Roadmap
A clear, one-page strategy your team can understand in ten minutes. Practical timelines, realistic budgets, and change management built in.
Grow
We implement, integrate, and iterate. AI solutions that fit the way your team works — not the other way around. Tested, measured, and refined.
Empower
We build your team's capability, not your dependence on us. Hands-on training, internal champion coaching, and the confidence to keep going.
Use Case Blueprints
How We Work
Whether it's a building site, a warehouse or a weekly cleaning round, you don't build anything without a plan. These Blueprints aren't corporate hype or abstract theories. They're practical maps showing exactly how we strip manual friction out of everyday local businesses, and where the admin hours actually go.
Blueprint 01
H&S Site Compliance Documentation
Trades — Electrical, Plumbing, Civil, Construction
Paper-based risk documentation follows every job on a clipboard — and when something goes wrong on site, disorganised records become a serious liability.
This blueprint replaces end-of-day paperwork scrambles with a digital-first workflow that captures safety documentation at the point of work. Every record is timestamped, filed by job, and searchable — so a WorkSafe visit or insurance claim doesn't turn into a document hunt.
Old Manual Way
Print risk doc template in office — bring to site on clipboard
Workers sign paper sheet on-site (or don't — gets chased later)
Toolbox talk recorded on paper, filed in folder back at office
Incident occurs — scramble to reconstruct timeline from scattered sheets
Forge & Field Blueprint
Enter job details and site hazards on tablet on-site
Site-specific risk document template generated from job inputs
Supervisor reviews and finalises — crew sign digitally on-site
Timestamped and filed by job automatically
Incident occurs — full compliance trail in one click, ready to share
WorkSafe-ready at all times. Risk docs drafted in minutes, not hours. No more end-of-week paperwork catch-up.
Blueprint 02
Container Tracking & MPI Compliance
Logistics, Warehousing, Transitional Facilities
Manual data entry and clipboard hand-offs slow dispatch times and introduce the risk of expensive biosecurity compliance errors.
This blueprint replaces manual paperwork with a floor-to-office automation. Data captured at the container door moves seamlessly into your WMS. MPI compliance documentation is pre-drafted for the accredited person to review and submit — eliminating double-handling without bypassing the required sign-off step.
Old Manual Way
Load 200L dairy drums into container
Hand-write MPI lock codes and container IDs on paper clipboard
Paper sits on desk awaiting office staff
Admin re-keys digits into WMS and MPI portal
Forge & Field Blueprint
Load drums — snap photo of lock and container ID via rugged tablet
Alphanumeric codes read and extracted from image
Data pushed instantly to office system
WMS updated; MPI compliance docs auto-drafted for AP review and submission
Zero manual re-entry. MPI docs ready in seconds, not hours.
Accredited person reviews and submits via the MPI Container Checks portal under their own login. API integration pathway ready as MPI opens direct access.
Blueprint 03
Quote-to-Invoice for Recurring Rounds
Service Businesses — Cleaning, Lawn Care, Pool Maintenance
The work gets done during the day. The quoting, scheduling and invoicing gets done at night, pieced together from phone notes, texts and whatever you remember from the day.
This blueprint connects the enquiry, the quote, the job and the invoice so nothing gets typed twice. The quote is drafted from your own price list and you approve every one before it goes out. Once a job is marked done, the invoice goes straight to your accounting software.
Old Manual Way
Enquiry arrives by text or Facebook — quote typed up that night
Jobs and regular rounds tracked in a notebook or phone calendar
Job details jotted in a notes app or notebook on the go
Invoices written up later from those notes, plus memory to fill the gaps
Forge & Field Blueprint
Customer fills in a short enquiry form, with photos if needed
Quote drafted from your own price list — you check and send
Accepted job added to your schedule or regular round
Job marked done on your phone — invoice sent through your accounting software
Friendly overdue reminders and a review request sent automatically
Invoices go out the day the job is done. Your evenings stop being admin time.
Works alongside the accounting software you already use, such as Xero or MYOB. You stay in control of pricing: nothing is sent without your approval.
Spot a Bottleneck in Your Own Operation?
Every round, practice, site and warehouse runs differently, but the underlying friction is usually the same: information stuck on paper, in inboxes, or trapped in separate systems. Start with our Free 10-Minute AI Readiness Audit. 12 questions. A clear picture of your low-hanging fruit.
No corporate fluff. Just a clear picture of your low-hanging fruit.
Transparent Pricing
No surprises. No lock-in.
The audit is free. It tells us both exactly what you need before any money changes hands.
Start Here
Free AI Audit
- 12-question business assessment
- Instant AI readiness report
- Top 3 opportunity areas identified
- Industry-specific insights
- No sales call required
Full Programme
Discovery & Audit
- On-site workflow mapping sessions
- Team interviews & process review
- Opportunity identification report
- 60-min findings review call
- Prioritised implementation roadmap
MBIE AI Advisory Pilot: up to 50% back (capped at $15K). Eligibility criteria apply. Learn more ↗
Complete Transformation
Full FORGE Package
- Discovery & Audit included
- Full AI implementation
- Custom workflow automation
- Team training programme
- 3 months post-launch advisory
- Capability handover
MBIE AI Advisory Pilot: up to 50% back (capped at $15K). Eligibility criteria apply. Learn more ↗
Implementation paths — scoped from your free audit
Both paths start with the free audit. Scope and pricing confirmed on a call.
Ongoing Support Retainer from $497/mo available after any implementation.
Book a Call
Free 30-min Discovery Call.
Tell me about your business and your biggest time-wasters. I'll tell you honestly whether AI can help, what it would involve, and what a realistic result looks like. No sales pitch. No obligation.
- Walk through your top 3 workflow pain points
- Get an honest AI suitability assessment — on the spot
- Leave with at least one practical idea you can act on immediately
What's on offer
Strategy Call
Discuss how AI can help your business
AI Demo Session
See AI tools in action for your industry
Free · No obligation · NZ time · Privacy Policy