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Chicago, IL  ·  Open to full-time, fractional & scoped consulting work

Will Seide

I Work at the Intersection of Sales, Technology & Operations

Enterprise Sales | Solution Consulting | AI & Automation | Operations & Process Improvement

I can talk growth with a CEO, process with a COO, architecture with a CTO, or workflow pain with the person doing the work every day, then translate those conversations into practical solutions that can actually be sold, built, implemented, and adopted.

15+ years across enterprise technology sales, ERP/WMS transformation, analytics, AI, automation, process improvement, and implementation.

Explore My Work View Career Resume LinkedIn
15+
Years in enterprise technology
50–60
ERP projects supported at Produce Pro / Aptean
25+
Consulting engagements completed
Will Seide
Pivotal Pathways Consulting
Founder & Managing Partner
IBM
Early Watson-era alum
For Employers

Hiring for a solutions, operations, or transformation role?

Fifteen-plus years across IBM, MetaScale, Aptean, and an independent consulting practice: enterprise discovery, ERP and process modernization for food and beverage businesses, business-case development, implementation planning, client leadership, and commercial growth. Relevant to solutions consulting, business operations, process improvement, implementation, presales, and consultative client-facing roles.

View Professional Experience
For Organizations With a Problem to Solve

Have a workflow, systems, or adoption problem?

I assess how work actually flows through your team, define requirements, choose a practical approach, and implement operational and automation improvements that people actually adopt. Recent work includes intake-and-workflow consolidation for an insurance agency, field-to-office modernization for a contractor, and program operations for a chamber of commerce.

Explore Consulting Services
Food & Beverage / Perishables Insurance Construction & Field Services Nonprofit & Associations Community & Healthcare Enterprise Software

Where I Create Value

Six capability areas, one operating principle

Understand how the business operates. Identify what is getting in the way. Design the right solution. Build alignment around it. Get it implemented.

Enterprise Sales & Account Growth

  • Enterprise and consultative selling; SaaS + professional-services sales
  • Strategic account management and account planning
  • Pipeline development and forecasting
  • Executive discovery and business-case development
  • Competitive positioning and solution demonstrations
  • New-logo acquisition and account growth

Evidence: Enterprise sales record and deal examples: IBM, MetaScale, and 8.5 years selling Produce Pro ERP/WMS.

Solution Consulting & Business Transformation

  • Executive and departmental discovery; requirements gathering
  • Current-state / future-state process mapping
  • Workflow and dependency analysis; solution design
  • Business cases, roadmaps, and technology evaluation
  • Implementation planning, change management, and adoption
  • Cross-functional stakeholder alignment

Evidence: From business problem to implemented solution: ERP/WMS transformations and consulting engagements.

AI, Automation & Technical Delivery

  • AI strategy, use-case development, and agentic workflows
  • Workflow automation: n8n, Zapier, Power Automate
  • HubSpot and CRM integrations; APIs, webhooks, JSON
  • Supabase and SQL; custom business applications
  • OpenAI, Claude, Microsoft Copilot
  • Technical documentation and managed automation support

Evidence: Selected consulting & technical work: built and delivered automation, integration, and application projects.

Operations & Process Improvement

  • Sales operations; finance and accounting processes
  • Margin and pricing; inventory and purchasing
  • Warehouse management, supply chain, and delivery
  • Customer service, claims, and reporting
  • Resource planning and process redesign

Evidence: The process behind the technology: operational depth from years working inside ERP-run businesses.

Analytics & Data

  • Predictive analytics; Big Data / Hadoop background
  • Data strategy and KPI development
  • Dashboards, reporting, and forecasting
  • SQL / Supabase
  • Translating data into business insight

Evidence: IBM predictive analytics, MetaScale Big Data consulting, and dashboard/reporting delivery at Pivotal Pathways.

Delivery & Leadership

  • Project scoping and Statements of Work
  • Resource allocation, timelines, and milestones
  • Technical and third-party vendor coordination
  • Documentation, training, and production handoff
  • Managed support

Evidence: Strategy only matters if something actually changes: delivery responsibility across enterprise and consulting engagements.

Career Snapshot

Career timeline

The titles changed, but the common thread did not: understand business problems, connect them to technology and process solutions, align stakeholders, and drive execution. Official titles and dates preserved from the résumé.

Pivotal Pathways Consulting · Chicago, IL

Founder & Managing Partner

Functional focus: solutions consulting, process assessment, AI-enabled workflow automation, implementation & adoption
May 2024 – Present

Independent consulting practice serving small and midsize businesses. 25+ client and product engagements completed while managing up to 5 concurrent projects, spanning workflow automation, AI adoption, and operational platform delivery. Directs mixed teams of contractors and staff, owning final deliverable quality and client sign-off.

  • Consolidated 6 disconnected systems at an independent insurance agency into a single Zapier-automated intake-to-follow-up workflow, saving 20+ hours per week across a 10-person team and improving customer intake and follow-up consistency.
  • Led discovery, solution design, and delivery of an operations platform for construction clients: real-time job tracking, margin visibility, change-order approvals, and field activity logging, replacing spreadsheets, texts, and paper workflows.
  • Delivered a role-based ambassador program platform for the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce, consolidating outreach tracking, member data, and program communications into one system with real-time dashboards.
Capabilities demonstrated
DiscoveryProcess assessmentWorkflow automationSolution designImplementationTraining & adoption
Produce Pro Software / Aptean · Woodridge, IL (Hybrid)

Senior Account Executive

Functional focus: consultative ERP solution advisory for food & beverage / perishables and distribution businesses. 6.5 years with Produce Pro Software, then 1.5 years with Aptean following its acquisition of Produce Pro.
Oct 2015 – Jan 2024

Advised perishable goods and distribution businesses on ERP strategy, operational modernization, and process improvement, serving as a consultative partner to executive and operational stakeholders. Led and supported 50–60 ERP projects and engagements over 8.5 years, representing approximately $40M–$50M in total contract value.

  • Led discovery and requirements analysis to identify workflow gaps, reporting needs, implementation risks, and operational efficiency opportunities.
  • Developed tailored business cases and phased roadmaps connecting ERP capabilities to strategic goals and measurable process improvement.
  • Worked closely with C-suite leaders and department heads to align solution design, resource planning, and adoption strategy.
Capabilities demonstrated
Enterprise discoveryRequirements analysisBusiness cases & roadmapsERP modernizationExecutive alignmentConsultative selling
MetaScale LLC · A Sears Holdings Company · Hoffman Estates, IL

Senior Manager, Business Development, Big Data/Hadoop Solutions

Functional focus: translating emerging analytics and machine-learning technology into business use cases
Sep 2013 – Sep 2015

Big data subsidiary of Sears Holdings. Advised enterprise clients on Big Data strategy, data infrastructure readiness, and Hadoop-based solutions to support analytics and scalability.

  • Led discovery sessions with business and technical stakeholders to identify use cases and shape proof-of-concept initiatives.
  • Supported early machine learning and advanced analytics initiatives built on Hadoop infrastructure, including predictive modeling and distributed data processing.
  • Directed development and go-to-market launch of MetaScale's Hadoop training offering, taking it from concept to productized service.
Capabilities demonstrated
Use-case discoveryProof-of-concept shapingEmerging-tech translationGTM planning
IBM · Greater Chicago Area

Key Account Manager / Business Development Representative / Pre-Sales Specialist

Functional focus: enterprise technology foundation: client-facing presales during the early Watson era
~2010 – 2013

Client-facing enterprise technology roles within IBM's predictive analytics division during the early Watson era.

  • Promoted to oversee a portfolio of named customer accounts following early success in business development and pre-sales roles.
  • Provided pre-sales support and statistical data analysis within IBM's predictive analytics division.
Capabilities demonstrated
PresalesAccount managementData analysisClient communication

Enterprise Sales & Solution Consulting

A verifiable enterprise sales record

Aggregate results first, then three representative deals that show scope, complexity, and selling motion, not just deal size.

~109%
Quota attainment at Aptean
56
New logos · ~35% new-logo growth
$40–50M
Total contract value across 50–60 ERP/WMS engagements
$12.7M
IBM pipeline from 258 qualified opportunities · $3.53M closed
100% Club
IBM recognition, 2011 and 2012 · $12.5M named-account portfolio

Nearly nine years selling Produce Pro ERP/WMS into produce, perishable-goods, foodservice, grower/packer/shipper, and wholesale-distribution organizations, with earlier enterprise analytics and Big Data selling at IBM and MetaScale.

New LogoSaaS + Services2023

Taxco Produce: Multi-Facility ERP/WMS Transformation

Wholesale Distribution · Perishable, Dry Goods & Foodservice · Produce Pro ERP/WMS
3-year agreement ~$450K ARR ramping to ~$550K ARR + implementation services Complex enterprise transformation
Business challenge
Taxco operated a multi-facility wholesale distribution business spanning perishable products, dry goods, and foodservice, working across multiple disconnected systems, creating inventory and billing issues, outdated delivery processes, and poor communication between drivers, customers, and office staff. A bilingual workforce raised the stakes on clear process design, training, and adoption.
My role
Led executive and departmental discovery, business-process analysis, solution positioning, demonstrations, commercial strategy, and implementation planning across sales, accounting, warehouse, delivery, operations, and leadership stakeholders.
Solution strategy
Structured a three-year agreement beginning at approximately $450K ARR and ramping to approximately $550K ARR as the solution expanded. Phased WMS migrations were built into the contract so warehouse modernization could occur in stages, protecting adoption and reducing operational disruption rather than overwhelming staff with a single large cutover.
What this demonstrates
Complex multi-facility enterprise selling · Food-distribution expertise · SaaS + professional-services deal structuring · Executive and cross-functional discovery · ERP/WMS transformation · Change/adoption planning · Bilingual operational environments · Long-term implementation strategy
Visit website
Competitive ReplacementIntegration2020

A.V. Thomas Produce: ERP/WMS & Automated Packing Transformation

Grower / Packer / Shipper · Organic & Conventional Sweet Potatoes · Produce Pro ERP/WMS
~$650K TCV Produce Pro engagement Competitive enterprise replacement Third-party integration
Business environment
A highly seasonal grower-packer-shipper operation spanning two primary facilities, 34 storage sheds, multiple packing operations, and approximately nine related legal entities, managing roughly 400 finished SKUs from 10 core inputs, 21 EDI trading-partner relationships, and requirements across sales, accounting, receiving, shipping, WMS, inventory, packing, and customer fulfillment.
Transformation challenge
The business was replacing an incumbent ERP while preparing for a major automated packing-line transformation: inventory management and forecasting, handwritten bin tracking, complex seasonal storage and pack-to-order workflows, multi-entity accounting, a difficult accounting migration, customized WMS requirements, third-party integration, and tight implementation milestones tied to the new packing-line go-live. The new packing environment was expected to reduce packing-line staffing requirements by approximately 40%.
Integration complexity
Produce Pro needed to coordinate with external technology providers: packing-line engineering / Equipment Systems, an Exeter Engineering grader/sizer, a Markem-Imaje labeling and traceability environment, and Cognex vision technology with CoLOS software. A November 2020 Markem-Imaje proposal for its portion of the broader environment totaled approximately $169,742 (print-and-apply systems, vision equipment, software configuration and testing, training, project coordination). This is context for the scale of the surrounding transformation, separate from and not part of the Produce Pro contract value.
My role
Led the commercial and solution-consulting process: executive and departmental discovery, current-state process analysis, ERP/WMS requirements gathering, competitive positioning, operational and financial demonstrations, accounting-migration planning, WMS design discussions, third-party integration coordination, resource planning, commercial structuring, negotiation, and implementation milestone alignment.
Solution strategy
Positioned Produce Pro as the operational and transactional backbone connecting sales, accounting, inventory, warehouse, packing, shipping, and reporting. The approximately $650K TCV competitive win required confidence in the technology, integration approach, implementation resources, accounting migration, and the ability to meet fixed deployment milestones inside a larger capital transformation.
What this demonstrates
Competitive enterprise selling · ERP/WMS solution consulting · Food/agriculture expertise · Third-party integration strategy · Complex accounting migration · Warehouse transformation · Resource planning · Cross-functional leadership · Implementation planning · Business-process transformation
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Enterprise ModernizationWMS2023

Oakes Farms: Distribution & Warehouse Modernization

Agriculture · Wholesale Produce · Foodservice Distribution · Produce Pro ERP/WMS
~$500K TCV Operational transformation
Business challenge
Oakes Farms is a large diversified South Florida agribusiness operating across farming, packing, shipping, wholesale distribution, foodservice, retail, and related operations. The engagement centered on modernizing distribution operations and warehouse management: understanding how enterprise systems and warehouse technology supported the movement of product through a large, fast-moving perishable-goods operation.
My role
Led executive and operational discovery, solution positioning, demonstrations, business-case development, and commercial discussions around Produce Pro ERP/WMS, connecting WMS and ERP modernization to operational visibility, inventory control, distribution efficiency, and future-state processes.
Solution strategy
Positioned Produce Pro as a modernization platform rather than merely an ERP replacement, with warehouse management serving as a major component of the value proposition.
What this demonstrates
Large food-distribution account · ERP/WMS modernization · Warehouse-management solution selling · Executive and operational discovery · Perishable-goods expertise · Business-value positioning · Complex enterprise sale · Operational transformation
Visit website

Solution Consulting & Business Transformation

From Business Problem to Implemented Solution

My role has frequently been to connect business problems with technology and process solutions. That starts by understanding the process around the problem, not just the requested feature.

  • What happens before this process?
  • What happens after it?
  • Who owns the data?
  • Where does information get duplicated?
  • What happens when something fails?
  • What does finance need?
  • What does the warehouse need?
  • What does the customer experience?
  • What changes for the employee who actually uses the system every day?

My work includes executive discovery, requirements gathering, current-state and future-state process mapping, workflow and dependency analysis, solution design, business cases, technology evaluation, implementation planning, stakeholder alignment, change management, and adoption strategy.

The goal is not to sell or build the most complicated solution. It is to solve the right problem in a way the organization can actually use.

AI, Automation & Technical Delivery

Technical Enough to Build. Business-Focused Enough to Know What Should Be Built.

I am not positioning myself as a career software engineer. I am a technically capable business and solutions leader who can work directly with modern technology, understand architecture and integrations, build many solutions myself, and communicate effectively with deeper technical specialists when required.

Hands-on experience includes AI strategy, workflow automation, n8n, Zapier, Power Automate, HubSpot integrations, APIs, webhooks, JSON, Supabase, SQL, agentic workflows, OpenAI, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, custom business applications, technical documentation, and managed automation support.

Technology is a tool for improving the business, not the end goal.

Operations & Process Improvement

I Understand the Process Behind the Technology

Years of working inside ERP systems gave me exposure to how interconnected businesses really are. I have worked through sales operations, finance and accounting, margin and pricing, purchasing, inventory, warehouse management, supply chain, delivery, customer service, claims, reporting, resource planning, and project delivery.

In food distribution specifically, that has included gross margin, margin analysis, contract pricing, cost-plus pricing, spoilage, claims, inventory write-offs, traceability, warehouse workflows, delivery operations, and complex multi-location environments.

Today I bring that same operational perspective into AI and automation work.

A faster bad process is still a bad process.

Delivery & Implementation

Strategy Only Matters if Something Actually Changes

I have been responsible for project scoping, Statements of Work, implementation plans, resource allocation, timelines and milestones, technical coordination, third-party vendor coordination, documentation, training, production handoff, and managed support.

Some engagements require me to be the primary builder. Others require me to coordinate developers, implementation teams, client personnel, and external vendors.

The role changes. The responsibility for understanding the whole picture does not.

Selected Consulting & Technical Work

Evidence, led by the business problem

The same person who can sell and scope a transformation can also understand architecture, integrations, implementation, and operational adoption. Each engagement starts with the situation and the problem, then the role played, and the verified outcome. Methods and tools are in the full case study.

OperationsAutomationInsurance

Insurance Operations: Quote Intake & Customer Communication

Independent insurance agency · Chicago, IL
The problem
Roughly 15–30 quote requests a week, each requiring staff to review information, send confirmations, text clients, notify the right team member, and track the request across multiple systems. The agency already had the technology, but it operated as separate pieces, leaving employees to move information between systems.
Role
Connected the agency's existing tools into a single quote-intake workflow: intake structuring, quote-type and language routing, customer communication, and internal notifications.
Outcome
Automated English and Spanish customer communication, with email, text, and internal notifications triggered from one process. No missed incoming quote requests, less manual system-checking, better visibility from intake through the sales process, and more staff time spent actually working the quote.
AutomationSales / SolutionsInsurance

Insurance Growth: Commercial Growth & Sales Automation

Independent insurance agency · Chicago, IL
The problem
The agency wanted to grow its commercial book without asking producers to manually research hundreds of businesses, write every message from scratch, track engagement, and remember every follow-up, a process that doesn't scale for a smaller sales team.
Role
Built a repeatable sales workflow combining account research, industry segmentation, lead scoring, AI-assisted personalization, CRM tracking, and human follow-up across ~250+ commercial businesses.
Outcome
An estimated 18–22 qualified opportunities and approximately 3–5 new customers, with several prospects calling the agency directly to request quotes and reported email open rates above 95%. Producers spend less time administering the campaign and more time on opportunities showing real buying signals.
OperationsAutomationConstruction

Construction Operations: Field-to-Office Modernization

NG Construction & Improvements · Chicago, IL
The problem
A growing bilingual contractor was losing leads to slower response times, chasing reviews manually, coordinating crews by phone, and presenting three different business names across platforms.
Role
Workflow assessment, automation design, platform onboarding, brand consolidation, and adoption support.
Verified outcome
Lead response within 5 minutes of an Angi inquiry, review requests on every job close with zero manual effort, WhatsApp-based field logging for crews, a bilingual field-to-office command center, and one consistent brand across channels.
View live site Active
OperationsConsultingCommunity

Program Operations: LPCC Ambassador Hub

Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce · Chicago, IL
The problem
The Chamber's ambassador program ran on spreadsheets, paper binders, and email threads. Outreach wasn't tracked, announcements lagged by days, and leadership had no view of program performance.
Role
Program-process discovery, requirements definition, solution delivery, documentation, and volunteer training.
Verified outcome
One role-based platform with a searchable record of every member interaction, announcements reaching ambassadors in seconds instead of days, and real-time program dashboards for leadership.
Active
ConsultingSales / SolutionsFood & Beverage

Food & Beverage: ERP Modernization Advisory

Produce Pro Software / Aptean · Perishable goods & distribution businesses · 2015–2024
The problem
Perishable goods and distribution businesses running on aging systems and manual processes needed to modernize operations without betting the company on the wrong system or a failed rollout.
Role
Consultative partner to executive and operational stakeholders: discovery, requirements analysis, business cases, phased roadmaps, and adoption alignment.
Verified outcome
Led and supported 50–60 ERP projects and engagements over 8.5 years, representing approximately $40M–$50M in total contract value.
CommunityConsulting

Community: Dementia Friendly Lincoln Park

Community initiative · Lincoln Park, Chicago · Pro bono
The problem
Families navigating dementia care in Lincoln Park faced fragmented, unverified information scattered across the neighborhood, with no single trusted starting point.
Role
End-to-end delivery, pro bono: needs assessment, directory design, volunteer workflow setup, and handoff.
Verified outcome
The neighborhood's first verified, community-maintained resource directory, sustainable for volunteers to update with no technical knowledge required.
View live site

Industry Depth · Food & Beverage / Perishables

Domain depth where operations are time-sensitive and margins are perishable.

From October 2015 to January 2024, Will advised perishable goods and distribution businesses on ERP strategy, operational modernization, and process improvement at Produce Pro Software, the produce-industry ERP specialist, and, after its acquisition, at Aptean. That meant working inside the systems that span sales, operations, finance, and supply chain for companies where product moves fast and mistakes are expensive.

That work meant sitting with owners, executives, and the people running day-to-day operations, mapping how work actually flowed, and translating industry requirements into solution decisions, business cases, and phased implementation roadmaps that leadership could commit to.

8.5
Years advising food & beverage and distribution businesses
50–60
ERP projects and engagements led or supported
$40–50M
Approximate total contract value represented
C-suite
Discovery and alignment with executive and operational stakeholders
  • Discovery and requirements analysis across workflow gaps, reporting needs, implementation risks, and efficiency opportunities
  • ERP capabilities connected to strategic goals through tailored business cases and phased roadmaps
  • Solution design, resource planning, and adoption strategy aligned with C-suite leaders and department heads

Speaking, Training & Thought Leadership

Teaching Practical AI, Automation & Business Transformation

I regularly translate technical concepts into practical language for business users through workshops, webinars, short-form educational content, and hands-on training. The focus is not on AI hype: it is on helping people understand where technology can remove friction, improve decisions, or create measurable business value.

AI Masterminds logo
Workshop  ·  April 22, 2026  ·  Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce
AI Masterminds

A facilitated discussion series and presentation deck walking Chamber members through practical AI adoption, demystifying the technology and grounding it in real small-business use cases rather than abstract hype. Delivered to roughly 20 Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce members.

4 follow-on business meetings
1 signed engagement  ·  Miter Box Media, launching June 2026
View Deck
Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce · Active Member RANCH Triangle Neighborhood Association · Board Member Beyond work · distance running & ultras, Hyrox, golf

Work With Me

Consulting services

Bounded engagements through Pivotal Pathways Consulting. Every engagement starts by understanding the business problem, not by picking a tool.

01

Workflow & Automation Assessment

Map the current process, identify handoff and data gaps, prioritize opportunities, and deliver a practical roadmap your team can act on.

02

AI / Automation Pilot

Define one high-value use case, establish requirements and success criteria, develop or coordinate a controlled pilot, and document the path to adoption.

03

Operations Systems Improvement

Evaluate disconnected tools and workflows, clarify system ownership, and redesign the process for better visibility, consistency, and execution.

04

Fractional Solutions / Transformation Support

Support discovery, solution design, client workshops, business cases, implementation planning, vendor coordination, or change adoption for a defined period.

Discovery Dependency analysis Solution design Build & validate Handoff & adoption

Background & Credentials

Career Resume

One static career resume covering the full arc (Enterprise Sales | Solution Consulting | AI & Automation | Operations & Process Improvement) across IBM, MetaScale, Aptean/Produce Pro, and Pivotal Pathways Consulting, with education and certifications.

View Career Resume Download PDF LinkedIn