We guide organizations through AI & data driven transformation.
You want results from data and AI, not another programme. We are a team of experienced consultants and we work with your organisation. No hype and no big bang. We start small, we prove value fast and we let the results do the convincing.
Book a meeting See how we workExperienced transformation consultants, built on lean principles.
Since 2011 we support organizations in business transformation. We are a European team, active from three regions and grounded in a set of values that shape how we engage with people, technology and the wider world.
2011. Lean thinking is in our DNA, not on a poster.
Kortenberg (Belgium) · Bucharest (Romania) · Madrid (Spain)
AI and data driven transformations that generate tangible, KPI-linked value.
Simplicity
Real impact is achieved through focus, not complication. We deliver clear and effective solutions.
Mutual trust & respect
We build long-term relationships by operating from a position of service. We ask ourselves: how can we make each other successful?
Deep thinking
We do not make assumptions and we seek facts. We understand the nuances of each context and we reject the standard-solution trap.
Social commitment
There is more to life than work and money. We make a meaningful impact beyond business.
"We are consultants. We do not pretend to know the solutions up front, but we are very good at finding the real problem and the solutions that fit your reality."
Five design principles we never compromise on.
Tiny teams, big impact
You get an experienced team embedded directly in your organisation. No large consulting structures. Eliminating waste in how we work means low cost, high focus and fast decisions for you.
Gemba-first, technology second
Your problem lives where the real work happens: the shop floor, the planning desk, the service line. Gemba is the lean word for that place, and that is where we start, understanding your real pain point before any tool is considered. If we cannot define the value, we do not start the build. The technology is usually the last twenty percent of the work. Understanding why things are the way they are, and whether they should stay that way, is the other eighty.
Staircase approach, not a big-bang transformation
You see tangible outcomes at every step, not a promise at the end. We combine rapid experimentation with regular feedback, and we only scale what has proven business pull. No long-term theoretical plans.
An extension of your team, not another dependency
Your people are co-owners from day one, in planning, sprint reviews and retros. We transfer capability deliberately through co-delivery, shadowing and reusable artefacts. Everything we build is handed over as your property and not ours.
Tangible impact (ROI) is the only metric
A solution nobody uses is pure waste of your money. We link every initiative to a tangible value KPI and we measure the return at every step. Your end users are involved early, behaviour change is measured, and we do not sign off until the new way of working is your standard way of working.
One offering: transformation.
You transform to improve a business result: a better customer experience, a new value stream, lower cost or ESG compliance. We have credible and recent references in all four. Transformation is the offering, and AI is the most powerful tool we have today to accelerate it. But you cannot build any of it on fragmented data, so we fix the foundation first and the AI follows naturally.
Improved customer experience & value creation+
Chatbots and virtual assistants, recommendation engines, lead scoring, dynamic pricing and content generation. For example: a service reminder journey built on connected vehicle data, telling owners exactly when to book an appointment.
See how we deliver thisNew value streams+
Scenario simulation, market intelligence and agentic AI that turn data into new services and better decisions. For example: turning connected vehicle and retailer data into new services for dealers and drivers.
See how we deliver thisEfficiency gains+
Predictive maintenance, demand forecasting, smart automation and intelligent document processing. For example: an AI agent for planners that cut insight generation time by around 90%.
See how we deliver thisESG compliance+
We get your data in shape to reach your ESG objectives, from emission monitoring to environmental KPIs. For example: CO2 compliance monitoring that steers the vehicle mix per country and helps avoid heavy fines.
See how we deliver thisThe capabilities that deliver it
To deliver a transformation end to end we need capabilities. These are not boxes on a slide. They are the colleagues who will sit in your team, and a HazelHeartwood project always combines them in one tiny team.
Transformation & industry experts
You get people with deep industry knowledge, who understand your reality before changing it. They clarify the problem, align business and IT and drive adoption. Direction, change and governance, so the new way of working becomes your standard way of working.
Business analysts & data translators
You get the bridge between your business and the technology. They map your processes, clarify requirements and turn your business questions into clear insights and analytics that improve your business.
Data & architecture
You get a data foundation that is managed, governed and architected to last. Getting the data right is not preparation for the AI work. It is the AI work.
Technology experts & AI engineers
You get AI that runs in your daily operations, not in a demo environment. They embed machine learning and agentic AI where they create the most impact, with humans in the loop. From no code and low code for fast validation to full stack AI engineering at scale. The need determines the tool and not the other way around.
Hear the people behind the work
Short conversations with our colleagues about what we believe, in plain words. No scripts and no marketing, just how we think.
Fix the foundation first
You cannot build a great customer experience, or reliable AI, on fragmented data. Connect the data and the AI follows naturally.
Transformation is a capability
It is not a project with an end date. Organisations that restart with every technology wave get very good at starting and terrible at finishing.
Governance is a set of habits
A framework in a folder governs nothing. Real governance lives in how teams work: who reviews, who can override and who gets called.
Keep the human parts human
AI should handle the transactional completely, so your people can be genuinely present for the moments that need a human.
European is a head start
Sovereign, explainable and governed AI is where regulation and customer expectation are heading. Building it now is advantage, not compliance.
Watch the running meter
AI is consumed and not bought, and the meter is always running. Match the model to the task and measure cost per outcome, not cost per token.
Short cycles. Tangible outcomes. Proven value before scale.
You have probably seen them: AI projects that look impressive and create almost nothing real. That wastes energy, money and people's hope. The difference is transformation discipline: we find the one place where AI really changes something and we build only that, all the way to real users. We have done this before: our AI solutions run in daily operations today, not in demo environments. Around 80% of the value for about 20% of the resources, lighter on the planet and respectful of your hard-earned money. Transformation is not a project with an end date. It is a capability you build over time, and the best ones are never really finished. Every initiative follows the same staircase. It is launched to deliver value, stabilized through learning, strengthened into a foundation and scaled once demand and value are proven.
Understand the problem. We define the value from a business and end-user perspective. If we cannot define the value, we do not start the build.
Prototype fast. Mock-ups and prompt-based prototypes in days and not months, to clarify what good looks like and to remove assumptions before any build.
Deliver in sprints. Timeboxed, with a fixed budget and predefined KPIs on value, feasibility and adoption. Business stakeholders own the backlog.
Scale by proven demand. Only solutions with real business pull are operationalized and scaled. Scaling is a strategic decision and not a technical progression.
What we deliberately avoid
- Big-bang transformations and technology-led roadmaps
- Heavy enterprise-wide data platforms before value is proven
- Lab-only AI experiments that never touch real operations
- Consultants as staff augmentation. We work as one team, or not at all
Not sure where to start? We use a structured canvas to score use cases on value, feasibility and risk, so you invest in the ones with real impact.
Learn how we select the right use caseMinimum Viable Accuracy
An AI solution that is almost right is not right. That is why we work with Minimum Viable Accuracy, or MVA: the accuracy level a solution must reach before it goes anywhere near real operations.
Ideas become proof of concepts, and successful proof of concepts become minimum viable products with a clearly defined MVA. Only solutions that have reached their MVA are operationalized and scaled, and only solutions with proven demand and business pull get that far. This protects adoption and trust, because end users only work with solutions they can rely on.
How we test
Testing follows a strict routine. Together with business users we prepare an extensive set of questions, including the edge cases, and for every question we define the expected answer up front. We run each question four to six times with rephrasing, we log the actual answers and we compare. Inaccuracies are investigated to their root cause and changes are implemented in a continuous improvement cycle until the MVA is reached.
Curious what this looks like in practice? Bring one of your own use cases and we walk you through the routine.
Bring us a use caseA transparent engagement model with built-in exit points.
At every stage you see what you spend and what it delivers, and you decide whether we continue. Scope and cost adjust as learning progresses, because that is the point of learning. That includes the running cost of AI itself: we match the model to the task and we measure cost per outcome and not cost per token.
Roadmap design
We support you in shaping the business and IT strategy and a high-level roadmap. We bring expertise in business process, architecture and implementation effort.
Discover each stage of your roadmap
Together we clarify scope, risks and the detailed requirements of each stage of your roadmap. Specifications become a high-level mock-up that visualises the final product.
Delivery in cycles
Agile delivery with sprint demos against the agreed definition of done.
What you will not get from us
- An army of juniors learning the trade on your invoice
- A two hundred slide deck instead of a working solution
- A platform that happens to come from our partner
- A pilot that never touches real operations
Proof, not promises.
A selection of recent work, told without client names.
[Reference title]
[Two or three sentences: the challenge, what we built and how we worked. No client names.]
Result: [The tangible impact, ideally with a number: cost avoided, time saved, productivity gained.]
[Reference title]
[Two or three sentences: the challenge, what we built and how we worked. No client names.]
Result: [The tangible impact, ideally with a number.]
[Reference title]
[Two or three sentences: the challenge, what we built and how we worked. No client names.]
Result: [The tangible impact, ideally with a number.]
[Reference title]
[Two or three sentences: the challenge, what we built and how we worked. No client names.]
Result: [The tangible impact, ideally with a number.]
Recognised for the craft
- 2024Toyota certificate of recognition for LEAN project management
- 2025Toyota achievement award for LEAN project management
- 2026Toyota certificate of recognition for LEAN project management
Trusted by leaders in [sectors]. We keep their names out of public view.
References convince most when you hear them first hand. We are happy to introduce you to a client who has worked with us.
Ask for an introductionAI as an enabler and never an end in itself.
Your people stay in control. AI supports organizational learning, especially when it is introduced incrementally and with humans in the loop. And governance is not a document in a folder. It is a set of habits in how teams actually work: who reviews outputs, who can override and who gets called when something goes wrong.
Human agency & oversight
AI supports human decision-making and does not replace it. We use it to make human interaction rarer and more valuable, with clear review points, final human accountability and onboarding that preserves critical thinking.
Transparency & testing
Inputs, outputs and decisions are traceable and explainable. Accuracy, consistency and user testing are embedded in delivery and not bolted on.
European by design
Active awareness of the EU AI Act, GDPR-aligned data handling, NIS2-based security and a deliberate approach to digital sovereignty and to avoiding vendor lock-in. Being European in AI is not a constraint. It is a head start, if you use it. Data sovereignty is close to our heart: in 2025 we helped initiate the national conversation on a Belgian sovereign cloud, a project that was officially launched in 2026.
Consulting as a craft.
We keep our teams small and experienced, so everyone carries real responsibility from day one. We grow our own people: young graduates learn the craft at the kitchen table, alongside experienced consultants. They join client teams when they add value and not to fill a seat. And helping people reach their full potential, not the easy way by saying good job but by challenging each other and by thinking together, is one of the most rewarding things we do.
Profit is not an objective. It is an instrument.
The old Japanese merchants had a phrase for it: sanpo yoshi, three-way good. Good for the seller, good for the buyer and good for society. All three, or it is not a real deal. That is how we run HazelHeartwood: impact for the customer, for our people and for the world around us. Profit is what keeps it going.
The social fund
A dedicated fund, established at the King Baudouin Foundation, providing material support to partners addressing complex societal challenges.
Dedicated time
Protected working time for our colleagues to work on social projects. No reusable cups and no tote bags. The measure is not whether people accept a present, but whether they choose to give something of themselves.
Right-sized growth
We decouple growth from exploitation. Surplus is reinvested in the development of our people and the robustness of our social fund.
Projects we support
Let's find the solutions that fit your reality.
We do not pretend to know the answers up front. We are very good at finding the ones that work for you. Send us a message and you will talk to one of us. A first conversation costs nothing but an hour.
Veehof office, Belgium
Abdijdreef 14, 3070 Kortenberg
Bucharest office, Romania
Splaiul Unirii 165, 030133 Bucuresti
Madrid office, Spain
Av. de la Industria 4, 28108 Alcobendas, Madrid