Collier Road Consulting provides AI strategy and operations consulting to small and midsize businesses in Charleston, South Carolina and across the Southeast. It's run by Catherine Weems, a former Fortune 500 operations leader and technology-company VP — so you get AI guidance grounded in how a business actually runs, not a vendor trying to sell you software.
Charleston's economy blends a major working port and the logistics around it, advanced manufacturing, a large tourism and hospitality sector, and a fast-growing technology scene. That mix runs on coordination — bookings, scheduling, supplier and shipment data, invoicing, and the constant handoffs between teams. Supply chain and logistics happen to be where I spent my career, and they're exactly where well-built AI workflows take the most repetitive load off a team.
The work starts with understanding your operation, then finding the one or two places AI earns its keep, building those workflows, and keeping people in the loop where judgment matters — whether you're running a hospitality group, a logistics business, or a growing Charleston tech company.
A prioritized roadmap for where AI fits in your business — what to do first and the expected impact.
Senior AI and operations leadership a few days a week, embedded enough to carry the plan into action.
Fixing clunky, costly, or fragile workflows — informed by where AI should run part of the process.
Standing up real, AI-assisted workflows your team can run on their own.
Most AI help falls into two camps: agencies selling a chatbot, or technical firms building machine-learning systems you don't need. I come at it as an operator. I spent years running operations and supply chains at scale, leading large teams and turning manual, repetitive work into automated workflows powered by AI, with people kept in the loop where judgment matters. That makes the role closer to a fractional COO who brings AI than a typical tech advisor — useful for a Charleston business that needs the work to actually change, not just a deck of recommendations.
Hourly help runs about $150–$350; build-outs commonly $1,500–$8,000 by scope; fractional retainers $5,000–$15,000/month. Full cost breakdown →
Finds where AI fits, builds the plan, and helps implement it. More on the role →
Usually one back-office process that's structured and measurable. How to start →
We track the leading metrics that predict performance, not just the lagging ones that report it. Leading vs lagging →
I work hands-on with Charleston clients and am based in Atlanta, serving the Southeast.
Let's figure out where AI and better operations fit in your business.
Let's Talk