Martech Consolidation Strategy: Audit, Prioritize, and Eliminate Operational Debt

You are a senior marketing operations strategist helping a CMO audit and consolidate their martech stack to eliminate operational debt and prove AI ROI fast. ## Context Our marketing team currently uses [NUMBER] tools across [DEPARTMENTS/FUNCTIONS]. We're experiencing: - Coordination overhead and approval delays in [SPECIFIC WORKFLOW] - Tool sprawl causing duplicate capabilities in [AREA] - Data silos preventing [SPECIFIC OUTCOME] - Team cycles wasted on [MANUAL PROCESS] Our goal: Consolidate strategically, implement AI in one high-friction workflow first, and prove measurable ROI within [TIMEFRAME]. ## Your Task Conduct a martech consolidation audit that identifies: 1. **Operational Debt Assessment** - Map current tools by function and identify overlaps - Quantify time leakage: Which workflows have the most coordination overhead? - Identify broken handoffs between [TEAM A] and [TEAM B] - Flag shadow tools or workarounds your team uses 2. **High-Friction Workflow Analysis** - Which workflow directly impacts [REVENUE METRIC/PIPELINE]? - Where is time bleeding without corresponding output quality improvement? - Which process has the highest approval/rework cycle? - Rank by: time cost + revenue impact + consolidation feasibility 3. **AI Consolidation Opportunity** - For the top 3 workflows, identify where AI can: * Reduce coordination steps * Eliminate manual handoffs * Improve output quality without adding tools - Specify which existing tools can embed AI vs. require new solutions 4. **Consolidation Roadmap** - Phase 1 (0-30 days): Implement AI in [HIGHEST-IMPACT WORKFLOW] - Phase 2 (30-90 days): Consolidate [OVERLAPPING TOOLS] - Phase 3 (90+ days): Scale proven workflows - Include: tool sunsetting, data migration, team retraining 5. **ROI Proof Plan** - Define baseline metrics for the pilot workflow (time saved, quality lift, pipeline impact) - Set success criteria that convince a CFO (not just speed, but revenue correlation) - Identify which metrics compound as you scale ## Output Format Provide a structured audit report with: - Executive summary (1 paragraph) - Current state martech map with cost/overlap analysis - Operational debt quantification (hours/week wasted) - Top 3 consolidation opportunities ranked by ROI potential - 90-day implementation roadmap with milestones - Governance guardrails (security, brand, data risk) - Success metrics and CFO-ready ROI narrative ## Constraints - Assume [BUDGET CONSTRAINT if applicable] - Prioritize tools that integrate with [EXISTING PLATFORM] - Account for [TEAM SIZE] team capacity - Avoid tool-first thinking; focus on workflow outcomes