Newcastle, the Hunter and Port Stephens
AI consultants for Newcastle and Hunter organisations
Solve8 offers AI consulting to mid-sized to enterprise organisations in Newcastle and the Hunter that run several sites or entities, building AI into the ERP, maintenance and finance systems they already use, with workshops on site and builds run remotely.
Hiring an AI consultant in Newcastle from a Queensland firm
Solve8 is an AI consultancy based in the Brisbane region, in Beenleigh, Queensland, with no office in Newcastle or the Hunter. Our consultants fly into Newcastle Airport at Williamtown for discovery workshops, site walks and handover. The build runs remotely under your access controls: named accounts, permissions your IT team grants and can withdraw, and logs they can read.
Hunter organisations tend to keep a head office in Newcastle and run workshops, plants and depots from Tomago and Beresfield out to Singleton and Muswellbrook. That spread is where manual work builds up: job cards keyed in at each depot, supplier invoices coded differently at each site, and maintenance history held in one planner's spreadsheet. The Port of Newcastle, which describes itself as the largest port on Australia's east coast, adds freight paperwork to the mix for anyone moving goods through it.
Each engagement runs in fixed-fee phases. Discovery covers one process at one site and measures a baseline. A shadow pilot then runs on live work while your team checks every output against an accuracy bar you set. The build goes into your systems on your infrastructure in Australia, and a person approves each output before it posts. Support or a full handover follows.
Where the manual work sits in Hunter organisations
Mining services and METS suppliers
Contractors, fabricators and equipment service firms supplying Hunter Valley mines, rebuilding prequalification packs, dockets and service reports in each client's format.
Manufacturing and engineering
Plants and workshops around Tomago, Beresfield and Kooragang quoting from emailed drawings and keying orders into the ERP by hand.
Port and logistics
Freight, warehousing and transport operators around the Port of Newcastle matching carrier invoices against delivery dockets and consignments.
Defence suppliers
Engineering, maintenance and services firms supplying RAAF Base Williamtown, where each record has to trace back to a contract and its security terms.
Health and aged care
Private hospital, aged care and allied health groups across the region moving referrals, rosters and compliance evidence between systems.
Where AI fits in the systems Hunter organisations run
| System | Typical Hunter setup | A common first AI project |
|---|---|---|
| SAP S/4HANA | Larger manufacturers and mining service providers running maintenance and purchasing in SAP | Inspection reports and technician notes drafted into work orders for a planner to approve |
| Pronto Xi | Equipment dealers, distributors and engineering firms with several branches | Emailed purchase orders and quote requests checked against items and prices, then queued for approval |
| Business Central | Manufacturers and service firms on Microsoft 365 | Service reports and dockets matched to work orders, with draft invoices for a billing officer to check |
| Power BI | Groups reporting across depots and entities from spreadsheets | One governed model for site, entity and contract reporting |
AI for NSW Government suppliers in the Hunter
NSW Government agencies must use the NSW AI Assessment Framework when they design, develop, deploy, procure or use systems that contain AI components, and the AIAF Platform is the mandatory place to register and assess those use cases from 30 September 2026. A Hunter supplier selling an AI-enabled service to a NSW agency should expect the agency to assess it and to ask the supplier for evidence.
- A written description of what the AI does and where a person approves
- Data flows and hosting locations listed for each component
- Accuracy measured in a shadow pilot before go-live
- Records the agency can draw on for its own assessment
How to choose an AI consultant in Newcastle
Checks for any shortlist, local or interstate, with where Solve8 stands on each.
Where each component runs
Ask which country stores and processes your data. We build in your own cloud environment in an Australian region or on your servers, and list every component's location in the design.
Experience with your systems
Ask which of your platforms they have connected. Our engineers work with SAP, Pronto Xi, Business Central, Dynamics 365, Microsoft 365 and Power BI.
Time on site
Ask who will be in Newcastle or at your Hunter sites, and when. Workshop and handover visits are set out in our scope before work starts.
Ownership of what is built
Ask whether the code, prompts and configuration become yours. Ours transfer with documentation and admin access.
A stop point after each phase
Ask for a fixed fee per phase and the right to stop after any of them. Both are written into our scope.
How a Hunter engagement runs
Discovery
One process at one site, a measured baseline, and workshops on site with the people who do the work.
Shadow pilot
The AI runs on live work alongside your team, and you set the accuracy it must reach before anything goes further.
Build
Delivered into your systems under your access controls, on your infrastructure in Australia, with a person approving each output.
Support or handover
Runbooks and training for your team, or ongoing support from ours. Queensland has no daylight saving, so from October to April our team is one hour behind Newcastle and books calls around your day.
Where Hunter organisations start
- Mining services back officePrequalification packs, dockets to invoices and compliance evidence for contractors supplying mine sites.
- Mining prequalification packsEach client's pack drafted from one controlled library, with expiries flagged.
- Maintenance work ordersInspection notes and defect photos drafted into work orders for a planner to approve.
- Freight invoice matchingCarrier invoices checked against consignments for operators moving goods through the port.
- Quotes from emailed RFQsManufacturers and distributors quoting from customer emails straight into the ERP.
- Fire protection AI quotingDefect records categorised and quote lines suggested, built in the client's own cloud in Sydney.
- AI consultants in SydneyHead offices, professional firms and NSW Government suppliers in Sydney.
Sources
Digital NSW, NSW AI Assessment Framework: https://www.digital.nsw.gov.au/policy/artificial-intelligence/nsw-artificial-intelligence-assessment-framework
Port of Newcastle, About us: https://pon.com.au/about-us/
Questions
Who are the best AI consultants in Newcastle?
No independent ranking of AI consultants in Newcastle exists, so the best firm is the one that passes your own checks. Shortlist firms that can show a system running in production, have connected the ERP and maintenance platforms you use, keep data in Australia under your control and fix a fee per phase with a stop point. Ask each firm who will be on site. Solve8 has no Newcastle office, so weigh that against local firms.
Can a Queensland AI consultancy work with a Hunter organisation?
Yes, when the consultancy plans time on site and works under your access controls. Solve8's consultants fly from Brisbane to Newcastle Airport for discovery workshops, site walks and handover, and engineers build remotely through accounts and permissions your IT team issues. Visits to Singleton, Muswellbrook or other Hunter sites are planned into the scope.
What does the NSW AI Assessment Framework mean for suppliers to NSW Government?
The framework applies to NSW Government agencies, and they must use it when procuring systems that contain AI components, so suppliers feel it through the agency's questions. Expect to explain what the AI does, where data is stored and processed, how accuracy was tested and where a person reviews outputs. Solve8 documents each of these during the design so a supplier can answer each question from written records.
Which AI projects suit Hunter mining services and METS suppliers first?
Hunter mining services and METS suppliers usually start with paperwork that delays billing or tenders: signed dockets and timesheets turned into draft invoices, prequalification packs rebuilt for each mine operator, and service reports retyped into the ERP. AI drafts each item from your records and a person approves it. Discovery measures how long the work takes today at one depot.
Can AI draft maintenance work orders from inspection reports?
Yes. AI can read inspection reports, technician notes and defect photos, classify each defect and its priority, match it to the asset register and draft the work order in SAP, Pronto Xi or Dynamics 365. A planner or supervisor approves every draft before release, and the first phase measures how often the AI agrees with your planners.
Can defence suppliers near Williamtown use AI on their records?
Often yes for commercial records such as quotes, invoices, timesheets and maintenance reports, provided your Defence contract and security officer allow it. Some Defence contracts require Defence Industry Security Program membership and set rules on where information is held, so check the contract first. Solve8 scopes defence supplier work to records the contract permits and builds inside your own environment in Australia.
How is an AI project for a Hunter organisation scoped and priced?
Solve8 scopes one process at one site first and quotes a fixed fee for that discovery phase. The fee for each later phase is agreed in writing before it starts, and depends on the systems involved, the number of sites and entities, data quality and any NSW Government or Defence obligations. Travel to Newcastle is planned into the scope, and you can stop after any phase.
Related
SydneySolve8 provides AI advisory, consultancy and automation for mid-sized to enterprise, multi-site Sydney organisations in professional services, construction, field service and financial services.
Mining services contractorsPrequalification, dockets and site compliance.
Mining, energy and manufacturingOT data, historians and reporting.
AI governance your auditors and board can checkWe find every AI use across your sites, including tools staff use without approval, give each an owner and a risk rating, and set up controls and board reporting your auditors can test.
System integrationConnections between the systems you run.
How to choose an AI consultancy in AustraliaA fair guide to the four types of AI firm, how they compare, twelve questions to ask and the red flags to watch for.
Bring one Hunter process to the review
A 30-minute review with a senior consultant. You leave with a written one-page summary you can share internally.
Workshops run on site in Newcastle. Our team works remotely between them.