Peter Gross, President of Pemeco Consulting, today announced today that Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) has approved it as a Qualified Service Provider (QSP) of funded assessments under the CME-SMART program.

Under CME-SMART, Pemeco’s Ontario-based manufacturing clients wanting to assess and plan their process improvement and enterprise software projects can now apply for non-refundable funding of 50% of eligible assessment costs, up to a maximum of $15,000. In addition, Pemeco clients looking to implement an eligible technology transformation project can apply for non-refundable funding of 35% of implementation costs, up to a maximum of $100,000.

“The non-refundable CME-SMART funding programs provide our clients with an opportunity to both plan and implement their technology-related projects at a significantly reduced cost, effectively increasing ROI and accelerating payback. We are already seeing strong demand from companies looking to re-structure their business processes together with integrated enterprise software – including ERP, business intelligence, and quality management solutions,” said Gross. “Our QSP status validates our 37-year history of successfully planning and delivering complex transformational projects involving enterprise software, business processes, and organizational structures”.

Pemeco’s services that could qualify for funding include:

• Business requirements assessment and feasibility studies: Under this process, Pemeco leads an evaluation of organizational structures, business process, and technology requirements. The final output includes a blueprint of the company’s future state together with a budgeted and scheduled execution plan. On average, Pemeco completes its assessments within a two to four-week period. The assessments typically pay back within weeks, and can include an array of recommended projects that span immediate process improvement initiatives and larger cross-functional technology implementations such as ERP.
• Vendor and software selection: Pemeco leads structured and custom due-diligence processes designed to evaluate and recommend solutions that are the right fit for each client’s unique combination of short-term and long-term needs. Under this process, Pemeco leads multi-faceted evaluations of vendors and their solutions against usability, functionality, technology, cost, support, software development investment, and vendor solvency dimensions. 
• Project planning and implementation: Pemeco provides project implementation management services according to its acclaimed “Milestone Deliverables” methodology – a methodology that it has relied upon to successfully deliver more than 500 ERP projects with zero failures. Companies, vendors, and consulting firms in 40 countries rely on Pemeco’s Milestone Deliverables to deliver their own projects.
• Implementation audit: Pemeco provides independent implementation audits intended to assess a project’s performance relative to schedule, budget, and performance targets, as well as its readiness for cut-over. Under this process, Pemeco issues recommendations – including corrective actions – relative to an assessment of schedules, budgets, business process plans, system configuration, data migration, user training, and piloting.
• Post-implementation optimization: Following implementation, Pemeco leads optimization projects intended to deliver the benefits of organizational integration. Under this continuous improvement process, Pemeco plans and executes projects designed to deliver efficiencies and controls that are enabled by the technology, typically relating to organizational structures, roles and skills, and business processes.

About Pemeco Consulting

Pemeco is an independent, vendor neutral consulting and advisory firm that specializes in projects relating to business operations and enterprise software. Since 1978, Pemeco has served more than 600 private sector businesses and public-sector organizations worldwide. Pemeco’s people, methodologies, and expertise are distinguishing factors, and are the key drivers of its success. Pemeco typically serves companies with complex organizational, process, and system needs. Its principal consultants are deft managers with significant systems, business process, and change management expertise. For more information, visit www.pemeco.com.

About CME-SMART

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is Canada’s leading trade and industry association. Through the Investing in Business Growth and Productivity initiative, FedDev Ontario is partnering with CME to invest $20 million into the SMART Advanced Technologies for Global Growth program. Since 2008, the CME SMART Program has provided direct funding to over 1,100 Ontario companies in financial need; for the 2014-2017 period, CME SMART expects to support up to 200 manufacturers by funding assessments and projects which will facilitate improved productivity and increase their competitiveness in the global economy.