PME GURU INC. – OPTIMIZING OPERATING COSTS FOR GREATER PROFITABILITY

(Article published in L’Automobile Mechanic magazine, December 2023)

By Piero Facchin

Sometimes things happen by chance. But is it really a chance, or is it a logical sequence of choices and events that lead us to where we want to be?

Jean-François Claveau tells us how a family-run taxi services business in Lac-Saint-Jean, using only Volkswagen vehicles, was turned into a mechanical service centre and, as a logical consequence, into PME Guru Inc. where he now holds the position of president.

Optimizing Parts Management Processes

Mr. Claveau was in charge of ordering parts for his father’s and uncle’s mechanical workshop. Over time, the centre expanded and became affiliated with a major parts banner. Business was good, but Jean-François had other ambitions: he wanted to find a way to improve parts inventory management. That’s when he started thinking about how to “optimize” the whole process. In 2013, he went back to school at HEC Montréal, and in 2016, PME Guru inc. was born.

PME Guru works with technology in order to automate processes and reduce the required time for data management. This expertise in data and coaching is dedicated to helping companies in the automotive sector make strategic decisions.

A Dashboard as a Reference Tool

All the necessary information can be found on a dashboard that workshop owners can consult to see how their business is performing, and how it compares with companies in the same sector.

In fact, there are three crucial aspects behind the development of the dashboard. The first involves the technology developed by PME Guru to automatically export and consolidate customer data. Then there’s data standardization. Different companies use different software to process their own data, adding to the challenge of standardizing information. PME Guru currently works with data collected from four different software packages used by its customers to build the dashboard, and this number will soon rise to eight.

Clearly, entrusting data to a company requires a great deal of trust on the part of customers, and this is a very important aspect for PME Guru, which is constantly working to build customer loyalty.

AI, a Powerful Technology

 

Since 2022, PME Guru has been integrating the powerful capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) for automated inventory management. The company will often reach out to users to plan better management in the short and medium term.

Modern technology is used in all its facets to bring people closer together while reducing operating costs and wasted time, enabling PME Guru to keep them below the average firm.