When Julia Tan approached our Business Advisor, Beny in 2018, she wanted to explore the possibility of scaling CAN Trader & Services to a new level.
Established in 1981, CAN Trader & Services is a marine electronic company specializing in sales, services and integration of marine navigation and communications equipment and systems. Their extensive clientele includes Supply Boats, Offshore Support Vessels, Crew Boats, Container Vessels, etc.
With the emergence of newer technologies, Julia realized that the company needed to upgrade its system and contemplated purchasing a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.
“Times have changed, and CAN Trader & Services needs to adapt accordingly in order to remain relevant in this industry,” explained Julia.
Beny encouraged Julia to source for ERP vendors and after months of searching, Julia started found one which was suitable and able to develop a customized ERP system based on the company’s requirements. However, the ERP solution was costly.
Government Assistance Scheme
Beny recommended Julia to apply for the Enterprise Development Grant (EDG), which supports Singapore companies in their exploration of growth or enhancement of efficiency under the Innovation and Productivity pillar. He further suggested Julia to engage a consultant to assist in creating a project proposal to supplement CAN Traders & Services’ grant application.
“Companies like CAN Trader & Services can benefit from EDG as it supports up to 70% of actual qualifying cost. This is to encourage more SMEs to drive automation within their companies and make routine tasks more efficient,” highlighted Beny.
PMC Consultant
Beny proceeded to introduce Julia to Lydia Lok, a PMC Consultant from Lemon Says Consultancy, whom assisted Julia with the project proposal which covered components such as business diagnosis, process mapping, gap analysis, etc.
In early February this year, CAN Trader & Services had their grant application approved and received funding to support the project over the next two years.
“I’m grateful to Beny for steering our company in the right direction. We’re looking forward to developing this ERP system and hope it reaps more benefits for the company,” shared Julia.