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CDN's 2009 Channel Elite Awards Winners


2009 CDN Channel Elite Award Winner

Solution Provider of the Year

Conamex International named Solution Provider of the Year at the Channel Elite Awards

By Maxine Cheung

Conamex International - Solution Provider of the Year

Conamex International, a past recipient of CDN’s Channel Elite Award for best small business solution, took home the top honour of being named this year’s Solution Provider of the Year.

The business and technology firm specializes in technologies which include collaboration, data management infrastructure and security for small to medium-sized businesses and branch offices of larger organizations.

It was Conamex’s work with the Canadian Ski Instructor’s Alliance (CSIA), the Canadian Ski Coach Federation (CSCF) and the Canadian Association Snowboard Instructors (CASI), that helped them land in the top spot at the annual Channel Elite Awards.

Using Microsoft technologies, Conamex developed a custom software solution called Snowpro, which automates and integrates member, financial, store front, insurance and course management processes within a single system.

The management software solution is run out of the CSIA office, which then manages the systems for the other two associations. The solution is currently being used by tens of thousands of students, teachers and coaches, in conjunction with over 350 ski schools across the globe.

Using the Snowpro Web site, members can pay for their annual dues, their courses, magazine subscriptions and more, all through a single interface.

Robert L’Esperance, CIO at Conamex said before CSIA implemented Snowpro, the association was using a proprietary database software that was very limited in nature.

Elisabeth Vanderveldt, vice-president of business development at Conamex, added that a lot of the previous processes were also being completed manually and were being passed from person to person.

“There was no real workflow,” she said. “A lot of extra hours were needed to get through all of the paper processing. We helped CSIA achieve a complete transformation so internally, staff can see what everyone else is doing and they can be more productive.”

With Snowpro, members from all three associations can access the membership database, regardless of where they are, by logging into their profile and membership record. Here, members can go online and register for courses, can change their addresses, and even make purchases through an online store. For internal users, staff can now execute on event management projects by using Snowpro’s automatic billing and service and business process capabilities as well.

The implementation process took 18 months to complete and CSIA went live with the Snowpro solution last December.

In appreciation of their win, the Conamex executives are keen to offer some advice to other partners.

“Take care of your customers,” L’Esperance said. “Be proactive and work with them to understand what makes them tick.”

Vanderveldt adds, “We’re not shy to share how we’ve done things. It’s important that the whole industry looks good and you can’t look good if you aren’t sharing best practices. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a possible project. If it doesn’t excite you, provide a long-term solution that you’ll be proud of. (Because) if it doesn’t appear to be a good fit, chances are, it isn’t going to be.”

Last year's CDN 2008 Channel Elite Awards Winners