Q.
The aim of Enterprise Connect is to improve the competitiveness and the productivity of Australian Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs), particularly manufacturing SMEs.
The Enterprise Connect Manufacturing Network has centres located in Sydney (NSW), Melbourne (VIC), Mawson Lakes (SA), Perth (WA), Burnie (TAS) as well as QMI Solutions in Brisbane (QLD), with 45 Business Advisers located in metropolitan and regional Australia to ensure that services can be delivered to eligible firms nationwide.
There will also be a Mining Innovation Centre in Mackay, and a Clean Energy Innovation Centre and a Creative Industries Innovation Centre (which have not had been allocated a specific location).
A Remote Enterprise Centre will be established in Alice Springs, and an Innovative Regions Centre based in Geelong, Victoria.
The centres will be rolled out over the rest of this calendar year, however, some base services are already available, details of which can be found on the Enterprise Connect website.
Q.
At the moment there are two basic services, one is called the Business Review, which provides a free assessment of a firm’s situation (which can take five or six days of a consultant’s time), and this can lead to the Tailored Advisory Service.
The Tailored Advisory Service allows clients to receive up to $20,000 (on a dollar for dollar basis) to obtain external expert assistance. The external expert assistance is to help implement changes that have been identified through the Business Review.
Q.
QMI Solutions was established around 1991 by the Queensland Government.
The CEO of QMI Solutions is also the chair of the advisory board for Enterprise Connect Manufacturing Centres.
The Tailored Advisory Service for Enterprise Connect links firms to the best source of business assistance in the market.
This helps these companies to implement the changes that are identified through the review process.
For instance, a firm in Western Australia would be able to access services available from QMI Solutions and financial support to use QMI Solutions’ services if they are the best and most appropriate provider.
Enterprise Connect is not duplicating services which are out there already.
The network is being designed to connect SMEs with the best sources of advice and technology in Australia and overseas.
Q.
Enterprise Connect is working with partner organisations to deliver the business review element of the service.
The partner organisation resources and membership base are used in the program to provide an immediate network of firms that Enterprise Connect can target and engage in the program.
The program’s business partners are still part of Enterprise Connect which provides the quality assurance over the work that they do.
Our major partners include the Australian Partner Alliance and the Australian Industry Group.
Our partners also include a number of Australian universities and various industry associations.
Q.
We have found from the business review process that the bulk of the issues that firms face is strategic planning issues and whether their strategy is right.
They also face issues with the quality of financial systems and whether they are up to providing the sort of support needed, and human resources and skills strategy issues.
Manufacturers should not hesitate to come forward to engage with Enterprise Connect.
It is a low red tape, high value program that is about tailoring advice to each firm.
It works with the firm’s needs in mind and does not try to push firms into a particular program.
Potentially, the value of the business review and the subsidy could be up to $30,000 to $40,000, so it is not a trivial resource that the Government is offering.
Manufacturers should contact a company that has been through the Business Review and ask what they have got out of it, because the feedback we have received has been very positive.
« Enterprise connect
131 791
enterpriseconnect@innovation.gov.au
www.enterpriseconnect.gov.au
The Innovation Centres are an integral part of the Enterprise Connect initiative aimed at supporting Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
These centres will improve the performance of target SMEs by providing a range of services designed to link SMEs to new ideas, technologies and markets.
Services will include a review of business activities and support to address the outcomes of that review.
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