Missed Boosting Business Productivity with BDC’s Chief Economist? You can now watch the full recording here.
Hosted by CFIN CEO Dana McCauley in conversation with Pierre Cléroux, VP Research and Chief Economist at BDC, the session dug into Canada’s productivity gap, why it matters for food and beverage processors, and what practical steps SMEs can take to improve efficiency and margins without betting the farm (or factory) on massive capital projects.
Three Key Takeaways
1. Productivity is about profit and resilience, not working harder.
Pierre was blunt: if your business isn’t as efficient as it could be, you’re leaving profit on the table. Canada’s productivity sits well below the U.S. and G7 averages, and that shows up in thinner margins, weaker competitiveness, and lower business valuations when owners want to exit. For food and beverage processors, productivity means producing more with the same (or fewer) resources—labour, capital, inventory—while keeping quality high. That has a direct link to wages, food prices, and long-term viability, which is why both government and lenders are now very focused on it.
2. Start small, fix one real problem, and involve your team.
The strongest case studies in BDC’s new business productivity study didn’t come from flashy AI transformations. They came from companies that picked a single, well-defined constraint and attacked it with intention. In every example, frontline employees were involved early—they identified waste, informed process changes, and were trained to work with new tools. Most projects paid back in roughly two years, often faster than owners expected.
3. Waiting to modernize is costly—for competitiveness and for your eventual exit.
A recurring insight from Pierre was that older, “good enough” systems are becoming a liability. US firms invest nearly twice as much per employee in technology, and Canadian companies that delay modernization are already feeling the gap. Excess inventory, paper-based processes, underused equipment, and legacy systems erode profitability now and drag down valuation later—25% of Canadian businesses never manage to sell at all.
For established processors, that means two things: start reducing waste (overproduction, waiting time, poor quality, bloated inventory) immediately, and use today’s mix of tax incentives, more affordable tech, and advisory support (from BDC and others) to plan and finance targeted upgrades. The outcome? A more efficient operation that can compete nationally and, eventually, abroad.
If you’re a food or beverage processor trying to work smarter rather than just work more hours, this session is a useful reality check with concrete examples and next steps. Watch it here.
Sign Up for Future Webinars
Want to keep exploring complex industry topics? Check out our Events Page to sign up for upcoming webinars or in-person events in your region.