Method · SMBs · Paris and Kinshasa
We start by auditing the process, not installing the tool. In a McKinsey survey, only 16 % of companies say their digital transformation improved performance in a lasting way. The cause I see most often: automating existing chaos instead of restructuring it first.
My method: Map → Optimize → Automate. We first map together who does what in your business, before touching any tool.
Polytech Paris engineer · Ex-CIO Madagascar · Founder TIA Jewelry
Useful definition
Digital transformation for an SMB is NOT an IT project. It's a complete audit of business processes followed by three decisions per process: what we drop (because it adds nothing), what we simplify (because it's too heavy), what we automate (because it can run without human intervention). Technical tools come LAST, calibrated on the already-restructured process.
"You don't automate chaos. You restructure it first."
The signature method
01
« Who does what, today? »
Interviews with the people who do the work, not only those who describe it. We record the real process, with its workarounds, its parallel Excel files and its WhatsApp threads. It's almost always different from what the written procedures say, and that gap is exactly where the wasted time sits.
Deliverable
→ Diagram of actual processes + list of observed friction points
02
« What can disappear, and what can run better? »
Three decisions per process: what we drop because it adds nothing, what we keep as is, what we lighten. Then we run the lightened process by hand, with your team, to fix the blind spots: unclear responsibilities, interrupted steps, backtracking. Nothing gets automated at this stage. Without this step, you automate existing chaos: the failure cause I see most often.
Deliverable
→ Documented target process: what we drop, keep or lighten, and the 3 to 5 priority automation projects
03
« What can run without you? »
Building tools calibrated on the already-optimized process: custom CRM, automation workflows (tool chosen to fit the need), AI agents (Claude, GPT, RAG), Looker Studio dashboards. Proprietary code, zero SaaS lock-in, delivered with documentation and training. Technology serving the process, not the reverse.
Deliverable
→ Tools delivered + technical documentation + team training + 3-month follow-up
Before
tools for a single request
Nobody knows where it stands.
Mappingthen rework
After
single tool, from first message to follow-up
Everyone sees where the request stands.
The why
Most digital freelances and agencies propose a tool before understanding your process. They know how to sell a website, a CRM, an n8n workflow, but not how to analyze why your current process doesn't work. Result: the delivered tool reproduces process flaws without fixing them.
My initial training at Polytech Paris, my 4 years at Peugeot Citroën on human-machine interfaces, my 6 years as CIO at SIPROMAD Group Madagascar, and founding TIA Jewelry from scratch taught me the same thing: you don't build a tool before understanding the human problem it must solve. This process-engineer rigor applied to an SMB's digital transformation gives you tools that adapt to you, not the reverse.
Operational pillars
Showcase, e-commerce, blogs. Next.js, PageSpeed 95+, GDPR-native. From €1,490.
See website plansiOS + Android apps in React Native. Field teams, B2C, startup MVPs. Code and stores yours.
See the apps pillarAlternative to Odoo and HubSpot. Next.js + Firebase. Code yours, from €4,000.
See CRM methodWorkflows on the tool that fits: native, Make or open source. HubSpot ↔ Notion ↔ Stripe sync. Gains estimated at the audit, measured after.
See automationClaude, GPT, Mistral agents on your data. RAG, prompt engineering, GDPR guardrails.
See AI agentsFrequent questions
Digital transformation for an SMB is NOT installing new software. It's an audit of all your business processes (sales, invoicing, delivery, customer relationship, reporting) followed by three decisions per process: we drop it because it adds nothing; we keep but simplify it; we automate it with a custom tool or standard SaaS. The TECHNICAL PART (CRM, automation, AI) comes last, after mapping and restructuring. This is what distinguishes real digital transformation from simply buying SaaS that changes nothing about underlying problems.
From €890 for process mapping alone, without a follow-up project. Beyond that, a complete transformation is quoted at the diagnosis and depends on three factors: (1) scope, how many processes to audit, typically 5 to 15 critical business processes; (2) complexity, simple vs multi-integration processes (accounting + logistics + CRM + e-commerce); (3) technical scope, how many post-audit automation projects, and with what technologies (SaaS, custom, AI). Personalized quote within 48h after the free express audit.
In a McKinsey survey (2018), only 16% of companies say their digital transformation improved performance in a lasting way. The cause I see most in SMBs: organizations automate existing chaos instead of restructuring it first. They buy a CRM supposed to solve their sales problems while their sales process isn't defined. They install marketing automation while their marketing strategy fits in two sentences. Result: the tool reproduces the mess, sometimes faster, with no added value. That's exactly why I start every mission with a process map and AS-IS → TO-BE restructuring before touching any technical tool.
Digitalization = replacing a paper process with a digital one without changing the process itself (e.g., replacing a paper ledger with an Excel file). Digital transformation = rethinking the process before digitizing it, asking whether it should even exist, how to simplify it, and only then which tool best embodies it. Digitalization is a tool question. Digital transformation is a process and organization question. An SMB moving invoices from paper to PDF has digitalized. An SMB rethinking its billing cycle to eliminate manual follow-ups, automate reminders, and sync accounting with banking has started real digital transformation.
Between 2 months (simple SMB, 3-5 processes to transform) and 12 months (complex SMB, 15+ processes, team to train). Typical frame for a 10-30 person SMB: Months 1-2 process audit + restructuring, Months 3-5 manual optimization, Months 6-9 automation projects in batches (CRM, then workflows, then AI), Months 10-12 stabilization and continuous training. At each milestone, a concrete testable deliverable. The classic mistake of big firms is delivering everything in one block at the end; I deliver in 4-6 week batches so you can validate and adjust along the way.
No standard answer. The right starting point depends on your most expensive identified pain during the process audit. Among the SMBs I meet, it's most often the sales pipeline (lost leads, manual follow-up, lagging quotes). Then come invoicing and collections (manual reminders, payment delays), reporting (executive who can't see numbers in real time), and finally logistics or operations. The rule: we first attack the process whose repair frees up the most team-hours per week or the most € of immobilized cash.
Yes, I have a network of senior freelances and small partner agencies in Paris and Kinshasa with whom I can assemble a team when your project exceeds my solo scope (e.g., complete transformation of a 50+ person SMB with dev + design + content + change management in parallel over 6+ months). In those cases, I remain your single point of contact, I coordinate the network, and invoicing stays transparent. This approach remains cheaper than an integrated agency, for the same quality.
Where do we start?
Free express audit · no quote before understanding your case. You leave with a map of your 3 priorities and a concrete price range, even if you decide not to move forward.