50 Years of Quebec Entrepreneurship in Technology
A story of family, vision, and resilience.
CIS Group, a Quebec family-owned company that has been transforming its clients’ operations for five decades
Saint-Jerome, Quebec, 2026 – At a time when few technology companies successfully navigate decades of change while remaining true to their roots, CIS Group is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary. To mark the beginning of this milestone year, the company will bring together nearly 350 clients, partners, and employees this October at Momentum, a prestigious conference highlighting five decades of innovation while presenting its vision for the future.
Founded in 1977 under the name Centre Informatique Saint-Jérôme, the company has grown into a strategic partner for organizations operating in distribution, food and beverage, transportation, and logistics. Today, its solutions support the operations of hundreds of companies and more than 20,000 users across North America, Latin America, and Europe.
In an industry shaped by consolidation, acquisitions, and ownership changes, CIS stands apart. Nearly 50 years after its founding, the Tessier and Casavant families remain at the heart of the organization, continuing the entrepreneurial vision established by its founders. This remarkable stability has enabled the company to build lasting relationships with employees, partners, and customers while maintaining a deeply human approach to technology.
Jacques Tessier and Bernard Casavant in the 1980s with the mobile devices of the era. The contrast with today’s devices is striking.
A Vision Born in the Laurentians
The story of CIS began at a time when business computing was still in its infancy. In the late 1970s, computer systems were expensive, complex, and accessible to only a small number of organizations. Yet a handful of visionary entrepreneurs already recognized the potential of technology to transform the way businesses operated. Among them were Roland Godard, Jacques Tessier, and Bernard Casavant, who combined their expertise to simplify and modernize business processes that were still largely paper-based.
From the outset, CIS embraced a philosophy that would guide its growth for decades to come: understanding the operational realities of its clients before developing technological solutions. This close partnership quickly became one of the company’s defining characteristics and helped establish long-term relationships with organizations that continue to rely on CIS technologies today.
Beyond technology, CIS has been built around a culture deeply rooted in human relationships. Many employees have dedicated more than 30 or even 40 years of their careers to the organization. This exceptional continuity reflects a culture that values trust, respect, and long-term commitment.
Visit of Quebec Premier René Lévesque to Centre Informatique Saint-Jérôme Ltd. – April 9, 1984
Values That Span Generations
For the past 50 years, CIS has been guided by five core values that continue to shape every decision it makes: passion, friendliness, integrity, commitment, and agility. These values have accompanied the company throughout every stage of its evolution, from its earliest accounting systems to its latest developments in artificial intelligence.
Today, this vision continues under the leadership of Éric Tessier, son of Jacques Tessier, who carries forward one of Quebec’s rare multi-generational entrepreneurial success stories in the technology sector. His appointment as President reflects the organization’s commitment to preserving the founders’ legacy while preparing for the challenges of the decades ahead.
For CIS, innovation has never been an end in itself. Rather, it has always been a means of helping businesses perform better, improve efficiency, and make better decisions. That philosophy remains at the heart of every initiative undertaken by the company.
An Often Invisible but Essential Impact
While not widely known to the general public, CIS plays a daily role in the North American supply chain. The technologies developed by the company help support the distribution of millions of products that reach stores, restaurants, hotels, and households every day.
Among the more than 200 organizations that trust CIS are Agropur, Saputo, Keurig, Pepsi Alex-Coulombe, Molson Coors, Colabor, Distribution Dynamique (Québecor), Boulangerie St-Méthode, Brasseurs RJ, Transdev, Keolis, Autobus Auger, and Autobus Maheux. Internationally, major organizations such as Turano Baking Company in the United States, Grupo Bermudez in the Caribbean, and Brasserie de la Couronne in Haiti also rely on technologies developed by the Quebec-based company.
This impact often goes unnoticed by consumers, yet it is reflected every day in the operations of countless producers, distributors, and transportation providers responsible for keeping goods moving through the supply chain.
CIS Companion: From Mobility to Operational Intelligence
One of CIS’s most significant achievements is the development of its Companion Suite. A pioneer in its field, the company was among the first in Canada to develop a handheld mobile application designed to automate sales and distribution operations. This innovation transformed the way sales representatives, delivery drivers, and merchandisers perform their day-to-day work.
Today, Companion supports thousands of users every day and helps optimize sales representation, order taking, delivery, invoicing, and in-store execution activities. These solutions enable organizations across North America to operate more efficiently and better serve consumers.
To provide a complete solution, CIS has also developed recognized expertise in rugged mobile devices and maintains strategic partnerships with Honeywell and Zebra Technologies, two global industry leaders. This integrated approach allows clients to benefit from comprehensive support, from device selection and deployment to ongoing maintenance.
Artificial Intelligence: The Next Chapter of the CIS Story
True to its innovative DNA, CIS is investing heavily in artificial intelligence to help shape the future of supply chain operations. This commitment is reflected in an investment of more than $4 million dedicated to developing AI solutions tailored to its clients’ operational realities. Integrated within the Companion Suite, these capabilities are designed to help organizations forecast more accurately, plan more effectively, and execute more efficiently, while reducing waste, product losses, and unsold inventory.
With Companion AI, CIS has a clear objective: provide people with more accurate, faster, and more complete information to support data-driven decision-making rather than relying solely on intuition, as was often the case for decades. By analyzing vast amounts of internal and external data, the platform can recommend the right products, in the right locations, at the right times, improving shelf availability, product freshness, and commercial performance.
Developed in collaboration with Boulangerie St-Méthode, a long-standing partner, the demand forecasting module perfectly illustrates CIS’s co-development approach rooted in real-world customer needs. This innovation was recognized by the CTAQ with the 2025 Innovation of the Year Award, further validating the tangible impact of AI applied to food and beverage operations.
CIS is also developing new strategic modules, including computer vision for automated planogram analysis and route recommendation technologies to help representatives focus their efforts where business impact is greatest. By putting data in the hands of operational teams, CIS continues the mission that has driven the company for nearly 50 years: transforming technological innovation into concrete and lasting value.
CIS Station: At the Heart of Transportation Operations
Alongside its distribution and mobility activities, CIS has developed significant expertise in the transportation sector through its CIS Station platform. This suite of solutions enables freight and passenger transportation companies to centralize operations within a single integrated environment that combines planning, dispatching, mobility, maintenance, payroll, and financial management.
Developed in Quebec and continuously enhanced through collaboration with customers, CIS Station has become a key pillar of the company’s growth strategy within the transportation industry.
Momentum: Celebrating the Past, Presenting the Future
To mark this important milestone, CIS will welcome nearly 350 clients, partners, and employees to Manoir Saint-Sauveur this October for Momentum, the prestigious conference that will officially launch its 50th anniversary celebrations. The event will be far more than a corporate gathering. It will be an opportunity to thank those who have contributed to CIS’s success over the past five decades while sharing the vision that will guide the company in the years ahead.
Participants will also hear from renowned speakers including Jean Charest, Sylvain Charlebois, Olivier Blais, and Georgina Lamb, who will share their perspectives on innovation, leadership, artificial intelligence, and the evolving global economy.
At a time when artificial intelligence, mobility, and operational optimization are redefining market dynamics, Momentum will also showcase the innovations that will shape the next phase of the company’s evolution.
As Éric Tessier, President and Chief Executive Officer, explains
“Our greatest achievement is not that we have reached 50 years. It is that, year after year, we have earned the trust of our customers and employees. They are the people who built CIS. Our ambition now is to continue this story for the next 50 years.”
