We exist to make
technology decisions
pay for themselves.
Too many technology initiatives fail — not because teams lack effort, but because critical decisions are made without alignment, ownership, or a shared understanding of risk. By the time problems surface, time and money are already gone.
We step in before tools are selected, vendors are hired, or systems are changed — to create clarity where guessing usually exists.
Clarity before execution.
Every time.
Mid-market manufacturers
who are done guessing.
A $50M manufacturer with disconnected systems and manual processes is typically leaving $8,000 to $15,000 on the table every week. Not in theory. In delayed quotes, wasted labor, and margin erosion that doesn't show up until it's too late.
We exist to close that gap — department by department, with AI at the core, until the change is yours to run.
The people inside
the change.
In just a few weeks, Manufacturing ROI took us from a family business running on instinct to an enterprise running on data. ROI starts week one.
We brought Manufacturing ROI in for CMMC. Now that's a secondary scope item. They're reinventing our business. You'll look back and say: how did we survive being this inefficient?
Ben showed us what we didn't know — which is the hardest thing to see. In just over a year, we made what feels like decades of progress.
Rather than recommending technology for technology's sake, Manufacturing ROI consistently focused on practical solutions that delivered measurable business value.
Ben Allen
Manufacturing ROI & Allen CIO
Not consulting to them from a distance.
Ben started his career at Price Waterhouse, then founded Allen IT in 1998 — building one of the region's respected managed IT practices from the ground up. In 2019 he launched Allen CIO to focus exclusively on fractional CIO and technology advisory work for mid-market manufacturers and PE portfolio companies.
Manufacturing ROI followed — purpose-built for the moment when a manufacturing CEO needs an independent advisor who understands both sides of the table: the business pressure and the technology landscape. No vendor relationships. No implementation revenue. No agenda other than a clear path forward.
His positioning is anchored in value-based advisory fees following Alan Weiss principles — which means the engagement is priced on the outcome it creates, not the hours it takes. That's not a billing model. It's a philosophy about who bears the risk.
Ben leads the Indiana CIO Network presentations committee and is active in ACG Tennessee and Colorado Manufacturing Forums. He exhibits at Automate and IMTS expos under the Manufacturing ROI banner.
Dr. Andy McShea
Pentagon-level compliance depth.
Practical results on the shop floor.
Dr. Andy McShea brings over 15 years of experience in advanced manufacturing and business operations, delivering practical, cost-effective compliance solutions that keep businesses thriving without excessive government red tape.
His manufacturing experience includes managing operations at Probi USA, a subsidiary of international chemical company Symrise, where he overhauled production facilities to cut costs and scale capacity under stringent cost controls and regulatory pressures — proving that compliance can enhance profitability rather than drain it.
Prior to this, at a large private investment fund, he oversaw investments and turnarounds, aligning operational needs with contract demands while keeping overhead lean. That hands-on operational background is what separates his CMMC guidance from purely theoretical compliance advice.
Ready for a peer
conversation?
One call. No pitch deck. No vendor agenda. Just a direct discussion about where you're trying to go and whether we're the right people to help you get there.