VAI Lands Two More Customers for S2K 5.0

March 2, 2010 Alex Woodie

VAI last week announced it’s signed contracts for its i/OS ERP suite, S2K 5.0, with two additional customers, including Western Power Sports, a distributor of parts and accessories for dirt bikes, ATVs, and snowmobiles, and Acme Tools, a retailer of power tools and equipment.

Western Power Sports (WPS) distributes more than 75,000 parts and accessories for motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, watercraft, and bicycles. The company, which is based in Boise, Idaho, operates warehouses in California, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, and claims to be the third largest wholesale distributor in the U.S.

For more than 10 years, WPS has relied on VAI and the System i server to run its distribution business. Last year, the company decided to upgrade to the latest S2K 5.0 release as the result of growth in its business and the need to improve employee efficiency and response times, according to Ed Fowles, VAI’s senior project leader and trainer on the WPS installation.

The decision wasn’t a difficult one, according to Rody Cummings, WPS’ IT director. “We have been a VAI customer for over 10 years and are exceptionally pleased with the firm’s software solutions and excellent customer support. As such, when it came time to upgrade our ERP software, we didn’t need to look any further than VAI,” Cummings states in a press release. “This S2K upgrade positions WPS for a profitable future.”

Meanwhile, another S2K 5.0 roll-out has been completed at Acme Tools, a tool and equipment seller that operates 10 retail stores and warehouses across North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

Acme, which was coming from another i/OS package, felt comfortable with the fact that S2K runs native on the IBM Power Systems (System i) platform.

“We were focused on upgrading our ERP software and once we discovered S2K, we knew that we had the solution to fit our needs, especially since VAI works exclusively on the IBM Power System,” states Acme IS manager Dean Spicer in a press release.

Acme is currently using several components of the S2K suite, including S2K for Distribution, S2K Customer Relationship Management (CRM), S2K Warehouse Management, and S2K for Retail Point-of-Sale (POS).

Spicer says he was very pleased with the S2K roll-out. “VAI listened to our needs and was more than willing to adjust the software package to address our specific parameters,” he says. “This implementation has been a true partnership and we are happy with the results so far.”

VAI launched S2K 5.0 in 2008. Highlights of the release include a modernized GUI client based in Java, new WMS capabilities, and closer integration with IBM’s WebSphere Portal framework, which opened up a whole range of new capabilities such as easier user customizations, support for the iPhone, enhancements to customer and supplier relationship management systems, and an easier-to-use executive information system.