VAI: 40 Years of Enterprise Innovation, and Still Going Strong

As VAI celebrates 40th years in business, the company takes pride in its journey to becoming a top enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor, the evolution of technology that has shaped its innovation over the years, and how it has always remained dedicated to partnering in development with its customers.

Established in 1978 and located in Ronkonkoma, New York, VAI initially began as a regional IBM Business Partner and ERP software developer for small to mid-size companies in the New York area. The company expanded over the years by marketing its enhanced products and services worldwide through its direct sales force and dealer re-seller channel. The Y2K period also created additional opportunities and growth for VAI which resulted in additional offices opened in Miami, Orlando, Chicago, and Oroville, CA. This growth continues today with a continual recruitment effort resulting in a staff of over 200 employees, plus additional office expansions this year in New York, Orlando and Chicago.

VAI continues to grow its staff to help manage a global client base. A team of tenured, industry-leading engineers, research and development experts, and technology specialists work side by side with their customers to help them grow, thrive, and succeed in an increasingly demanding and technologically advanced environment. VAI believes this dedication to customer commitment has been the underlying factor for its success through the years and working in conjunction with its customers to ensure their success remains a top priority.

Since its inception, VAI has stayed ahead of emerging technologies through significant investments in research and development, and forty years’ worth of business experience. This has enabled VAI to be at the forefront of continuous innovation. The company has achieved this by developing a robust software suite of applications and configures them to meet specific customer needs. VAI S2K Enterprise has helped companies succeed across many industries, from discreet to process manufacturing, retail point-of-sale to distribution, including: hard goods, food and pharmaceutical distribution, automotive, pet supply, medical, plastics, industrial, janitorial distribution, HVAC, plumbing and heating, and more.

Industry-specific solutions within S2K Enterprise are fully integrated and designed to completely automate operations, from the back-office to the shop floor, to the mobile sales force. S2K Enterprise applications including warehouse management, sales force, customer relationship management, procurement, e-commerce, mobile, predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and cloud technology have helped VAI customers stay competitive, and achieve real and measurable returns on their investment.

When VAI was founded, the company focused on customer service, inventory, and financial applications. Other technologies surfaced such as, electronic data interface, (EDI), wireless scanning and barcoding in the warehouse, and shop floo/r control. That evolved into adding e-commerce, mobile technology, and retail point-of-sale. Following that, major advancements were developed in warehouse management, including RFID, voice picking, and automated putaways, as well as large scale virtualization. Today, VAI offers numerous mobile applications, business intelligence dashboards, cloud computing, marketing automation, and much more.

VAI also offers its customers the ability to utilize S2K Enterprise or access API’s for different plug-in applications to meet their distinct business needs. This allows for optimal end-to-end capabilities and flexibility within the product. In addition, customers can also utilize VAI’s cloud, which brings significant value to businesses that can then free up critical IT resources to focus on strategic initiatives and innovation, rather than hardware management. With a highly redundant cloud and disaster recovery, S2K Enterprise also provides customers with the support necessary for any business venture they choose to pursue. Based on VAI’s customer successes, its offerings have proven to be a valuable, reliable asset for them.

As a part of the ever-changing, fast-paced technology landscape over the past 40 years, VAI will continue to be about customer service and support. VAI is always evaluating emerging technologies and investing in research and development, reviewing industry trends, and taking customer feedback into account for all of its advancements. As VAI looks to the future, it will continue to be an innovative company built on a solid foundation of strong core principles and will remain committed to empowering its customers with the best ERP solution the industry has to offer.