My Father’s World

The Solution
As the company expanded, it found itself increasingly bogged down by disjointed systems that struggled to keep up with the demands of a rapidly growing business.

Orders placed on the company’s website had to be manually re-entered into their order processing system, while inventory, finance, and shipping all operated on separate platforms that didn’t communicate. This lack of integration led to inefficiencies and opened the door to errors that could be especially costly because many of the titles of homeschooling have similar names.

“We were constantly re-entering the same information across different systems, which was time-consuming and prone to mistakes,” recalls Scott Sorrell, IT Director at My Father's World. “A customer’s order could be keyed in five different times from start to finish, and with each entry, the risk of an error increased.”

The company recognized that to continue growing and meet the increasing demands of its customer base, it needed a more sophisticated solution — one that could unify its disparate systems and streamline operations.

My Father's World partnered with VAI to implement the S2K ERP solution. “We were still a small business back then, operating out of the owner’s garage, but we had big ambitions,” says Sorrell. “We needed technology to help us scale efficiently, and S2K provided just that. It allowed us to integrate all our operations — order entry, inventory management, finance, and shipping — into one cohesive system.”

The modular nature of VAI’s S2K ERP was particularly beneficial for My Father's World, allowing the company to adopt technology as it grew, and as consumer preferences changed. In its earliest days, most of the company’s sales were driven by conferences. Today, 98% of sales are online. VAI’s e-Commerce application significantly improved its ability to process online orders and became an increasingly important part of its business.

As My Father's World grew it added additional software, including VAI’s Manufacturing application to keep track of raw materials for in-house book production, VAI’s Warehouse Management system (WMS) to track inventory, and VAI Marketing Cloud to better maintain close contact with their expanding customer base. This flexibility allowed My Father's World to grow organically, adding new capabilities as needed without overwhelming the business with unnecessary complexity.

A major turning point came when My Father's World decided to transition from an on-premise setup to VAI’s cloud-based solution. “Our business is highly seasonal. Any downtime during the busy season could cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Sorrell said. “The cloud solution provided the redundancy we needed to ensure uptime and relieved us of the burden of maintaining the hardware ourselves.”

Today, My Father's World operates from multiple facilities, including a dedicated office building, a separate warehouse, and a print shop — all seamlessly integrated through VAI’s ERP system.

“We’re now in a position where we can focus on what truly matters — delivering high-quality homeschooling materials to families across the nation — without getting bogged down by the inefficiencies of the past,” says Sorrell. “VAI’s ERP solution has truly been the backbone of our growth.”

The Result
VAI’s ERP software allowed My Father's World to unify their order entry, inventory management, finance, and shipping systems, eliminating the manual re-entry of data and reducing errors.

My Father's World also benefited from VAI’s WMS, which has improved their ability to track inventory and manage stock levels. The company switched to RFID scanners to reduce errors, using off-the-shelf hardware. The WMS module, combined with VAI’s predictive analytics capabilities, has enabled the company to make more informed decisions about purchasing and inventory management.

“Before VAI’s WMS, there were two or three workers dedicated to keeping track of the movement of inventory between our two warehouses,” Sorrell said. “Now it’s one person’s job for one or two hours per day.”

With the WMS and predictive analytics, the company has real-time visibility into its inventory, which helps us avoid stockouts and ensures that it can fulfill orders quickly and accurately.

VAI’s robust e-Commerce capabilities, particularly its straightforward and efficient checkout process, have proven to be a significant asset.

“We’ve engaged multiple marketing firms to find ways to improve business. At the outset, they usually suggest we overhaul our checkout process to boost sales, but after reviewing our system, they all concluded that VAI’s setup is already top-notch,” said Sorrell.

With easy access to customer history and activities, the VAI Smart Center supports My Father’s World in fostering long-term relationships with its customers, building loyalty during the span of a customer relationship that can last decades.

Since the launch of VAI’s ERP Solution, My Father's World has been able to:

• Unify and streamline their order entry, inventory, and financial systems
• Expand their e-commerce capabilities, driving significant online sales growth
• Improve inventory management with real-time visibility and predictive analytics
• Enhance operational efficiency with a cloud-based solution for greater reliability
• Strengthen their ability to serve customers and build customer loyalty