Superior Inventory Management, Increased Internal Efficiency and Greater Customer Satisfaction

Sid Harvey's is a leading wholesaler of refrigeration, air conditioning and heating equipment and parts, operating 75 outlets in 18 states. The company maintains a huge inventory of more than 50,000 items that includes HVAC equipment, refrigerating equipment, ice machines, valves, motors, pumps, controls, instruments and numerous other components that are used by the comfort industry to keep its customers warm in the winter and cool in the summer. A growing company with such vast inventory needed an IT system and database that could conduct real-time order processing and electronic customer service and support.

The Challenge…

Sid Harvey's CFO, Russ TumSuden, describes the challenge that VAI had to address. "Each branch had its own system. It used to take us more than eight hours each night to upload, process and download data between our headquarter office and our branches just to get ready for the next business day."

The Right Solution…

"We put an RFP out and had plenty of responses," TumSuden elaborated. "VAI made the crucial difference. Their software product, S2K Enterprise, included a fully integrated e-business application. They came in and performed a seamless conversion from our existing software. Once we went live, the software transformed Sid Harvey's into an end-to-end e-business and we've never looked back. The VAI product brought all our branches together for greater internal efficiency that has translated into higher support levels and increased customer satisfaction and loyalty."

Benefits and Results…

Today, all Sid Harvey's locations are online with real-time information that gives any branch access to the company's complete inventory in individual branches or in their distribution center. The company is enjoying much tighter control of its inventory and high demand products are more readily available. When customer needs or product lines change, Sid Harvey's branch managers now have the capability of updating inventory levels on a nearly instantaneous basis. This rapid response to the changing needs of its contractor/customers is what has transformed Sid Harvey's into the supplier of choice in many of its markets.

Faster Response…

"From time to time, a branch runs out of a part," said TumSuden. "When this happens, the system tells us immediately. We're not done with our IT improvements yet, and I'm not sure that we'll ever be. In a dynamic business environment like ours, the market demands improvement and innovation. For example, we've recently worked with VAI software along with some custom software to institute online time and expense reporting. This has eliminated all kinds of paperwork for everyone involved, freeing us up to focus on our customers' needs."

About Sid Harvey’s

The Garden City, N.Y.-based distributor celebrates its 75th year in business in 2006. Operating 75 branch outlets along the East Coast, in the Midwest and further west in the Rocky Mountain region, Sid Harvey's offers an array of services and products to contractors in the indoor comfort and refrigeration service industries, designed to make their businesses more profitable. For more information, call 516-745-9200 or visit www.SidHarvey.com