The preceding advertisement highlights the tight relationships that IBM Business Partner Vormittag Associates Inc. (VAI) is developing with companies that are literally household names. If in the name dropping mood, the Long Island, N.Y., based company can casually allude to customers such as Dupont DUSA, Roto Rooter Corporation, and Dunkin Donuts Midwest Distribution Center as well as Crane Plumbing. All told, about 700 companies have purchased VAI S2K Enterprise Software, an integrated, customizable suite of integrated business functions.
Still pushing ahead, the software and systems integration concern continues to expand its international list of S2K Enterprise customers, achieving over 40% revenue growth during each of the past five years. This performance has garnered awards from IBM and other industry watchers. From 1998 through 2000, VAI was named to the Deloitte & Touche Long Island Fast 50 list, as well as being designated IBM Business Partner of the Year and earning the prestigious Outstanding Business Partner of the Year award. How did they do it?
A Breakout Strategy
"A few years back we made a conscious decision to diversify across industries and application functions rather than across platforms" explains Bob Vormittag, president and founder of VAI. "This is one of the best decisions we ever made. We were convinced that the IBM iSeries systems would help us diversify and benefit customers best. Embracing the iSeries technologies has allowed us to expand the number of solutions offered to customers. It's been a breakout strategy, taking us from being a distribution software company to becoming an enterprise solutions provider to wholesale, distribution, manufacturing, and retail businesses.
"A big part of the multi-industry multifunction blueprint," Vormittag continues, "was based on the fact that IBM is associated with superior reliability, scalability, flexibility, support, and many other genuine advantages. Businesses always search for suppliers that provide the best solutions and support. Being an IBM Business Partner helps us do that. Our customers believe that their iSeries servers provide then a significant edge. No other partner would be capable of helping us to create and maintain this competitive superiority."
Vormittag is an equally enthusiastic advocate of the S2K Enterprise product. Designed exclusively for iSeries servers, S2K Enterprise is a complete, solid enterprise-wide solution. Most recently, VAI has added an e-business component that streamlines and speeds business-to-business and business-to-customer activities.
"Our customers believe that we are focused on saving them money and improving their bottom line," says Vormittag. "The continuing message is that the VAI and IBM combination delivers extraordinary capabilities and support that fit the exact needs of each customer. The iSeries servers are our trump card in this game. The are pay-as-you-grow systems, and our software mirrors that approach."
Running on the full range of iSeries servers, S2K Enterprise management applications can be modified to unique customer requirements. A business can choose from distribution, e-business, ordering, inventory, sales analysis, customer relationship management, a complete selection of financial components or retail oriented functions. In addition to using these components, a manufacturer can select from manufacturing work orders, capacity requirements planning, forecasting, shop floor control and material requirements planning.
Many different kinds of companies are choosing S2K Enterprise because it offers such a high degree of business function consolidation. VAI has been particularly successful in earning the business of big-name franchising corporations. These customers use S2K Enterprise to offer their franchisees Web-based real-time ordering, order status, promotions information, payment management and an electronic help desk. These functions are integrated with many other enterprise activities to increase efficiency, improve communications and help manage all aspects of doing business.
Web Enabled Relief
Roto-Rooter Corporation the manufacturing and franchisee service arm of Roto-Rooter, Inc., is a prime example of how VAI customers are able to combine most of their enterprise functions within a single program suite, reducing software acquisition and training costs substantially. "We chose S2K Enterprise software because it offers the chance to combine so many aspects of our business," says Charles Scavo, chief financial officer at the West Des Moines, Iowa, company. "In addition, we saw a lot of advantages in the IBM iSeries product. We wanted a machine that would provide more stability, better security and faster processing, and that's what we got from IBM."
Supporting a base of about 640 franchisees the company uses S2K Enterprise software on a single iSeries to consolidate franchisee services and sales with manufacturing functions. The customized enterprise solution automates order entry, invoicing, receivable, account status, corporate general ledger, sales analysis, inventory, and manufacturing requirements and purchasing.
"It's a total package at a reasonable price," adds Scavo. "The real plus is that -- unlike an off-the-shelf software -- the VAI package is customized to our specific needs. Right now, we are testing an e-business function that allows our customers to make orders, check inventory, review account status and perform other tasks through a Web interface. The new system should save money for customers and reduce our costs, along with improving service to our customers' customers. It's an all around win-win play."
Deep-Fried Delights
Another familiar Main Street name to employ the S2K Enterprise solution is Dunkin Donuts. co-op, Dunkin Donuts Midwest Distribution Center, Inc., serves 300 stores in the United States, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Hawaii and Guam. A franchisee-owned company separate from Dunkin Donuts, Inc., Midwestern uses VAI software to automate distribution, financial, order intake, order status and account status.
"The S2K Enterprise solutions is definitely co-op friendly," says Tom Jensen, vice president and general manager of the Mokena, Ill., Distribution center. "We've been using IBM products since 1988, and we decided to go with VAI in 1991. One competitive advantage that we've liked has been the continuing updates from Vormittag.
"Currently, our owners are looking forward to using the new e-business solution," recounts Jensen. "It will allow them to make orders and conduct other business through the Web. We'll be running it on a brand new iSeries machine, too. This new system is going to free up a lot of time - even at the beginning of the process - because the on-line version of the order from pretty much mirrors the current paper version. Plus, franchise owners will be able to enter orders anytime, day or night, whereas we were previously set up to take orders between 7:30 and 11:00 a.m. - which are the peak business hours for franchisees.
A quick return on investment is what sells a lot of companies on VAI S2K Enterprise. "Jensen reports that the e-business function should pay for itself within a year of implementation. This result sells a lot of companies on VAI S2K Enterprise. "That's the kind of return on investment that we need and have come to expect from Vormittag," he says.
Given the growing success of the S2K Enterprise solution, it's apparent that businesses investing in Vormittag software and services are expecting similar returns.
