VAI S2K Software Sparks Record Growth For Phantom Fireworks

Ronkonkoma, N.Y. - June 8, 2015 - BJ Alan, the nation’s leading distributor of wholesale fireworks and consumer fireworks through its Phantom Brand Fireworks, has streamlined business processes and increased sales with the installation of S2K ERP software from VAI. Phantom Fireworks has also implemented S2K Warehouse Management Software (WMS) to improve warehouse operations, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.

For over 35 years, Phantom Fireworks has sought to convert professional display firework performance to safe, powerful consumer products. As one of the nation’s largest importer of fireworks and sparklers, 90 percent of Phantom Fireworks’ business is generated in the six weeks leading up to July 4.

To keep up with the growing demand for its products, Phantom Fireworks automated many of its core business functions, including inventory management, accounts payable/receivable, general ledger, custom orders, and retail point-of-sale with VAI’s S2K software. As a result, Phantom Fireworks is realizing the following business benefits:

• Immediate Sales Growth:
• Phantom Fireworks increased its sales between three and five percent during the first busy July 4th time period, with the new system easily managing the higher volume of sales.
• Easier Staff Training:
• VAI S2K’s user-friendly interface makes training seasonal employees on the software simple, reducing training time from three days to a single afternoon and enabling employees to focus on performing business operations and customer service excellence.
• Efficient and Real-Time Inventory Management:
• Short-term inventory variances have improved drastically, with greater visibility to everyone in the organization.

“With 72 locations and a large temporary workforce, it is critical that we have an ERP system that streamlines business processes while improving productivity,” said Mike Koocher, CIO of Phantom Fireworks. “With VAI S2K software, we have significantly enhanced our inventory accuracy, thus enabling us to increase sales and improve uptime across all retail stores during our busiest and most important time of the year. We look forward to the benefits VAI’s WMS will bring us with further improved inventory control.”

Because of its business sector, Phantom Fireworks was faced with maintaining regulatory compliance with PCI (Payment Card Industry). VAI’s partnership with Verifone was particularly attractive to Phantom Fireworks because it enabled the company to ensure the security of all payment transactions and help maintain PCI compliance. End-to-end encryption and tokenization from Verifone protects cardholder data by encrypting it as soon as it’s collected at the point of sale, removing clear card data from their store systems.

Furthermore, when Michigan legalized the sale of fireworks in January 2012, it provided a significant opportunity for Phantom Fireworks and the need to act quickly. With the help of VAI and the S2K solution, Phantom Fireworks was able to open three retail stores in Michigan in just two weeks and the company is experiencing tremendous results.

“As a major supplier of consumer fireworks, Phantom Fireworks needed an ERP solution that was robust and scalable enough to meet all of their business objectives,” said Luke Heaton, project director, VAI. “We could not be happier with the success Phantom Fireworks has achieved with our S2K Solution, and look forward to continuing to help the company improve the efficiency of its warehouses with S2K WMS.”

About VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.)

VAI is a leading independent mid-market ERP software developer renowned for its flexible solutions and ability to automate critical business functions for the distribution, manufacturing, specialty retail and service sectors. An IBM Premier Business Partner, VAI is the 2012 IBM Beacon Award Winner for Outstanding Solutions for Midsize Businesses. VAI continues to innovate with new solutions that leverage analytics, business intelligence, mobility and cloud technology to help customers make more informed business decisions in real-time and empower their mobile workforces. VAI is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, NY with branch offices in Florida, Illinois and California. For more information, visit www.vai.net, follow @VAISoftware on Twitter or "like us" on facebook.com/VAISoftware.