Morton Wholesale Leverages VAI ERP Solution for Greater Productivity, Visibility, and Traceability Throughout Supply Chain

Ronkonkoma, N.Y. – June 20, 2023 – VAI, a leading ERP software developer, released new testimonials from its ongoing collaboration with Morton Wholesale, an independent distributor of food and beverage products, following the company’s implementation of VAI S2K Enterprise for Food software, which offers all necessary resources for managing a business’s costs and adhering to food safety guidelines, in addition to improved productivity, visibility, and quality throughout the organization.

Some of Ontario, CD's most well-known restaurants receive their food and drink supply from Morton Wholesale. The company offers a line of over 7,000 domestic and international products and delivers goods to 1,000 customers annually. The business needed an ERP software vendor who could not only satisfy its current growth needs but also help it maintain its growth trajectory in the future.

After an extensive process looking for an ERP partner with an advanced food solution, Morton Wholesale selected VAI S2K Food to create a competitive advantage for its business. The unique food industry features within S2K Food, as well as the software’s ability to help food distributors comply with food safety requirements, were necessary for the food distributor to successfully operate the business.

The VAI implementation team worked closely with Morton Wholesale to review the standard features available within S2K as well as develop specific functionality for the food distributor. Morton Wholesale selected advanced VAI software applications to run with S2K’s core distribution and financial applications, such as S2K Mobile Order Entry and Proof-of-Delivery (POD), Suggested Purchasing, Warehouse Management, and Analytics.

“Our S2K Food ERP offerings assist businesses like Morton Wholesale to streamline operations for optimal success,” said Pete Zimmerman, North American Sales Manager at VAI. “The fast-paced food industry can be difficult to keep up with and businesses are able to leverage our offerings to boost productivity and profitability. Processing large amounts of data in real-time keeps the entire business running and allows for the most efficient version of compliance.”

"Dynamics have changed since we’ve implemented VAI S2K,” said Joel Fillion, Distribution Center Manager at Morton Wholesale. “We’re more efficient and organized with VAI’s S2K Food solution. We now have traceability over an item from the time it hits our door until the time we sell to and deliver to the customer.”

Utilizing applications such as S2K Mobile POD have streamlined processes and allowed Morton teams to become more efficient. “When our drivers go to a customer, we scan each piece off the truck,” Joel Fillion continued. “The nice thing about POD is, if it can’t be scanned because there’s no barcodes you can manually override with a touch button. If a product is returned upon delivery, POD automatically generates a return authorization, so now there’s no miscommunication between the driver and customer service people. It has streamlined our process and helped us out quite a bit.”   

The company also uses S2K Mobile Order Entry which enables Morton to track products throughout the purchasing lifecycle, maintain inventory accuracy, and assist representatives in tracking sales so that they can make decisions about future orders. “With a simple click of a button, you can see history all the way from the first time a customer purchased, along with price,” said Robert Shepley, Sales/Regional Manager at Morton Wholesale. “You can also adjust the margin on the spot, and reps. can see where the commission base is growing or declining, depending on where the margin is set. S2K Order Entry is the perfect tool to assist our reps in knowing what they’re doing, and if there’s any goals that need to be hit, it’s all in that one screen so they can adjust accordingly.”

Robert Shepley also stated, “VAI’s mobile app comes in handy when you can walk around a restaurant and inventory products in the freezer or cooler with your mobile device, and key in the order live while you’re looking at the inventory. It reduces the risk of missing a certain item. It’s bulletproof in making sure that order is accurate.”

Morton recently implemented VAI S2K Analytics software which provides businesses with insights into data that allows them to create powerful dashboards and reports. The company uses S2K for most of its reporting, and there’s much the company can do with the data using a simple and intuitive process. For example, representatives can reflect on the overall performance of a product or identify and analyze new opportunities and trends. 

While analytics and mobile capabilities have helped Morton Wholesale streamline their supply chain and optimize business results, implementing the S2K Supply & Demand Planning purchasing module was also a big step for the company to simplify business processes. Prior to utilizing VAI S2K, the company’s purchasing was done on paper, which quickly became unorganized and a laborious process.

“We love the suggested purchasing module because all the data needed to make informed decisions is available,” said Patrick Lenover, Director of Project Management at Morton Wholesale. “Suggestions are made for you including analysis behind those suggestions. You can get everything you want with a couple of clicks, and it comes up with a suggestion for you. If you’re ever wondering how the system came up with a suggestion, it gives you that information. Just one click on the analysis tab and you can see how everything is calculated.”

“This last year we’ve seen the most growth, ever, within the company,” said Robert Shepley. “We’re looking to continue to grow. Having a good platform like VAI S2K Enterprise for Food on our side is really helping us and our reps. navigate through the system, provide better service to the customer, simpler order entry, and it’s easier to get accurate information when needed. Everything is working out.”

To learn more, visit www.vai.net and www.mortonfoodservice.com.

About VAI

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, retail, and service sectors. VAI's software solutions are backed by a wealth of experience and a reputation for excellence that countless companies rely on. With specific ERP solutions for hard goods, food, and pharmaceutical companies, VAI has helped some of the most recognized companies address key industry requirements and deliver bottom-line results. VAI continues to innovate with new solutions that leverage business intelligence, analytics, mobility, and cloud technology to help customers make more informed business decisions and empower their mobile workforce. For more information, visit www.vai.net.

About Morton Wholesale

Deeply rooted in the independent business community for over 100 years, Morton Food Service is the premier broadline distributor to independent restaurants serving Southwestern Ontario and the Niagara peninsula. To learn more, visit https://mortonfoodservice.com.