VAI’s Warehouse Application Provides Customizable Software for Streamlined Order Fulfillment at Ethical Products

Pet accessories supplier improves order accuracy and speed of fulfillment with VAI’s software solution

Ronkonkoma, N.Y. – June 28, 2017 - VAI, a leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developer, today announced that Ethical Products, a quality pet product supplier, is revamping their warehouse and order fulfillment processes with VAI’s warehouse application management tool.

Ethical Products, a leading pet product distributor, has been providing pet owners with quality toys, accessories and customer service since 1952. Over the past 65 years, Ethical Products has grown from a family-owned business into a global company, reaching markets in Asia, Canada, Europe and South America and is now widely known as the leader in the development and marketing of new and innovative pet products. Their rapid advancements and continual growth have driven their need for powerful business IT solutions that enable them to meet growing demands and provide exceptional customer service.

“We were immediately interested in VAI’s warehouse application when we learned that VAI had begun programming APPs within the Warehouse Management System module of S2K Enterprise," said Frank Lucente, vice president of operations at Ethical Products. “We felt that full warehousing would be too burdensome for our company because of its strict discipline, so we saw an opportunity to maximize efficiency and eliminate errors using VAI’s solution. Working with VAI, we developed what our CFO, Larry Sturm, affectionately coined 'WAPP' or warehouse APP for our outbound functions. We will now begin phase two of implementing receipt and inventory control functions."

Ethical Products began working with VAI in 2003, and they started using VAI’s mobile warehouse management applications in 2015. The flexible software platform allowed them to design a solution that was specific to their warehouse needs, helping them trim down their outbound order fulfillment process by cutting out nearly 60 percent of the steps that were once necessary to complete an order. This consolidation has not only decreased human error and increased order accuracy, but it has also enabled Ethical Products to digitize their data and customer information, making their warehouse a virtually paperless facility. Today, with the help of VAI’s software, Ethical Products has been able to meet growing business demands and fill their influx of orders with  fewer warehouse employees than before, thanks to their streamlined process. The results that Ethical Products has seen as an outcome of collaborating with VAI has spurred their next IT initiative; implementing VAI’s warehouse management application for processing inbound requests, an added solution that will further improve order accuracy and speed of fulfillment.  

“Working with Ethical Products has been a unique and rewarding experience. It has been a pleasure working side by side with them as we help them mold and customize the application software to fit their exact warehouse needs and specifications,” said Rich Van Helden, project director at VAI. “It’s been exciting to help them make such dramatic advancements to their distribution process with their adoption of our mobile warehouse management applications. We’re looking forward to our continued relationship with them as they redesign and streamline their inbound request process over the next few years.”

About Ethical Products

Ethical Products, Inc. is a privately owned company that was established in 1952. The company's Bloomfield, New Jersey facility serves as its distribution center and corporate offices, which employs approximately 50 people. The company is focused on providing products for dogs and cats, marketing its products under the SPOT brand, which includes dog and cat toys, dishes, waste management products, and other dog and cat accessories. The company's Fashion Pet division markets a complete line of dog apparel. Throughout the years, Ethical Products has won prestigious new product awards at the Global Pet Exposition show. Ethical Products' brands have been cited as leaders in the annual survey conducted by Pet Age magazine. The company continues to provide pet owners and their pets with the absolute best consumer value and customer service in the pet industry, while never losing sight of quality, innovation, safety, honesty and humanity. For more information, visit www.ethicalpet.com.

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 Gold 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.