"All of VAI’s software and technical capabilities were instrumental in our growth the past few years, and VAI has exceeded our expectations of what an ERP solution can do for a business like ours."
The Company
Started in 1946 by Henry Heim as a co-operative of local bakers, Inter-County Bakery Supply has been led by the Heim family throughout its existence. It was purchased by the Heim family in 1995 and is now led by Ted Heim Jr., who serves as CEO and is supported by Ted Heim Sr., who serves as President. Both are award-winning leaders and spokespeople in the bakery supply industry. Ted Jr.'s son Jeremy recently joined Inter-County, marking the fourth generation of the Heim family dedicated to the company.
As a leading distributor of bakery supplies, Inter-County provides unmatched brand and ingredient selection, unwavering dependability and service, and a strong dedication to its clients. Inter-County operates from a 115,000 square foot, state-of-the-art headquarters and warehouse located in Deer Park, New York. The company has approximately 3,500 items in its inventory, which includes raw materials and mixes, foods that are refrigerated and frozen, and baked, partially baked, and fully baked goods. The company serves a sizable and expanding clientele from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
The Solution
Due to an increasingly demanding market, Tony Lotito, COO at Inter-County, says he knew the company needed to modernize its processes and automate capabilities to evolve alongside its customer base, as well as streamline its supply chain. “We decided VAI’s ERP solution would give us the best bang for our buck by providing a software system, including mobile and analytic applications, allowing us to view our data in real-time and make more informed business decisions across multiple departments,” said Lotito.
When it came to choosing an ERP partner, Inter-County knew they needed an ERP solution that understood its business needs intimately and could provide ROI quickly. Continued Lotito, “Our inventory spans over 3,500 items, and with customers across the East Coast, we knew VAI’s ERP solution could handle complexities of our warehouse operations and purchasing needs. We realized early on that VAI would be a trusted software partner who could take care of the technical side of the system to help us reach our sales goals.”
VAI’s S2K Enterprise for Food is designed for companies like Inter-County by offering real-time insights into inventory and purchasing trends, automatic food safety compliance, and web applications for customers to easily navigate services and purchase products. “It became clear that VAI was not only up to the challenge of expediting our sales, but that they would be a trusted partner that could consistently ensure our IT infrastructure was running smoothly,” said Lotito.
Inter-County implemented VAI’s S2K Mobile and Analytics applications, which integrate seamlessly into the VAI food ERP solution. The company leverages mobile to equip sales and marketing teams with the insights needed to increase order entry frequency and generate reports that can analyze high-level trends and department metrics. Inter-County uses S2K Mobile Order Entry daily, currently placing 4,000 orders per month between their sales team of 12 people.
The company was entering the holiday season when they were implementing VAI ERP software. How did they navigate through such a transition during their busiest season? “The 4th quarter can make or break our year,” Lotito says. “Our customers depend on us. Moving to a new ERP system cannot be an excuse to let our customers down or potentially ruin our year. VAI understood and worked with us to make sure we were better than previous years.”
In early 2020, right after the ERP system was up and running, the coronavirus pandemic hit. The new system was installed just in time to help Inter-County meet the new demands of an essential food business delivering food to their customers. With the help of VAI, the company did not miss a day of taking orders and delivering products, while having staff work remotely. VAI was there to support Inter-County all the way.
The Result
Modernization is increasingly important for business continuity, but it’s just as important to choose your software partners carefully. The [baking] industry looks very different from even other food and beverage companies in space, which is why having an ERP solution designed for food safety needs has been crucial to Inter-County’s success.
“All of VAI’s software and technical capabilities were instrumental to our growth and VAI has exceeded our expectations of what an ERP solution can do for a business like ours,” said Tony Lotito. “On top of that, the VAI team has created a comprehensive interface that allows us to run multiple applications at once that integrate with each other, providing data insights that can be used by warehouse executives, sales representatives, marketing teams, and the C-suite. VAI’s S2K Enterprise for Food has transformed our business operations, and we look forward to continued modernization efforts with their ERP solution,” concluded Lotito.
Since the launch, Inter-County has been using VAI’s ERP software to:
View data in real-time
Make more informed business decisions across departments
Streamline the supply chain
Analyze high-level trends and department metrics
IHandle complexities of warehouse operations and purchasing needs
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