VAI Helps Well-Pict Berries Sow the Seeds of Expansion

RONKONKOMA, N.Y.--VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.) (www.vai.net), a leader in enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail and service industries, and an IBM Premier Business partner, announced today that Well-Pict Berries (www.wellpict.com) will implement VAI’s S2K Enterprise for Distribution and S2K for Manufacturing. This implementation will provide Well-Pict with the technological capabilities to streamline its growing, picking and packaging practices, and provide the company with the real-time, accurate data that it needs to expand its business footprint.

Well-Pict, a Watsonville, California-based premier berry grower, was founded 30-years ago on a single goal—to raise the finest berries in the world. To this end, the company continually develops, tests and pushes modern technologies and farming techniques in its quest toward providing consumers with a better berry product. This pursuit led Well-Pict to select VAI’s S2K ERP software solutions, in large part due to VAI’s willingness to customize its solutions to meet Well-Pict’s specific business requirements, and also because the software developer shares the grower’s drive to continually push the boundaries of technology and seek solutions that will positively impact the bottom line.

S2K for Manufacturing and S2K Enterprise for Distribution are advanced, user-friendly, affordable solutions that provide companies with the power to simplify business operations, effectively manage the supply chain, decrease costs and enhance customer service capabilities.

Eric Miyasaka, Vice President, Well-Pict Berries, said, “Well-Pict distributes its berries to several high profile retailers including Costco, Sam’s Club, Target, Wal-Mart and Whole Foods. As such, it is imperative that we not only provide a high quality product, but also deliver the right product to the right location in the time promised. We selected VAI because we knew that with its standing as a leading software developer, and experience in the manufacturing and distribution market, they had the industry knowledge and technical foresight to help grow our operations.”

“Today, more than ever, companies are looking for products and services that produce a definitive return on investment (ROI),” said, Pete Zimmerman, Manufacturing Segment Manager, VAI. “Well-Pict’s conventional and organic line of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries demand an ERP solution that provides data quickly, efficiently and accurately, so that product moves from the field to the store shelf while still remaining ripe, fresh and ready to eat. VAI’s S2K solutions are designed to handle this type of logistical challenge.”

About Well-Pict Berries

In 1969, Well-Pict Berries Founder Tim Miyasaka and a team of experienced growers began their quest to pioneer the perfect berry. Starting with only 150 acres and shipping just 500,000 strawberry flats their inaugural season, their combined berry growing knowledge and passion for customer service quickly made a name for themselves in the industry. Since then, not only have the farms grown and the products multiplied, but Well-Pict has become the preferred name in both the United States and abroad. Today, offering a full-line of premium quality berries, the pride and passion that began with the simple goal of growing the perfect berry is still prevalent in everything Well-Pict does. For more information, visit www.wellpict.com.

About VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.)

VAI is an award-winning software developer and an IBM Premier Business Partner. Designed for the mid-range market, S2K Enterprise is used by a wide variety of mid-sized companies worldwide, with a number of clients in the manufacturing, distribution, retail, metals, food and related service industries. Advanced applications such as Warehouse Management Systems, EDI, CRM and e-Business provide companies the power to leverage their information technology investment. VAI is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York, with branch offices in Miami, Orlando, Chicago and Oroville, California. For more information, please contact Diane Dady at 800-824-7776, ext. 236 or visit (www.vai.net).