ITTOOLKIT [ IN PRACTICE ]
VAI and Kinnunen: Constructing Efficient Inventory Management
Kinnunen, a family-owned business that offers a range of construction supplies—from air compressors to wood glue—has enjoyed so much growth that its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system was struggling to keep up. This hindered the company’s ability to effectively manage inventory and serve customers.
THE CUSTOMER Kinnunen is an individually owned private business with more than 80,000 square feet of warehouse space, and 25,000+ more at its retail stores in Stillwater and Enid, Oklahoma. The stores are central Oklahoma’s one-stop-shops for sales, rentals, parts, and service of construction and outdoor power equipment. THE PROVIDER VAI is an independent mid-market ERP software developer offering flexible solutions and the ability to automate critical business functions for the distribution, manufacturing, retail, and service sectors. by: Karen Kroll
To remedy this, Kinnunen implemented the S2K ERP system from VAI, an independent ERP software developer focused on mid-market firms. Among other benefits, the new solution enhances and streamlines order receipt and picking, and enables more accurate demand forecasting. A robust mobile application eliminates many paper recordkeeping tasks. A one-stop shop for the sale, servicing, repair, and rental of construction supplies, Kinnunen operates more than 80,000 square feet of warehouse space, and 25,000-plus square feet of retail space at its stores in Stillwater and Enid, Oklahoma. In addition, the company’s growing ecommerce business ships to customers across the United States. To maintain stellar customer service as it grows, the company needed real- time insight into its inventory, says Ryan Andrews, the retailer’s general manager. Obtaining this would require a robust and unified ERP solution that would enable Kinnunen to efficiently and accurately track and sell products. As Andrews and his colleagues assessed potential ERP systems, they looked for
an end-to-end system that could handle multiple functions, including equipment servicing, accounting, shipping and logistics, purchasing, and retail and mobile sales. The goal was to avoid having to add and integrate multiple third-party systems. Finding such a system wouldn’t be easy. While Kinnunen, at about 65 employees, isn’t a big company, its business model is complex, given that it sells, rents, and repairs products, and offers these services both in stores and online. To determine which ERP system would best fit its operations, Kinnunen worked with a consulting firm to assess about 12 different providers. With the firm’s help, Kinnunen narrowed the choices to one. “VAI was the only company that had all the capabilities in one system,” Andrews says. VAI: INDEPENDENT ERP SOLUTIONS VAI, the company behind Kinnunen’s new ERP system, is one of a handful of privately held firms in the ERP space, says Gina Parry, sales manager. VAI works primarily with distributors, manufacturers, retailers and service companies.
November 2024 • Inbound Logistics 53
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