Macola vs. VAI ERP

Well suited for larger companies, and this is only becoming more the case with the new ownership. Smaller companies could at one time buy only the modules they required. This is now not possible, so you end up with a number of modules you do not need. It is best suited for a company needing a full MRP and is going to be overkill for a service based company that does not require inventory management.

Incentivized

VAI base package software has a lot of productive tools that can be used for a lot of different types of businesses. At first I was taken back by this saying it would just be more efficient if they would just build it more specific to a certain business type, but now stepping back i see why they don't. They are able to customize it more to my needs

Incentivized

• Simplifying min/max inventory reviews
• PO entry and receiving
• Order entry and production order entry
• Custom reporting and high level reviews

Incentivized

• Design and ease of entering data into screens.
• Drill downs provided as you move around screens.
• Help Text for each screen.
• Back end programming easy to follow - good documentation.
• Interfaces to third party software - ex. Mark Magic Forms.
• Great Help Desk.
• Training Videos.
• Workflows and Triggers.

Incentivized

• Integration with other software
• Migration from another application

Incentivized

• There will most likely be customizations made for a particular niche site to integrate with their system.
• Product reviews, up sells, and cross sells are not built into the website functionality. Customization to the offerings would be needed.
• Very little documentation or open source resources on instructions or development in regards to the website design and integration with the ERP.

S2K is easy to use, has room for growth, and serves the company's needs as a whole

Often times it seems people want to learn a platform in seconds and if they can't they say it is not "user friendly." There are some platforms that can do so much that it is just going to take time to learn it all. To me that is a good thing. S2K takes time to learn but it is worth it. It can transform your organization.

Incentivized

Great support. The staff is very knowledgeable about the platform and the capabilities within the IBM framework

If this is someone's first ERP implementation, I strongly suggest you ask for services to help implement. Ask for training on every aspect of the implementation. Make sure this is put into the overall ERP quote

We did not try any other products. We migrated to Macola from an older product.

Incentivized

S2K offered a system that could be used by various departments. There were modules for accounting, customer service, order entry, and web development. The ability to customize the website integration was a plus. S2K allows the option to have products in different warehouse locations. This allowed us to better manage inventory and see in real time what the stock status was

• Lower software costs.
• Less maintenance.

Incentivized

• Sales - since all screens are real-time, S2K helps keep our salespeople up to date with customer sales and their overall sales for each period/year.
• CSR - tracking of customer orders from point of entry to invoicing, being able to give the customer current information on their order by viewing a single screen.
• Purchasing - with multiple locations, tracking, and having inventory in the correct location to meet the customer demands that are shipped from their home location.
• Warehouse bin/item management makes picking orders a fast, accurate process, with the addition of order verification.
• Accounting - being able to see real-time information across all applications. A/R, A/P, and G/L.

Incentivized