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COMPANY OVERVIEW
Ai2's suite of software solutions was developed to help wholesale distributors increase sales,
profitability and productivity. Our goal is to make the order entry process fast and easy
whether it is your customer or sales representative who is responsible for creating orders.
We strive to:

Streamline the order taking process in the field, so sales reps increase line item
penetration and are more productive
 Increase your ordering flexibility by providing a variety of solutions for handheld Windows
computers, tablet computers, or notebooks
 Deliver mission critical business information to sales reps and customers when they need
it most: at the point of sale
 Improve your communications by guaranteeing the validity of your transmitted order
data, eliminating order entry errors and other time-consuming business problems
We offer wireless order entry software solutions for any company with a mobile field sales
force taking orders for future delivery. We excel at assisting companies in foodservice,
convenience store, grocery, wine and beverage, hardware, paper, restaurant supply and
other industries.
If your sales force does not take regular orders, our solutions support a consultative
approach and deliver updated information to assist each sales representative and improve
their daily process.
We work with each distributor to provide customized solutions that permit them to
simplify operations and become more profitable.
Our clients spend less time entering orders and more time
proactively managing other aspects of their business.
COMPANY HISTORY
When it started in 1986, Access International, Inc. was in the business of communications
protocol converters. IBM midrange computers ran in synchronous mode, and Access
provided a protocol that allowed them to interface with a variety of asynchronous input
devices.
In 1989, a pharmaceutical supplier approached Access to develop a complex order entry
system that would allow their Sales Reps in the field to send orders to their IBM midrange
computer. The result was OrderTaker, a DOS-based order entry system. OrderTaker was later
renamed OrderWriter® and marketed to other wholesalers with the IBM midrange computer.
In 1992, Access International created the ACS, a server based on IBM's OS/2 operating
system. This allowed OrderWriter® to communicate with any computer, allowing Ai2 to
provide their software to wholesalers running other mainframe, midrange, and
minicomputer systems.
1993 saw the release of OrderWriter® for Windows, the first commercially available order
entry system to permit the use of the pen and tablet PC's that the new Windows operating
system made possible. Access focused its attention on sales automation, and providing its
customers with highly flexible order entry solutions that could be easily customized to the
needs of any wholesaler's business model.
In 1996, Access released WebWriter™, a web-based platform for customer order entry. This
allowed a wholesaler to move the task of placing day-to-day restocking orders to their
customers, freeing up their Sales Reps for things like increasing account penetration and
opening new accounts.
In 1997, Access debuted CityDesk, an in-house order entry system that couples with
OrderWriter® to provide the same information to both Sales Reps and Customer Service
Representatives.
In 2003, Access took advantage of the developing power of handheld devices, and released
POW®, a version of OrderWriter® formatted for the Pocket PC with the added ability to
scan. This brought the power of OrderWriter® to a new range of customers, those working
with retail stores.
2003 also saw the release of ACS for Windows server. Once again, Access International
moved away from closely held back-office systems to broaden the appeal of our products.
COMPANY HISTORY, CONTINUED
2008 saw a revolution at Access International. The reduced cost of
handheld technology made Pocket PC's cost-effective as an order entry device for
customers. Access released Hero® and ACE™, smart and simple order entry solutions
designed specifically for customer order entry.
Then Access debuted POET®, the integration of over twenty years of sales automation knowhow with the revolutionary features of the new Windows family of operating systems. POET®
brings the flexibility that Access has always provided to its customers to the users themselves,
allowing users to display information in new ways, so that they can better understand their
business and provide better service to their customers.
In 2009, Access International became Ai2. This more modern appellation reflects our
commitment to implement the most up-to-date hardware features and software capabilities
to help our customers serve their customers. Although the name has changed, the ongoing
commitment to high quality, flexible, powerful, easy-to-use software remains the same.
In 2010, Ai2 debuted Apollo, a business intelligence and analytics tool designed to help
managers and executives track sales data. Apollo is available as an add-on to any Ai2
product. 2010 also saw the introduction of Zap-It, a module for WebWriter that allows retail
customers to scan UPCs and shelf labels. Zap-It is a low-cost way to automate several
hundred retailers at a time.
In the first quarter of 2011, Ai2 introduced ProSel, a revolutionary new sales tool for the
iPad. Keeping up with the demands of today's mobile sales force means giving them much
more than order entry capability. ProSel is designed to be a complete catalog and
presentation tool for any mobile sales representative.
As we move into the future, Ai2 is committed to continuing to develop the most flexible and
most reliable solutions for our customers and their customers. Our goal, as always, is to help
you do your business better. Today our solutions are used by more than 40,000 users each
day to capture more than $75 billion dollars in sales each year.
CLIENTS
Apparel
3D Belt, Schulenburg, TX
Baking Supply
CSM Bakery Products, Eagan, MN
Inter-County Bakers, Inc, Lindenhurst, NY
Robb Ross Foods, Fresno, CA
Beauty Supply
Columbia Beauty Supply, Charlotte, NC
Maritime Beauty, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Marshall Salon Services, Dixon, IL
Peel's Salon Service, Hutchinson, KS
Consumer Packaged Goods
Russell Stover Candies, Kansas City, MO
Contract Warehousing
Law Warehouses, Inc., Nashua, NH
Convenience
7-Eleven, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
Andalusia Distributing Co. Inc, Andalusia, AL
Atlantic Dominion Distributors, Virginia Beach, VA
Brenham Wholesale, Brenham, TX
Burklund Distributors, Inc., East Peoria, IL
Century Distributors, Rockville, MD
Charles C. Parks, Gallatin, TN
City Wholesale Grocery Co., Birmingham, AL
Coastal Wholesale, Kinston, NC
Colombo Distribution, Omaha, NE
Consolidate Service Distributors, Inc., Union, NJ
Convenient Store Services, Carthage, MO
Cooper Booth, Mountville, PA
Dearborn Wholesale Grocers LP, Chicago, IL
DistribuQuik, Oklahoma, OK
Doyle's Wholesale, Couer d'Alene, ID
Douglas Companies, Inc., Texarkana, AR
Eby-Brown Company, Baltimore, MD
Eby-Brown Company, Eau Claire, WI
Eby-Brown Company, Montgomery, IL
Eby-Brown Company, Naperville, IL
Eby-Brown Company, Plainfield, IN
Eby-Brown Company, Rockmart, GA
Eby-Brown Company, Springfield, OH
Eby-Brown Company, Ypsilanti, MI
Gem State Distributors, Pocatello, ID
Glacier Wholesale, Kalispell, MT
Gummer Wholesale, Inc., Heath, OH
The H.T. Hackney Company-Athens, Athens, TN
The H.T. Hackney Company-Columbia, West Columbia, SC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Columbus, Gahanna, OH
The H.T. Hackney Company-Covington, Covington, TN
The H.T. Hackney Company-Gainesville, Gainesville, FL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Glasgow, Glasgow, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Grand Rapids, Wyoming , MI
The H.T. Hackney Company-Greenville, Greenville, SC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Hickory, Hickory, NC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Huntsville, Huntsville, AL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN
The H.T. Hackney Company-Johnson City, Johnson City, TN
The H.T. Hackney Company-Lake City, Morrow, GA
The H.T. Hackney Company-Louisville, Louisville, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Miami, Opa Locka, FL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Middlesboro, Middlesboro, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Murphy, Murphy, NC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Newton, Newton, NC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Oneida, Oneida, TN
The H.T. Hackney Company-Opp, Opp, AL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Orangeburg, Orangeburg, SC
The H.T. Hackney Company-Paducah, Paducah, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Pensacola, Pensacola, FL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Pikeville, Harold, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Richmond, Richmond, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Somerset, Somerset, KY
The H.T. Hackney Company-Tampa, Tampa, FL
The H.T. Hackney Company-Waynesville, Waynesville, NC
Harbor Wholesale Foods, Lacey, WA
Harbor Wholesale Foods, Roseburg, OR
Harold Levinson, Farmingdale, NY
Harrison Company, LLC, Conway, AR
Henry's Foods, Alexandria, MN
Imperial Trading, Bossier City, LA
Indian Nation Wholesale, Durant, OK
Indian Nation Wholesale, Lawton, OK
Indian Nation Wholesale, Norman, OK
J. Polep Distribution Services, Chicopee, MA
Joe Smith Co., Pittsburg, KS
L.J. Zucca, Vineland, NJ
L.P. Shanks, Crossville, TN
Master Distributors, Inc., South Bend, IN
Mountain Service, S. Fallsburg, NY
Myers-Cox Company, Peosta, IA
Pine State Trading, Augusta, ME
Quality Foods Co-Op, Lynchburg, VA
R.C. Taylor, Lubbock, TX
Resnick Distributors, New Brunswick, NJ
Service Candy, Billings, MT
Sheehan Majestic, Missoula, MT
Southco Distributing, Goldsboro, NC
Standard Distributing Company, Sapulpa, OK
Stewart Distribution, Waycross, GA
Stinker Stores, Boise, ID
Superior Wholesale, Lima, OH
Thomas & Howard Company, Inc., Columbia, SC
Topicz, Cincinnati, OH
Topicz, Maysville, KY
Tripifoods, Buffalo, NY
Foodservice
AFI , Elizabeth, NJ
Battaglia Distributing, Chicago , IL
Better Brand Food Products, Inc., Watsonville, CA
Ben E. Keith, Fort Worth, TX
Centennial Foodservice, Calgary, AB
Dairy Fresh Foods, Taylor, MI
Dierks Waukesha, Waukesha, WI
CLIENTS, CONTINUED
Dilgard Frozen Foods, Fort Wayne, IN
European Imports, Chicago, IL
Evans Foodservice, Inc., Swartz Creek, MI
EVCO Wholesale Food Corp., Emporia, KS
F&A Food Sales, Concordia, KS
Farm Boy Food Service, Evansville, IN
Flanagan Foodservice Inc., Kitchener, ON
Fraboni Wholesale Distributors, Inc., Hibbing, MN
Graves Menu Maker Foods, Jefferson City, MO
I Supply, Fairborn, OH
Jake's Finer Foods, Houston, TX
Krasdale, White Plains, NY
Labatt, San Antonio, TX
Lamm Foodservice, Lafayette, LA
Lipari, Warren, MI
Mackoul Distributing Inc., Jacksonville, FL
Marrone's Inc., Pittsburg, KS
MBM, Rocky Mount, NC
Minore's Poultry & Foods, New Haven, CT
Morton Wholesale, Windsor, ON
Osborn Bros. Inc., Gadsden, AL
Palmer Foodservice, Shelbyville, TN
Performance Foodservice-Ledyard Division, Santa Cruz, CA
Pippin Wholesale, Harrison, AR
Shaheen Bros. Foodservice, Amesbury, MA
Shamrock Food Company, Phoenix, AZ
Sysco Asian Foods, St Paul, MN
Tannis Food Distributors, Ottawa, ON
THS Foodservice, Chattanooga, TN
Thurston Foods, Inc., Wallingford, CT
Tony's Fine Foods, West Sacramento, CA
Troyer Foods, Goshen, IN
US Foodservice-Altoona, Altoona, PA
US Foodservice-Atlanta, Fairburn, GA
US Foodservice-Baltimore, Severn, MD
US Foodservice-Bismarck, Bismarck, GF
US Foodservice-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
US Foodservice-Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
US Foodservice-Columbia, Lexington, SC
US Foodservice-Connecticut, Norwich, CT
US Foodservice-Fort Mill, Fort Mill, SC
US Foodservice-Grand Forks, Grand Forks, ND
US Foodservice-Greensburg, Greensburg, PA
US Foodservice-Kansas City, Lenexa, KS
US Foodservice-Knoxville, Alcoa, TN
US Foodservice-Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, NV
US Foodservice-Los Angeles, La Mirada, CA
US Foodservice-Manassas, Manassas, VA
US Foodservice-Montgomery, Montgomery, AL
US Foodservice-Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, OK
US Foodservice-Omaha, Omaha, NE
US Foodservice-Plymouth, Plymouth, MN
US Foodservice-Raleigh, Zebulon, NC
US Foodservice-Reno, Reno, NV
US Foodservice-Roanoke, Salem, VA
US Foodservice-San Diego, Vista, CA
US Foodservice-Streator, Streator, IL
Upper Lakes, Cloquet, MN
Vistar, Englewood, CO
West Pico Foods, Inc., Vernon, CA
Williams Institutional Foods, Douglas, GA
Wood Fruitticher, Birmingham, AL
Hardware & Nursery
Amarillo Hardware Company, Amarillo, TX
BWI, Nash, TX
Five Star Group, East Hanover, NJ
HDW, Shreveport, LA
Lancaster, Spartanburg, SC
Paint Sundries Solutions, Inc., Kirkland, WA
The Merit Group, Spartanburg, SC
Medical/Pharmaceutical Supply
Betances Drogeria, Caguas, PR
Paper/Janitorial/Equipment/Supply
The Boelter Companies, Waukesha, WI
Central Distributing, Grand Junction, CO
Dacotah Paper, Fargo, ND
Eastern Bag & Paper Group, Milford, CT
Economical Janitorial & Paper Supplies Inc., Harahan, LA
Edward Don & Company, North Riverside, IL
HP Products, Indianapolis, IN
Packard Wholesale, Moab, UT
Perkins Paper Company, Taunton, MA
Trimark United East, S. Attleboro, MA
Wasserstrom, Columbus, OH
Wine & Spirits
The Country Vintner, Ashland, VA
Fedway Associates, Inc., South Kearny, NJ
Georgia Crown, McDonough, GA
Saratoga Liquor Company, Superior, WI
Wine Warehouse, City of Commerce, CA
PA RT N E R S U C C E S S
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study is an example of
how Ai2’s solutions are used in
the distribution marketplace to
solve technology problems and
help distributors grow their
business. Through the use of
Ai2’s solutions one particular
organization freed themselves
from the limitations of older
technology and positioned
themselves to capture more
business.
“Every salesman was
wasting an hour a day.
Customers didn’t use the
Telxons we gave them.”
“We’re always improving
our technology and Ai2 is
helping to prepare us for
the future.”
Harold Levinson Associates (HLA) is among the northeast
United States’ largest convenience distributors. Based in
Farmingdale, New York, the company employs 420 people,
about 70 of whom are outside sales reps. A few years ago,
those reps were using Telxon technology to capture and
transmit orders. This posed several problems.
“Every salesman was wasting an hour a day looking for a
payphone or re-sending orders,” says Michael Berro, Director
of Special Projects for HLA. “Some of our customers had
Telxons too, but they didn’t like the fact that they couldn’t
see what they were ordering.” Berro acknowledged that
some of those customer Telxons sat unused in the stores.
The Telxons HLA was using could not scan UPCs, so if a shelf
tag was missing, the customer had to go look up the item in
a big price book. This was inefficient and, as Berro put it, “If
my customer is mad at my handheld, he’s mad at me.”
The outdated Telxon technology affected almost every
aspect of HLA’s operation. Since orders required doublechecking and human intervention, a lot of customer service
time was wasted. There was also downtime in the
warehouse while the staff waited for the system to process
orders.
HLA evaluated several software vendors to replace the
Telxons with a newer solution. Berro says they chose Ai2
because “we felt comfortable with them. We knew they
were willing to build to our needs instead of just giving us a
standard program that couldn’t change. Ai2 was committed
to giving us the exact solution we needed and that they
wouldn’t stop until we were satisfied with their work.”
A i 2 PA RT N E R S U C C E S S
HLA decided to implement two solutions from Ai2: Pocket
OrderWriter® (POW®) for their sales force and Automated
Customer Entry (ACE™) for customers. Both solutions run in
a Windows Mobile environment and give the user the
opportunity to communicate regularly with HLA’s host
computer system. Both solutions scan UPCs.
Sales reps communicate via the same data network that
smartphones use, while customers can send orders with the
existing Internet connection in their stores.
Before Ai2 Solutions

Old, unreliable handheld
technology

Unavoidable downtime in
the warehouse

Technology not contributing
to growth

Manual management of prebook campaigns
After Ai2 Deployment

Salespeople save 1 hour or
more per day

Larger orders

Fewer order entry errors

Improved fill rate

More efficient operations

Less strain on customer
service
The effect on HLA’s business was swift and significant.
“The orders get to the system faster, our customer service
department doesn’t get overwhelmed with calls, and each of
our salespeople saved an hour a day,” said Berro.
What’s more, “our salespeople can see all their pre-book
orders and manage them effectively.” Overseeing the
distribution of manufacturer-sponsored programs is a major
part of an HLA salesperson’s responsibility, and used to take
more time before the deployment of POW.
As for ongoing support of the software, “We’ve never had a
problem linger with Ai2, which is important because we
can’t afford to have our system down for very long.” Both
ACE and POW are “feature-rich but still easy to use,”
according to Berro.
Customer order entry with ACE has led to larger orders for
each customer, and a convenient approach for doing
business with HLA that fosters customer loyalty.
Moving ahead, Ai2 and HLA look forward to a long and
profitable partnership. “Ai2 is developing a solution for our
drivers that will save them time and paperwork on a daily
basis,” commented Berro.
The future is bright for a company that’s “always improving
our technology.”
Ai2
Prudential Plaza
180 N. Stetson
Suite 3660
Chicago, IL 60601-4102
(800) 835-3200 TOLL FREE
[email protected]
www.ai2.com
twitter.com/Ai2Software
Find Ai2 on Facebook
NEWS RELEASE
7-11 Chooses Ai2
CHICAGO – March 3, 2011 - Software developer Ai2 announced today that DistribuQuik, the distribution
division for 7–Eleven, Inc. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has chosen their POW® solution to automate its
sales force.
DistribuQuik chose Ai2 for its experience in implementing sales force automation solutions in the
convenience store distribution industry and superior application functionality. DistribuQuik needed a
solution to enable the sales rep to streamline the order entry process and improve productivity. POW
replaces the outdated data collection devices used in the past that were unreliable and provided no
information to the rep when working with the customer to generate a replacement order.
Using the POW solution, the sales rep will be able create an order by scanning a bar code while also having
access to important information when creating the order for the store. Information on promotional or
discontinued items can be reviewed with the customer to ensure the right items are being ordered and
shelves are filled with the proper mix of products consumers want to buy.
In addition, the POW solution will be used to automate the product returns process. In the past, the sales rep
would manually fill out a form and send it to headquarters where the information would be manually keyed
into their returns system by a customer service representative. This process was time consuming, created
errors, and involved too many people to process a return request. With POW, the sales rep will simply scan
the UPC code on each item and print a receipt so the store manager knows exactly what items are being
returned and the total amount of the credit that will be applied to their account.
POW, an acronym for Pocket OrderWriter, is an application solution that can be used by any wholesale
distributor with a mobile sales force. POW operates on a mobile computer using the Microsoft CE.net or
Mobile operating systems. The mobile computer has a built in bar code scanner that makes the order entry
process simple, fast, and error free.
DistribuQuik is the full service distribution operation for 7-Eleven Stores, Inc. located in Oklahoma City,
OK. This is the only independently owned 7-Eleven chain in the world. These stores are owned by the
family of William C. Brown under special arrangements with the founder of the original 7-Eleven, Inc., John
Thompson.
Ai2 (formerly Access International) is a 25-year old software firm headquartered in downtown
Chicago. Their applications are used by over 40,000 users each day to capture over 75 billion dollars in
sales each year. Ai2 improves the order entry process for some of the nation’s largest distributors in
foodservice, convenience store, grocery, beverage, hardware, medical, beauty and industrial supply. For
more information about Ai2, visit www.ai2.com.
###
NEWS RELEASE
EBY-BROWN ADDS POET® TO SUITE
CHICAGO - July 1, 2011 - Software development firm Ai2 announced today that Eby-Brown, a longstanding Ai2 customer, would add a notebook solution to its suite of Ai2 products.
Eby-Brown currently uses POW, Ai2's handheld solution for the mobile sales force. They will soon
add POET, Ai2's notebook computer solution. The company chose to add versatility for the salespeople,
citing the fact that more screen space allows a salesperson to make a better presentation to a retail customer.
Ai2's solutions help distributors do more than just take orders, they assist with consultative selling.
"We're glad to help Eby out in this way," said Douglas Katich, CEO for Ai2. "They're a great organization
that's always looking for better ways to serve their customer base."
POET, an acronym for Portable Order Entry Tool, is an application for any company with a mobile sales
force. POET allows a mobile sales representative to handle orders, returns, accounting information, margin
management and more. POET® runs on Windows on almost any notebook or pen tablet PC.
For over 100 years, Eby-Brown has been a leading convenience store supplier and wholesale food distributor
of more than 11,000 name-brand products. They are the largest privately owned tobacco, candy, and
convenience distributor in the United States. For more on Eby-Brown, visit the company's website.
Ai2 (formerly Access International) was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in downtown Chicago. Their
applications are used by over 40,000 users each day to capture over 75 billion dollars in sales each year. Ai2
improves the order entry process for some of the nation’s largest distributors in foodservice, convenience
store, grocery, beverage, hardware, medical, beauty and industrial supply. For more information about Ai2,
visit www.ai2.com.
###
OUR CLIENTS SAY...
"People are doing more with software in
terms of placing orders, ensuring accuracy
and managing accounts receivable. We're
not over-allocating like in the Telxon days."
Paul Marusek
IT Director
J. Polep Distributing
"Each sales consultant in the field has
optimal support because of OrderWriter®."
Doug Adams
CEO
The Country Vintner
"I am delighted to report POW® has met or “We no longer have to waste time on
exeeded our expectations. Access [Ai2] has phones with Telxon orders. We can release
enabled us to meet our business objectives." prebooks, look up items by customer history
to make sure we do not miss anything and
Sonny Capizzi
grow our customers’ business. "
IT Director
Michael Berro
Five Star Hardware
Director, Special Projects
Harold Levinson Associates
"The robust functionality along with the
built in flexibility allowed us to meet the
needs of many different types of customers
with a single software solution."
"To be a leader, we need to provide our sales
reps with the best tools like
OrderWriter®. The OrderWriter solution is a
critical tool of the Edward Don sales force."
Jim Marshall
President
Marshall Salon Services
Jim Lyman
Vice President, E-Commerce
Edward Don & Co.
"Our competitors either had smart order
"We could not be happier than we are with
entry or were considering it. Ai2 helped us Ai2."
go from paper to no paper in the sales reps'
hands."
Keith Canning
Managing Partner
David Lowery
Pine State Trading Co.
IT Director
Charles C. Parks Co.
More Testimonials at www.ai2.com
Contact ai2
Ai2
Prudential Plaza
180 N. Stetson, Suite 3660
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 920-9366
(800) 835-3200 US
(877) 286-3804 CANADA
(312) 920-9377
www.ai2.com
[email protected]
twitter.com/Ai2Software
Ai2Software.com
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