The company puts in as much as P12 to P15 million annually for its IT facilities. This is because IT is now practically the backbone of AAI’s business.  The company, which is in the country’s top 1,500 corporations, services such big corporations as Amkor Technology Philippines, Inc.; Analog Devices Philippines, Inc.; Allegro Microsystems Philippines, Inc.; Ionics Circuits, Inc.; PSI Technologies, Inc.; Philips Semiconductors Philippines, Inc.; Team Pacific Corp.; Anam, Sony, Sharp, Toshiba, and Smart Communications, among others.

“There was a time when IT was utilized just for data management. Now, we have harnessed it to satisfy the needs of our customers for quick, on-time and accurate information,” said AAI Chief IT Officer Arsenio Gaetos.

So from desktop computers that were used to streamline the company’s accounting, sales and production reports in the 1980s, AAI now employs IT for its logistics planning, purchase order management, Vendor Management Inventory (VMI) and import forwarding.

With these in place, AAI can now provide its customers ease in the allocation of cost components, quick and accurate billing, automatic audit track and fast-track payment processing.  It can now also give them quick access to information on the status of their transactions, which includes their billing, shipments and inventory.

But what sets AAI apart from its competitors is the customized IT solutions it can provide its customers. “We can set up systems that are tailor-fit for their needs and requirements,” Gaetos said.

AAI has likewise put in place an E-mail facility for internal and external communications that can be accessed by its personnel locally and internationally.

“So it doesn’t matter if they’re in the Philippines or in the United States. They can gain access to the information they need anytime, anywhere,” Gaetos said.

AAI has also set up a website (www.aai.com.ph) that provides dynamic and relevant information to its customers. Its Internet and web browsing facilities, meanwhile, help enable pertinent data from customers, agents, business partners, suppliers, and airlines.

AAI likewise keeps abreast with the latest technologies and facilities that are cropping up in the market. 

Aside from getting information from newspapers, magazines and the Internet, the employees also take advantage of the product presentations and seminars that IT companies provide. It is also an advantage that majority of AAI’s clients are in the IT business.

AAI takes pride in the fact that all its personnel are computer-literate. This is because all of them are provided, on the average, with not more than three-year old desktop and laptop computers for their exclusive use.

With Information Technology, the company has become more competitive. Not just by reducing its expenses, but by satisfying the needs of its customers as well.