In this Brewbound Podcast interview, Jessica Infante sits down with VIP (Vermont Information Processing) CEO Andrew Criezis and the company’s newly appointed sales leader, Lucinda Ochwat, to unpack how the 50-year-old beverage technology provider is approaching artificial intelligence. VIP has served as a trusted software partner to more than 2,800 distributors and 1,400 suppliers, building its reputation through decades of co-creating tools that simplify the complex three-tier system. Criezis and Ochwat, both industry veterans stepping into new roles at the company, discuss how that legacy of innovation is shaping VIP’s next chapter.
The conversation centers on how AI is moving beyond chat features into embedded agents that handle real work, from pricing and route optimization to predictive ordering and back-office efficiency. Criezis and Ochwat emphasize that the goal isn’t to replace the human relationships that drive the beverage business but to free up sales reps and operators to spend more time on high-value conversations and less on manual tasks. Tools like iDig, Connect Online Ordering, and VIP’s routing solutions are already putting that philosophy into practice. Listeners can learn more about how VIP is embedding AI into its platforms by visiting public.vtinfo.com.