AI is no longer a buzzword in our space—it has become a competitive necessity in wholesale distribution. Strategies and tactics for adopting AI were discussed by experts and peers at the 2025 Evergreen Partnership Conference in March. Intuilize Founder/CEO Nelson Valderrama and The Distribution Team's Principal Jason Bader contributed to the discussions at the event, leading an insightful AI Workshop that outlined clear strategies and proven tactics to help distributors maximize efficiency, enhance decision-making, and uncover significant new opportunities for growth.
Closing the AI Adoption Gap in Distribution
Nelson and Jason began the panel by examining the current state of AI adoption among distributors, noting that many companies are still in the preliminary stages of integrating these technologies. Most are either "aware but exploring" or actively "researching" AI tools, revealing a clear gap between basic familiarity with tools like ChatGPT and full implementation of specialized solutions tailored for distribution operations.
The pair highlighted the primary obstacle distributors face: uncertainty about where to start. Jason emphasized the importance of first identifying critical pain points before selecting appropriate technologies to address those specific needs.
WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE WORKSHOP AND GAIN PRACTICAL INSIGHTS HERE
Core Areas Where AI Can Maximize Distributor ROI
While time constraints limited the panel from fully exploring every topic, distributors can greatly benefit from understanding five high-impact areas where AI is already driving significant ROI in the industry:
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Inventory Management & Optimization: AI can predict inventory requirements with greater accuracy, reduce carrying costs, and minimize stockouts by automating forecasting and ordering processes.
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Customer Service Automation: Automating routine tasks like responding to inquiries, order tracking, and returns processing can significantly boost operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
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Sales Process Efficiency: AI streamlines quoting, lead generation, and opportunity management by analyzing customer behaviors, predicting customer needs, and personalizing sales interactions.
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Data Analysis & Business Intelligence: AI-driven analytics provide deeper insights into customer purchasing patterns, product performance, and market trends, enabling better strategic decisions.
Price Optimization & Strategy: AI enables dynamic pricing strategies based on real-time market conditions, competitor analysis, and customer segmentation, significantly improving margins.
Proven Results from AI Implementation
To illustrate AI's transformative impact, Intuilize has documented real-world success stories that distributors can learn from:
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One distributor achieved immediate cost savings of more than $30,000 by automating previously manual data-cleansing tasks with Intuilize’s AI solution.
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Another company used AI analytics to consolidate vendor volumes, boosting gross margins by more than $250,000 within the first year.
These examples showcase AI's capacity to eliminate margin leakage, ensure accurate product data, and optimize critical inventory and pricing decisions—further highlighting why distributors should act now.
Practical Implementation Framework
During the AI Workshop at the Evergreen conference, Nelson reassured distributors about overcoming initial hurdles when implementing AI strategies. He presented a structured AI implementation framework encouraging distributors to:
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Clearly identify and document a specific, high-impact pain point.
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Methodically evaluate multiple AI technologies suitable for addressing the pain point.
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Launch pilot programs, carefully measuring performance against clearly defined success metrics.
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Implement gradually, ensuring employee buy-in through continuous education and transparent communication.
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Leverage early wins to expand AI initiatives incrementally.
Q&A Session Highlights
There was a lot of audience engagement during the panel's Q&A session, that allowed Nelson and Jason to address several critical concerns, including:
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Employment Impact Concerns: Jason reassured attendees by framing AI as a "power tool" intended to augment human efforts, emphasizing AI’s role in relieving employees of mundane tasks to allow greater focus on strategic, customer-facing activities.
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Overcoming Internal Resistance: The panelists encouraged introducing AI through manageable, personalized use cases within teams to build comfort and trust before scaling AI initiatives enterprise-wide.
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Data Security and Governance: Nelson stressed the necessity of clear data governance policies to manage the types of information suitable for AI processing, protecting company and customer data integrity.
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Immediate Urgency for AI Adoption: Nelson emphasized that distributors delaying adoption risk falling behind, particularly given the rapid demographic shift toward digitally native workforces that demand automated, efficient workflows.
Looking Forward: The Strategic Imperative of AI
Nelson strongly urged distributors at the Evergreen Partnership Conference to embrace AI proactively, framing early adoption not just as advantageous but essential for long-term competitive sustainability. Both Nelson and Jason agreed that distributors positioning themselves strategically now will reap substantial rewards by 2030 and beyond.
Ready, Set, Go!
As you seek to leverage these powerful insights from industry experts, the next step is gaining a practical roadmap for AI implementation.
To facilitate this, distributors are encouraged to download the ebook, How Distributors Can Simplify Operations with AI. This comprehensive guide provides a step-by-step approach to integrating AI across key business functions such as sales, customer relations, pricing, inventory, and demand forecasting.
The ebook delivers clear value, including:
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Actionable frameworks for identifying AI-driven opportunities.
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Step-by-step guidance on AI implementation.
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Proven strategies to streamline and automate critical operations.
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Practical resources and tools to accelerate AI adoption.
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And much more!
This guide is essential for distributors aiming to harness AI effectively and secure measurable, impactful results for their business. Check out the guide!
