What This Means to Distributors: AI is reshaping how customers find and evaluate suppliers, making product content, search performance, and practical use cases critical to staying competitive.
Distribution Strategy Group will examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping B2B buying and digital customer experience in its April 7 “AI News and Gurus” webcast, featuring Steven Javor of Schneider Electric Canada.
The session, scheduled for 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET, will focus on how distributors can apply emerging AI tools across ecommerce, sales, and service, with an emphasis on near-term execution.
Javor, head of digital customer experience and ecommerce at Schneider Electric Canada, has focused his work on how generative AI is altering product discovery and digital visibility. According to event materials and his recent work, which includes expanding beyond traditional search optimization to ensure product content can be surfaced, interpreted, and cited by AI-driven platforms.
That shift is pushing distributors to rethink how product data is structured and managed, as generative tools increasingly influence how buyers research suppliers and make purchasing decisions.
The webcast will also feature Jonathan Meyer, senior solutions engineer at HawkSearch by Bridgeline, who, according to the event description, will discuss how AI-powered search and merchandising tools are being deployed to improve product discovery and ecommerce performance.
DSG Chief Operating Officer Brian Hopkins and Brooks Hamilton, CEO of AI Strategy Advisors, will host the session. Hamilton’s firm works with distributors on AI applications in pricing, sales, and revenue management, providing additional context on how the technology is being operationalized.
According to Distribution Strategy Group, the April 7 event is designed as a Q2 update on AI capabilities ready for deployment, with a focus on practical applications rather than long-term strategy.
Topics will include emerging AI tools, customer experience use cases, improvements in site search and product discovery, governance considerations and market signals shaping investment decisions.
Javor is expected to draw on Schneider Electric’s experience managing complex digital customer journeys, where product data quality and search relevance directly affect engagement and conversion.
The webcast comes as distributors face increasing pressure to move from AI pilots to scaled deployment.
Across the sector, companies are applying AI in areas such as intelligent search, product content generation, guided selling, and customer service automation. However, results remain uneven, often constrained by data quality, integration challenges, and governance gaps.
The session is expected to focus on what is working now and where distributors should prioritize investment.
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