Why This Matters to Distributors: Sysco’s approach shows AI moving into frontline sales execution. Distributors that embed AI into daily workflows are beginning to see measurable gains in customer growth and retention, even in a slower demand environment.
Sysco Corp. is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across sales and customer engagement, with early gains in productivity and account growth, executives said during the company’s fiscal third quarter 2026 earnings call.
The company’s primary AI platform, known as AI360, is being deployed across its sales organization to help representatives identify opportunities, improve customer interactions, and increase order size.
CEO Kevin Hourican said the tool is improving how quickly new employees get up to speed and helping experienced sales staff sell more effectively.
“AI360 is improving new colleague onboarding, and it is helping colleagues of all tenures increase their selling effectiveness,” Hourican said on the call.
The platform analyzes customer purchasing patterns and suggests additional products to sell, allowing sales representatives to expand orders and increase share of wallet. It also helps guide pricing and can preauthorize deals, giving sales teams clearer directions during customer interactions.
Executives said the technology contributes to improved performance in key sales metrics. Sysco reported its fourth consecutive quarter of gains in new customer wins and continued improvement in customer retention.
AI is also being used to support product recommendations and pricing decisions. A feature called Swap and Save helps sales representatives suggest lower cost or private label alternatives that can reduce costs for customers while increasing sales volume for Sysco.
The company said improvements in sales productivity, combined with broader initiatives, are helping it gain share even as overall restaurant traffic remains under pressure.
Hourican said the focus is on practical tools that improve day to day execution.
“We’re able to take share and grow even in a market with soft overall conditions due to our sales colleague training initiatives and sales enablement tools,” he said.
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