Why This Matters to Distributors: Most distributors now view AI as strategically important, but many remain in pilot mode. The conference provides a look at how companies including Graybar, Grainger, Summit Electric Supply and ADI Global are moving from experimentation to operational deployment, while DSG’s new AI Top 25 ranking aims to establish a benchmark for measuring AI maturity across the industry.
Senior executives from Graybar and Grainger will headline Distribution Strategy Group’s Applied AI for Distributors conference June 23-25 at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, as distributors accelerate investments in artificial intelligence while many remain in the initial stages of adoption.
The three-day conference brings together distribution executives, technology providers, and AI practitioners to examine how distributors are deploying artificial intelligence across sales, pricing, operations, customer service, and supply chain management.
The event also will serve as the launch venue for Distribution Strategy Group’s inaugural AI Top 25 ranking, which evaluates distributors based on AI adoption and operational maturity. The ranking uses a five-tier framework ranging from Emerging to Functional, Integrated, Agentic and Native, and is based on deployed evidence rather than stated intentions.
Distribution Strategy Group said its evaluation criteria include earnings transcripts, documented operational use cases, artificial intelligence talent footprint, vendor partnerships, governance structure, customer-facing capabilities, and measurable business outcomes. The company plans to expand the ranking into an AI Top 50 later this year, with applications remaining open through Aug. 12.
The ranking comes as Distribution Strategy Group research highlights a growing divide between AI adoption and execution. According to the firm, 97% of distributors view AI as important to the future of their business, yet 63% remain in the exploration or pilot phase. At the same time, 65% plan to increase AI investment over the next two years.
Distribution Strategy Group said most distributors currently fall within the Emerging and Functional tiers of its framework, while the Integrated tier represents the point at which artificial intelligence begins creating meaningful operational differentiation. The Agentic and Native tiers remain uncommon and are expected to be achieved by few distributors in the near term.
Opening Day Focuses on Strategy and Economic Outlook
The conference opens June 23 with an optional pre-conference session led by Distribution Strategy Group co-founders Ian Heller and Jonathan Bein. The session will examine where distributors are generating measurable returns from AI in areas such as order automation, pricing optimization, demand forecasting, and customer service.
The discussion also will focus on how distributors have moved successful AI pilots into production environments and where the technology is expected to create value across the industry through the end of the decade.
The opening keynote will be delivered by Alex Chausovsky, president of 3DM Consulting, who will provide an outlook on economic conditions, labor markets, tariffs, interest rates, and geopolitical developments affecting distribution.
Chausovsky also is expected to address the impact of artificial intelligence investment and rapid data center construction on labor markets, capital spending, and industrial demand, along with risk management and scenario-planning strategies for distributors operating in an uncertain environment.
The day concludes with a keynote from Danna B. Stone, senior vice president of marketing and a board member at Graybar Electric Company Inc.
Stone’s presentation will focus on how Graybar is applying artificial intelligence across marketing, pricing, purchasing, and category management. Rather than treating AI as a standalone technology initiative, the company has incorporated it into broader efforts involving governance, analytics, workforce development, and long-term technology planning.
Tuesday’s agenda also includes a technology leadership panel discussing how AI is being incorporated into enterprise software, digital commerce platforms, and automated product information management systems.
Cybersecurity, Workforce and Revenue Operations Take Center Stage
Wednesday’s keynote program opens with DSG chief operations officer Brian Hopkins, who will examine how distributors are moving beyond chatbot applications and incorporating AI into day-to-day workflows.
Hopkins plans to demonstrate the difference between large language models used for individual task automation and broader AI workspace environments designed to improve team productivity. The presentation will include distributor-focused examples such as prospecting dashboards, sales commission modeling, and AI-assisted process documentation.
The session also includes a comparison of major AI platforms, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity, along with a framework for encouraging AI adoption across organizations.
Later in the day, Jeff Crume, an IBM distinguished engineer and cybersecurity architect, will discuss how AI is changing the cybersecurity landscape.
His presentation will examine deep-fake voice attacks, synthetic identity fraud and AI-generated impersonation schemes that increasingly target businesses built on trust-based customer and supplier relationships. Crume is expected to focus on the governance, oversight and risk-management issues business leaders must address as AI-driven threats become more sophisticated.
The closing keynote on Wednesday will feature Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute, who will present labor market data on how AI is reshaping hiring, workforce development, and career progression.
Sigelman’s presentation will focus on how artificial intelligence compresses traditional career paths, automating portions of entry-level work and forcing employers to rethink training and workforce development strategies.
A separate technology leadership panel will examine how AI is being integrated into customer relationship management systems, procurement workflows, and revenue operations.
Distribution Leaders Share AI Deployment Strategies
Thursday opens with a panel featuring distribution executives from companies operating at significantly different scales and stages of AI adoption.
Panelists include Natasha Broxton, founder and chief executive officer of Alitura Group and Select Auto Parts & Sales; Dwayne Roberts, president of Summit Electric Supply; and Stu Tisdale, senior vice president and chief experience officer at ADI Global.
Broxton brings the perspective of an owner-operator deploying technologies such as voice AI and inventory optimization. Roberts leads a 23-branch electrical distributor operating within the larger Sonepar organization. Tisdale oversees digital and data strategy for a multibillion-dollar distribution business with a global footprint.
The discussion will focus on how distributors prioritize AI investments, evaluate competing use cases, and decide where to allocate resources across sales, pricing, operations, and customer experience initiatives.
The conference concludes with a keynote from Jonny LeRoy, senior vice president and chief technology officer at W.W. Grainger Inc.
LeRoy will discuss how Grainger is deploying artificial intelligence across intelligent search, conversational commerce, predictive supply chain forecasting, and computer vision applications. The presentation also will examine how the company is consolidating systems and embedding AI-generated insights directly into employee workflows.
Two post-conference workshops are scheduled for June 25. One focuses on building AI implementation roadmaps and return-on-investment models for distribution organizations. The second examines agentic AI applications in procurement, product information management, customer service, and transaction processing.
The conference’s structure reflects the industry’s broader shift from artificial intelligence experimentation toward implementation. Sessions move from economic and strategic considerations on the first day to operational deployment, workforce implications, and peer-led case studies later in the program.
For distributors evaluating where to focus AI investments, the event offers a cross-section of perspectives from technology providers, economists, cybersecurity specialists, and distribution executives already deploying artificial intelligence on a scale.
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