Technology Leader Panel
How Distributors Are Driving Productivity with Process Automation
Distributors know automation can boost productivity. The hard part is knowing where to start and what actually sticks.
Distributors are under persistent pressure to do more with the same headcount, and process automation has moved from an IT initiative to an operational imperative. But the gap between what automation promises and what most companies have actually delivered remains wide. The distributors making real progress are not automating everything at once; they are identifying the right processes, in the right sequence, with the right tools.
In this Technology Leader Panel, technology leaders working with and inside distribution companies share where automation is generating the clearest productivity gains, how they are prioritizing which processes to tackle first, and what separates implementations that stick from the ones that stall.
Key Takeaways
- Where process automation is delivering the clearest productivity gains for distributors right now
- How leading technology teams are identifying and sequencing automation opportunities
- The platforms and tools gaining the most traction across order management, fulfillment, and back-office operations
- What separates automation implementations that scale from those that stall after the pilot
- How distributors are measuring productivity impact and building the case for continued investment
What You’ll Learn
How distributor technology teams are building the internal case for automation investment, including the metrics and frameworks being used to measure and communicate productivity impact.
Where process automation is generating the clearest productivity gains in distribution today, including the functions and workflows where returns have been fastest and most measurable.
How technology leaders are identifying and sequencing automation opportunities, from quick wins in repetitive back-office tasks to more complex integrations across ERP, WMS, and customer-facing systems.
The platforms and tools gaining the most traction across order management, inventory, fulfillment, and finance, and the integration considerations that shape those choices.
What separates automation rollouts that scale across the organization from those that stay stuck in pilot mode, including the change management and workforce factors most implementations underestimate.
Host
Ian Heller
Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Distribution Strategy Group
Panelist
Graham Rigby
Vice President, Product Management for Distribution & Building Supply Industries, Epicor Software
Rick Morris
CEO, Thrive Technologies
Sponsor
Bios
Ian Heller
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Distribution Strategy Group
Ian Heller joined Grainger as a part-time truck unloader in college and left fifteen years later as the VP Marketing. Since then, he’s held senior executive positions at four other publicly-held firms, consulted with dozens of distributors, and continues to write and speak extensively on how AI, strategy, channel evolution, and other major trends affect the industry. Ian holds a B.A. in History from Roosevelt University and an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.
Graham Rigby
Vice President, Product Management for Distribution and Building Supply Industries, Epicor Software
Graham Rigby is Vice President of Product Management for the Distribution and Building Supply industries at Epicor, where he leads product strategy and innovation for solutions that help distributors modernize and scale their operations. With more than 25 years of experience spanning product management, sales leadership, and implementation, Rigby brings a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing today’s distribution businesses.
A founding leader behind Epicor’s Distribution business in North America, he has played a key role in growing Epicor platforms into widely adopted solutions and in shaping Epicor’s broader distribution strategy. Known for his customer-centric approach, Rigby works closely with organizations to align technology with real-world operational needs, driving efficiency, growth, and long-term competitiveness.
Rick Morris
CEO, Thrive Technologies
Rick Morris is CEO of Thrive Technologies, which makes AI inventory optimization software for wholesale distributors. Since 2001, Thrive has used advanced math and data science to help distributors stock the right inventory at each location, cutting dead stock and lost sales while improving inventory turns. Under Rick’s leadership, Thrive developed its patented ThriveAI platform. It works inside the purchasing system of a distributor’s existing ERP, including Epicor Eclipse, Prophet 21, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, JD Edwards and Oracle, instead of replacing it. Rick is an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati’s Lindner College of Business.