Industry Insights
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Meritus Gas Partners Names AI Operations Director as Enterprise Push Expands
Robert “Rob” D’Alessandro Jr. will lead the identification, prioritization, development, and implementation of AI projects, Meritus said.
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Distributors Move from Buying AI Software to Buying AI Companies, Technology and Talent
Some of the biggest companies in distribution are acquiring AI companies, buying technology and intellectual property, or investing directly in businesses developing AI for distribution and other operationally complex industries. Here’s why.
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The AI Order Is Here. Decide What Your Agent Can Sign for Before It Can.
The distributors who come out ahead will define transaction authority before they scale it, not after an agent commits the company to something nobody meant to approve.
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Nearly Half of Distributors Use AI for Sales, but Many Still Don’t Track Key Metrics
The report found that 49% of respondents are already using AI for sales, while another 29% plan to begin using it within six months. 22% have no current plans to adopt AI.
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Fastenal’s Quiet AI Acquisition Signals Bigger Push Into Agentic AI
The combination of Rampp’s technology, Ajay Agrawal’s new Fastenal role and Fastenal’s previously disclosed AI strategy provides more context around a transaction that attracted little attention when it occurred in June.
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AI-Assisted Invoice Fraud Exposes a Key Distributor Vulnerability: Accounts Payable
The attack method nevertheless has direct implications for distributors because it targets an everyday business function. Distributors routinely receive and pay invoices from manufacturers, freight carriers, technology companies, contractors and other suppliers, making invoice approval and electronic payment a key area for fraud prevention.
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SYSPRO Puts AI Agents to Work Inside Distributor Operations
The launch comes as software providers increasingly develop agentic AI systems capable of performing defined business tasks instead of simply generating information or recommendations.
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GrubMarket Launches AI Tool for Produce Pricing
The tool allows distributors to ask questions about fruit and vegetable prices and, when connected to their internal systems, compare market benchmarks with their own sales and purchasing data.
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Ingram Micro Makes AI Central to Its Distribution Strategy
Ingram Micro said its strategy combines AI with the data, workflows and transactions generated across its global distribution network.
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Wholesale Trade Trails Nearly Every Industry in Canadian AI Adoption
Just 7.9% of wholesale trade businesses reported using AI to produce goods or deliver services during the previous 12 months, according to recent Statistics Canada data
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Sysco Targets $500 Million in AI Savings Across Distribution Operations
The $500 million program will be rolled out over the next three years and is intended to change how Sysco manages everyday work in areas including truck routing, merchandising, and sales.
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AI Top 25 Reveals a Wide Execution Gap Across Wholesale Distribution
Distribution Strategy Group’s recently published State of AI in Distribution research found that 93% of distributors consider AI a strategic priority, while just 16% have deployed it across multiple business functions
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Three Years, No Progress: Why Distributor Sales Skills Haven’t Moved Since 2023
Three flat years of skill development isn’t bad luck. It’s what happens when a rep’s development and a manager’s guidance never turn into a habit on either side, meaning a repeatable, replicable process they both follow.
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Continental Battery Takes AI Into Core Sales Operations
The deployment extends AI beyond reporting and analysis and into day-to-day sales execution at Continental.
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Distributors Build an AI Workforce as Hiring Moves into Core Operations
Distributors spent much of the initial generative AI boom testing tools, launching pilots and determining where the technology might fit. The next phase requires people who can connect those tools to actual distribution processes.
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Mountainland Supply Deploys AI to Cut Dead Stock Across 42 Branches
In Mountainland’s case, AI is being applied directly to inventory decisions that affect working capital, product availability, and profitability.
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Descartes Adds AI Warehouse Technology With $120 Million Extensiv Deal
AI increasingly is being incorporated into the systems companies already use to manage inventory, warehouses, transportation, and fulfillment, putting a premium on technology platforms with access to large volumes of operational data.
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Crescent Electric Names Chief Supply Chain Officer
Kristee Mitchell, who joined Crescent in 2023, moved into the newly expanded role Aug. 31 after most recently serving as vice president of supply chain fulfillment.
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Winsupply Adds Ohio Facility as 1.6 Million Square Foot Distribution Expansion Advances
The acquisition comes as Winsupply advances a broader distribution expansion announced in March. The company plans to add 1.6 million square feet of capacity over two years through projects in Ohio, Oklahoma and Georgia.
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BlueLinx Adds Trex Decking and Railing Across 11 Distribution Centers
The agreement expands BlueLinx’s specialty products portfolio as the building products distributor looks to increase its exposure to higher-value product categories.