Everyone knows AI is the future of business, but how can distributors get the most out of it?
Brohan is a keynote speaker at DSG’s Applied AI for Distributors conference, June 4-6 in Chicago. His session, “Where AI is Heading in B2B Digital Commerce and Transformation, and What You Need to Know Now,” will include exclusive data and survey analysis.
Brohan currently serves as senior vice president of B2B and market research at Digital Commerce 360. Digital Commerce 360 takes a full-circle approach with products and events that cover both the retail and B2B industries.
Distribution Strategy Group: What do you want distributors to take away from your keynote session at Applied AI for Distributors?
Mark Brohan: Across the board, nobody has taken a look at how AI and machine learning are going to roll out across the entire B2B digital ecosystem, from the platform to logistics to delivery to order management to marketing, merchandising and personalization.
We intend to take a very holistic view of where AI is rolling out across the enterprise and technology platform spaces. eCommerce is only one part of the transformation that every single manufacturer and distribution company is going to go through.
But talk is one thing. Doing is something else. We’re going to put together some pretty detailed research that shows where all of this is coming from and a timeline for how this is going to roll out.
However, there’s a disconnect between what is ranked the priority by manufacturing and distribution companies and spending across the board. A lot of technology projects, even around AI, are being kicked back by 18 months to two years. So, while it’s being ranked as a strategic priority, the fact is the true spending to make an application mainstream across an enterprise is 18 months to two years in the making. I don’t think a lot of people are talking about that. There’s a lag between an organization prioritizing this versus how fast they’re going to commit resources, time, money and staff to get it done.
DSG: Do you think there are some misconceptions out there right now around AI among distributors?
Brohan: I don’t think it’s a misconception. I think it’s that this stuff is so new that it really hasn’t been explained how it can benefit a particular organization.
There’s tons being written and being done. There’s tons being talked about in terms of what’s to come. But the thing is, this is all so new that I think a lot of companies have been busy with a lot of other things and they’re still trying to wrap their head around AI and what it’s going to mean to them. Long term, the takeaway is that it’s going to change the game for everything. But in the interim, it’s so new. There’s a lot of guesswork going on because a lot of people don’t know.
DSG: What else should distributors keep in mind when it comes to AI based on the conversations you’re having?
Brohan: Where companies are kind of failing, I think, is they don’t know what they don’t know. What I mean by that is they know maybe broadly what AI is, maybe broadly what it could do, and they’ve gotten the memo from vendors and customers and trade publications and anybody else across the globe here that it’s coming.
Keep in mind that AI is not some mystical magical technology that’s going to come in and revolutionize everything technology-wise around the company. It is not that. It’s a tool. How it’s going to play across the enterprise is going to be how it can be used to solve a specific problem. Here’s a firm example. Pittsburgh Paints has been around for 150-plus years. They’re an icon of U.S. manufacturing. Among their biggest customers are automotive companies and body shops.
What they did was looked at specific areas with specific problems where they thought AI could help solve a problem. Apparently, when you bring your totaled or wrecked or dinged-up vehicle into a body shop, matching the paint to a part being ordered from an OEM or an aftermarket service is difficult and complex.
So, mixing and matching the exact order of paint is painstakingly arduous. And then figuring out not only what kind of paints you need and what category and the exact mix to it. Ordering is another separate transaction. One of the first areas where they thought about AI was to solve problems for the body shops buying paint from them. They cooked up an AI application that cut a great deal of time and effort.
Clearly AI is not this holy grail. What it’s going to do is be pinpointed as a technology to expedite a business problem, both big and small across an organization, and there are going to be multiple versions of that depending upon whether you’re talking order management or ecommerce or supply chain or procurement or marketing and merchandising. AI is going to play a role in that, but it’s going to be a specific application designed to solve a specific problem.
DSG: Why should distributors take time out of their busy schedules to attend Applied AI for Distributors?
Brohan: This show is bringing together the thought leaders and the key practitioners who are going to help attendees find and execute a roadmap that’s going to bring them ROI as opposed to just trial and error. When you bring together the best and the brightest who can explain what AI is, and then more importantly, the practitioners to tell you this is what they went through and what folks should avoid … that’s what’s going to help you get the job done when you go back and put it to work. Simple as that.
Learn more about the Applied AI for Distributors conference, June 4-6, 2024, in Chicago.
