Why Distribution’s AI Bottleneck Isn’t Budget
The companies moving beyond isolated pilots are building a repeatable operating foundation around data, integration, governance and measurable business ownership.
October 22, 2026
Featured story
The federal government’s new AI-powered america.gov site offers a lesson for distributors: Customers shouldn’t have to navigate your internal complexity to get answers. This piece explores five ideas worth borrowing — and what the latest...
Rexel’s newly-announced GCG acquisition extends a multiyear expansion that has strengthened its North American footprint while adding automation, connectivity and engineered services. Tracing those deals reveals how the company’s growth strategy is evolving — and...
More quotes doesn’t always mean more sales. This piece details why the biggest leak in your sales pipeline happens before the quote, and how a back-to-basics approach will best position you to get the most...
Details on the deal are very limited, but directionally meaningful toward adding a new dimension to Fastenal’s AI ambitions among distribution’s greater arms race of AI build-and-buy solutions. Here’s our analysis of what this Fastenal...
New NAW survey data show that sub-$100M distributors respond to cost pressure with a single blunt instrument, even as that pressure arrives through at least three different channels at once.
This this Q&A piece, Ducker Carlisle’s Amy Marzonie and Chris Fisher explain how consolidators are using inventory turns, delivery performance and cost-to-serve to assess distributor scalability — and why operational discipline alone won’t maximize growth...
Grainger’s eCommerce story started 30 years ago with the early move from catalog to web. Today, that head start has become a digital operating system spanning High-Touch Solutions, Endless Assortment, product data, AI and fulfillment...
Our highly anticipated annual feature is here for you to peruse via web listings and our downloadable report. Explore our 20 different lists to see distribution’s biggest movers and shakers.
What if AI doesn’t replace Lean Six Sigma, but finally makes it scalable? The first in this four-part series from NAW Chief Innovation Officer Bart Tessel introduces LSS AI: a disciplined operating model to help...
CRM implementations often fail for a simple reason — sales teams don’t see personal value in using them. This contributed piece explores how distributors can shift CRM from a management reporting tool into a sales...
You’ve seen our recaps of the top news, free articles, Premium articles and podcasts we’ve published this year (if not, you really should). Here, we take a comprehensive look at our key takeaways from 2025...
Brad Jacobs candidly shared plenty of detail in answering questions QXO has often received regarding its strategic roadmap toward achieving $50 billion in annual revenue over the next decade.
