Agenda

Tuesday, June 4th

8:30–11:00

Optional Workshop:

The AI Advantage in Sales: Techniques You Can Use Today

In sales today, the risk-takers, innovators and forward-thinkers will win. This workshop will change the way you think about sales. With AI expert Paul Baier leading the event, this isn’t just another seminar; it’s your path to sales excellence.

This hands-on workshop is for sales professionals ready to understand the future, drive $$$ growth and ramp up their personal productivity.

You are not going to lose to AI, but you may lose to someone using AI. Be the one who understands this powerful tool.

Learn more and register here »

1:00–1:15

Welcome – How to Make the Most of This Event

Remarks by Ian Heller, Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Distribution Strategy Group

1:15–2:00

Driving Revenue Growth with AI

General Session by Jonathan Bein, Ph.D. Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Distribution Strategy Group

How can your firm utilize AI-enabled technologies to drive faster sales growth? Several CRM tools offer amazing new capabilities, but that’s just the start. Cross-selling technologies, recommender engines for websites and customer service reps, marketing automation platforms, new ways to target prospects on the web – the list of tools is growing rapidly. DSG’s resident AI expert Jonathan Bein will describe these technologies, how they can benefit you and how you can get started.

2:00–2:30

Where AI is Heading in B2B Digital Commerce and Transformation, and What You Need to Know Now

General Session by Mark Brohan, Senior Vice President, B2B & Market Research, Digital Commerce 360

Everyone knows that AI is the future in all aspects of business, but what are the best applications and approaches to getting the most out of this new technology when applied to key parts of the enterprise, including ecommerce, an omnichannel digital purchasing experience, supply chain and procurement management, order fulfillment, last mile logistics and more. Mark Brohan of Digital Commerce 360 will present exclusive data and survey analysis from three industry B2B panels about where AI is heading in B2B digital commerce and transformation and what you can expect from AI applications rolling out now and on the drawing board.

Applied AI Presentations by Technology Leaders:

5:00–6:30

The Innovator’s Dilemma: Navigating Our AI Future

Pioneering the Path Towards an AI-Empowered Future – The Innovator’s Roadmap

Zack navigates the challenges and opportunities that lie at the forefront of AI innovation. He dissects the paradoxical landscape where technology moves at an astounding pace, yet practical, scalable solutions remain elusive.

In this keynote, Zack highlights how innovators can transform these challenges into stepping stones to success in an AI-driven era.

Drawing on his vast experience in AI strategy and implementation, Zack offers a pragmatic approach to future-proofing your business.

He provides a forward-thinking perspective, sharing lessons learned, strategies adopted, and the transformative power of resilience in the face of relentless technological progression.

Key takeaways:

  • Lessons from the frontlines of AI strategy and implementation
  • Actionable approaches to future-proofing your business in an AI-driven world
  • Insights into how innovators can turn these challenges into opportunities

Hear more from Zack on what to expect from his session.

6:30–7:30

Happy Hour

Welcome Mixer

Come break the ice with your fellow conference goers and innovation partners.

Wednesday, June 5th

7:00–8:00

All-Attendee Breakfast

8:00–8:30

Speed Networking – Distributors and Tech Leaders

In this rapidly changing market, you need solutions and ideas as fast as possible. Meet with innovation partners for 15 minutes to discover ways to help your business thrive and find solutions to your everyday business needs.

8:45–9:30

Driving Profit Growth with AI

General Session by Brooks Hamilton, Founder, Hamilton AI Strategy Advisors

New tools can help you maximize your margins with precision pricing, but that’s just the start of how AI can drive superior profitability. AI can help you reduce operating costs, enhance your purchasing effectiveness, improve working capital performance and help you track and collect rebates and marketing co-op. Brooks Hamilton has worked in distributor profitability for years and his top-tier AI expertise will help you understand how to apply tools today that will keep you ahead of the competition tomorrow. 

9:30–10:15

Using Generative AI in Your Company

General Session by Paul Baier, CEO & Principal Analyst, GAI Insights

Bring the amazing capabilities of generative AI into your company to see how you can use it to get the insightful, immediate, and high-precision answers you need to provide the best service to your customers. This presentation will focus on how to choose a generative AI model, how to train it on your data and what you can expect to get from this investment.

10:15–10:30

Break in Expo Hall

Applied AI Presentations by Technology Leaders:

12:00–1:00

Lunch in Expo Hall

Applied AI Presentations by Technology Leaders:

2:30–3:30

Speed Networking – Distributors and Tech Leaders

In this rapidly changing market, you need solutions and ideas as fast as possible. Meet with innovation partners for 15 minutes to discover ways to help your business thrive and find solutions to your everyday business needs.

3:45–4:45

Building an Information Advantage: How Grainger Embraces AI at Scale 

Brian Walker, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Grainger

In the Grainger Technology Group, they think of Grainger as an information company: leveraging advantaged data allows them to provide deeply personalized service to their customers and has led to cultural transformation at the 97-year old company. In his keynote, Brian will share how Grainger’s investments in technology, talent, and culture allows them to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning across the business. Whether it is putting AI at the core of the website, mobile app, branch, distribution center, field sales, or corporate functions, Grainger puts AI in the hands of experts to fulfill the Grainger purpose: We Keep The World Working®.

4:45–5:45

Technology Leaders Panel – How the Best Distributors Are Using AI Today

Technology executives interact with dozens of distribution companies each year and so they have a rich variety of experiences to draw from when offering advice. In this panel, executives from leading technology companies will share stories of some of the most innovative ways they’ve seen distributors apply AI in their companies. From sales to customer service; working capital to operating expenses; collections to co-op, we’ll cover the range of AI applications and how your company can use them effectively, too. 

5:45–6:45

Happy Hour

Thursday, June 6th

6:30–7:30

All-Attendee Breakfast

7:30–8:45

How AI, Deepfakes and ChatGPT are Transforming Cybercrime – and What to Do About It

Keynote with Theresa Payton, First Female White House CIO, Technology Thought Leader, AI Strategist and Cybersecurity Expert

Hear from Theresa on what to expect from her session.

9:00–9:45

Speed Networking – Distributors and Tech Leaders

In this rapidly changing market, you need solutions and ideas as fast as possible. Meet with innovation partners for 15 minutes to discover ways to help your business thrive and find solutions to your everyday business needs.

9:45–10:30

How eCommerce Sites and Marketplaces Can Leverage AI

With Sandy Mattinson (President, Zoro), Mike Powers (Chief Digital & Technology Officer, ARG Industrial), and Stu Tisdale (SVP & Chief Experience Officer, ADI)

While artificial intelligence will help distributors in many areas, one of the first ways it can help is in digital commerce. AI can improve demand generation, personalization, customer service and other capabilities that drive sales, increase customer retention and improve distributor value propositions in meaningful ways. 

This panel of senior executives at leading digital players will share their experiences and visions for how they can use AI to drive more sales, make customer happier, improve relationships with suppliers and grow their companies. 

10:45–11:30

Get Going with AI: Talent, Process, Training and More

With Tony Aug (co-founder and CEO, Nimble Gravity), Emanuela Delgado (GVP of Growth & Innovation, Parts Town Unlimited), and Arjun Srinivasan (Director & Head of Data Science, Wesco International)

How do you organize for AI success? This sweeping technology is a revolution that brings exciting possibilities across a distributor’s business while also carrying significant risks — competitive issues if you fall behind and security problems if you don’t do what it takes to eliminate vulnerabilities. But how do you organize for success? What talent do you need, how do you train your team on such a fast-changing technology and are there processes and procedures you can put in place to maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks? This session will help you prepare your company to adopt AI the right way. 

11:30–12:15

AI in Distribution: What Boards and Owners Expect

With Ryan Merkel (Senior Research Analyst, William Blair), Alex Moazed (Founder & CEO, Applico), and Mike Emerson (Managing Partner, Indian River Consulting Group)

At Distribution Strategy Group, we regularly hear from distribution executives that they’re feeling pressure to get moving — and fast — on incorporating AI into their businesses. In this session, a panel of investors, board members and M&A specialists will talk about expectations distribution executives must be able to meet and the steps they should take now to incorporate AI in order to attract the investment capital necessary to outgrow competitors.

12:15–1:00

Lunch in Expo Hall