Complete Story
09/27/2025
018. Balancing Innovation and Trust: How Distributors Win with AI
Instructor: Benjamin Cohen
Level of Complexity: Intermediate
1:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Distributors are sitting on mountains of data—from transactions, product catalogs, supplier feeds, and customer interactions—but very few know how to turn that data into a strategic advantage. This session will show how distributors can move beyond surface-level digital tools and use AI to transform messy, underutilized data into actionable insights that drive revenue, margin, and customer loyalty. Benj Cohen will share real-world examples of distributors who are using AI responsibly to grow margins and strengthen customer relationships. And while AI opens doors to growth, it also raises new questions: How do we protect customer trust? How do we balance innovation with risk? Benj will show leaders how to seize the AI opportunity while putting data security at the center of their strategy. Listed below are examples of activities Benj can incorporate into a workshop: Small groups map out their current data landscape (where data lives today) and highlight opportunities where AI could drive quick wins. Distributors rank AI opportunities for their own businesses based on impact, feasibility, and trust. Attendees practice asking “must-know” questions of an AI vendor to separate real value from hype.
Bookstore
Rapid Teamwork
Sean Glaze
In modern organizations, there seems to be a revolving door of new projects and new teammates. The challenge is seldom about strategy. Leaders struggle because they don’t have a process for bringing diverse individuals together as a collaborative team.
Rapid Teamwork tells the story of Greg Sharpe, a manager whose team has been underachieving and struggling with a few issues.
What he and his executive team experience during an unusual rafting retreat is a lesson on how to become a more productive team quickly – creating a more unified workforce.
