AI could be a wholesaler’s best friend – if they know how

b2b.store CEO Rob Mannion explains how using AI tools in the right way could transform B2B wholesalers’ operations

It will hardly come as much of a surprise that we’re embracing AI at b2b.store. But this shouldn’t exclusively be the arena of digital experts like ourselves. Every business should be doing the same – and that goes for wholesalers, too.

There’s understandably some reticence for some companies to jump headfirst into AI, especially with talk of newfangled tech coming in to replace human jobs. But this isn’t the reality of what AI is out there to achieve – its function is intended to help humans do their jobs rather than take over.

AI is a powerful tool that can help individuals and businesses in hosts of ways that stretch beyond simply visions of robots carrying out tasks around a warehouse. The technology can help in ways many wholesalers wouldn’t even consider, with business functions that don’t cross the minds of most people.

We’ve been dabbling with a variety of new AI technologies and have identified a raft of tools that help transform productivity, aid with creative output, and can be a great sounding board for business decisions. That knowledge has been value in arming us with the understanding of AI that help with our wholesale customers’ challenges.

Some of the best solutions are not necessarily in the most obvious places, though. One of the most powerful is AI’s work with data, with several tools out there that provide high-quality data analysis – turning large datasets into detailed reports that offer up a series of smart recommendations within a matter of seconds.

These reports may need some polishing up before they can be presented, but as a usable insight provider, it’s a great free resource for time- and cash-poor wholesalers to make data-driven decisions simply by uploading documents and asking it to analyse or summarise them, or by posing specific questions.

AI doesn’t need to stop at simply creating reports. Its ability to apply the use of insight and recommend actions is also a big asset, with the right tools able to provide guidance to help with a host of business decisions.

Using AI-powered forecasting, algorithms can analyse sales data, market trends and several other factors to help predict future demand and make suggestions for planning stock levels. This can even reach into competitive analysis to give wholesalers a market view versus other businesses within their sphere.

Bigger businesses may already have employees or agencies that already do this for them, but for those leaner operations, it’s as good as an extra specialist – or independent opinion – to call upon. Among the AI assistants we’ve tested for reporting like this are DeepSeek, Copilot and ChatGPT, with each having different strengths, so we recommend wholesalers try out queries on each to see which works best for them.

There is also a range of other time-saving tasks that different AI software can support with, such as writing and updating business policies. These are especially important for wholesalers when they are tendering for new business with large or public-sector organisations.

When those policies are in place to help you win the business, the aforementioned AI tools – such as Pitch Power or the AI assistants – will help with writing the tenders or pitches you need. It’s not just the times these tools save, it is also the observations they make that are so worth using.

The best thing is that these examples are just a few of the ways AI could be integrated into a wholesaler’s business and quickly make a tangible difference at very low cost. Many of these tools are flexible and can be used in several other ways: analysing customer behaviour, price management and customer service. The list goes on.

For many, the term AI has been met with cynicism.

The truth, however, is that many wholesalers have already been using AI tools without even considering them to be that before now. It’s simply technology with a different label, but now it’s making headlines, where previously there wasn’t the emotion-inducing label to go with it.

We know some wholesalers use software or online resources to help with route planning when making deliveries to plot out the most energy-efficient way to make drop-offs. This is just AI logistics, but used by many.

Similarly, pre-populated lists or search suggestions on wholesalers’ online-ordering platforms are pretty common practice for customers using e-commerce – and much of that is also powered by AI.

My point is that technology is everywhere, and most wholesalers wouldn’t pause to try something out that was available and low cost (and effort), so using anything branded as AI should be the same.

Remove the stigma and what you’ll see is a series of online tools that can make tangible differences to the productivity and success of a business.

Wholesalers willing to harness what’s out there have a big opportunity to tap into a major upgrade of business skills that will help drive their performance forward

There’s nothing out there that’s big or scary, just ways to help wholesalers be more efficient and bring in larger revenues. The ones that aren’t too afraid to try things out for themselves are the ones that will gain an edge over their competition. Just ask an AI assistant – they’re bound to tell you the same thing.

This article was originally written for and published by Better Wholesaling.