"How Can My Wholesale Distribution Strategy Keep Up With Tariff Changes?"

Is your CRM really driving revenue growth, or just storing notes no one reads?In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, hosts Kevin Brown and Tom Burton pull back the curtain on how AI-enabled customer intelligence platforms like LeadSmart Channel Cloud™ are transforming sales enablement, workflow automation, and decision-making in distribution. You’ll hear fresh economic insights, a candid look at tariff strategy, and why agentic AI workflows could be the future of competitive advantage in B2B.What You’ll Learn:Why redefining “CRM” as a Customer Enablement Tool changes adoption rates and sales resultsHow to prepare your organization for agentic AI workflows by codifying your processesThe economic signals driving the Fed’s next move and what that means for distributorsHow tariff extensions create hidden opportunities for future-proofing distribution supply chainsWhy AI policies are as important as HR policies in protecting your businessEpisode Highlights:04:15 – Why Kevin thinks it’s time to rebrand CRM for the modern salesforce13:35 – Breaking down the PPI spike and its tariff-driven impact on inflation22:48 – The overlooked advantage of the U.S.–China tariff extension for supply chain planning33:12 – Agentic AI workflows: what they are and how B2B can catch up to B2C44:50 – Build vs. buy: deciding between low-code prototypes and industry-specific platforms55:19 – The silent AI adoption wave—why 40% of employees use banned tools at work01:04:38 – Balancing innovation with risk in AI implementation01:21:05 – Closing reflections and calls-to-action for distributorsTools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:LeadSmart Channel Cloud™ – AI-enabled CRM + customer intelligence platform for distributorsHidden Revenue Detection – uncovering untapped sales opportunities in ERP and eCommerce dataCustomer Enablement Tool (CET) – reframing CRM as a proactive sales assetAgentic AI Workflows – autonomous, decision-making processes powered by AIFuture-Proofing Distribution – strategies for mitigating supply chain and economic risksClosing Insight:“Data and workflows are the key readiness factors for adopting AI, you can’t automate what you haven’t defined.” – Tom BurtonLeave a Review: Help us grow by sharing your thoughts on the show.Learn more about the LeadSmart AI B2B Sales Platform: https://www.leadsmarttech.com/Join the conversation each week on LinkedIn Live.Want even more insight to the stories we discuss each week? Subscribe to the Around The Horn Newsletter.You can also hear the podcast and other excellent content on our YouTube Channel.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.