I teach the 'we manage data' line by pointing at the ERP and CRM data most distributors already have and never use.
A look at why most distributors already own the data that would set them apart, and why buying an AI tool is not the same as actually using it against that data.
When I ask clients “Who in your company can pull last month’s customer pricing by product line right now?” Some times, there is one specialized person who’s figured out a way to do it behind the scenes. The data isn’t missing, it sits inside an ERP system that isn’t easy to use.
That is the whole point of a line I use all the time:
“We sell chemicals and manage data. The companies who manage it best win.”
Buying a Claude license or a Gemini license does not automatically get you there. You have to point the tool at your actual pricing history and customer file, on purpose, before it means much.
Many distributors are sitting on years of ERP and CRM data nobody touches. Nobody taught the team to look at it. I built an entire training session around getting chemical companies to see their own data that way.
It doesn’t take long into the demo before the first “wow” emerges from the audience.
A company’s limit to using AI stops at the imagination of their people.