AI in Distribution: An example from the field
With every generation comes an opportunity to innovate on what has come before. For one second-generation distributor from the US, that opportunity has arrived in the form of an AI (artificial intelligence) solution for sales.
His name is Abhay Kalra, and his story - told by author Vesna Brajkovic for MDM Distribution Intelligence – offers a glimpse at how AI is reshaping the distribution and warehouse space. It begins in India, where Kalra saw the potential for AI within his family’s electrical and industrial distribution, particularly when it came to handling repetitive and time-consuming tasks that drained time and energy from its inside sales team.
"We had chances to grow, but the team didn't have time to go after new accounts; they were too busy processing what was already on their plate," Kalra told MDM. "And since everything depended on hiring, growth was always limited by how fast we could find and train good people."
Kalra kept this challenge in mind when studying electrical engineering and computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. Here, he developed an AI-driven platform called Avent that is designed to monitor and streamline distribution and manufacturing customer requests through the automation of quotes, order entries, and product searches. In so doing, Kalra created a platform that he claims can reduce customer service representative administrative work by 50% and help to eliminate order processing backlogs that can lead to missed revenue.
Back to Newsletters
