Artificial intelligence (AI)is no longer a topic reserved for technology conferences and trade press speculation. For Current Distribution Group (CDG), it’s become a strategic priority — one the organization is approaching with the same deliberate, member-first mindset that has always defined its work.

That focus sharpened earlier this year when Jackson Zingsheim, director of business development, and I attended the “Applied AI for Distributors 2026” conference in Chicago. It brought together distributor leaders and industry experts to move past the AI buzz and get into specifics: what tools are actually working, where implementation stalls and how distribution businesses can start capturing real value. 

CDG came back with a clear picture of where the industry is headed — and a renewed sense of direction for our own initiatives.

Moving from conversation to action

One of the most useful frameworks we encountered at the conference came from Brian Hopkins, chief operations officer at Distribution Strategy Group. Hopkins outlined three roles AI can play within a distribution business: doing the work, coaching the team and helping build the tools an organization needs. It’s a deceptively simple model — but it cuts through the noise in a way that makes AI feel approachable rather than overwhelming.

For CDG, this framework maps directly onto areas where we’re already active. Reporting and first-draft content fall into the “do the work” bucket. Surfacing relevant insights in real time for members and staff fits neatly under “coach the team.” And building smarter internal tools — dashboards, information access, workflow aids — is increasingly within reach without waiting on a development team.

What CDG is building

CDG is not chasing AI as a trend. Our approach has been to start with a specific problem and work outward from there — the same way we’d evaluate any new capability we build for members. Current initiatives include enhancements to reporting tools that make data easier to access and act on, as well as ongoing exploration of additional internal tools designed to streamline how our team works and how information flows between CDG, its members and supplier partners.

The goal isn’t automation for its own sake. It’s creating more capacity for the work that actually requires human judgment — the relationships, the strategy, the service. AI handles the repetitive and the routine; people stay focused on what they do best.

A change management challenge, not only a technology one

One theme that came up repeatedly at Applied AI for Distributors — and that resonated strongly with our team — is that AI adoption is as much a people challenge as a technology one. No matter how capable a tool is, it only delivers value if the team using it understands what it does, trusts it and knows where it falls short.

The distributors furthest along in their AI journeys weren’t the ones with the largest tech budgets. They were the ones who treated AI implementation like a change management effort from day one — bringing their teams into the process early; starting with low-risk, high-visibility wins; and letting proof of concept build internal momentum.

For distributors and their supplier partners, that’s an encouraging data point. This isn’t a race that rewards whoever spends the most first. It rewards those who are thoughtful, intentional and willing to learn in real time.

What’s ahead

CDG sees AI as a long-term investment in the value it delivers to members and supplier partners — not a one-time implementation. As tools improve and use cases multiply, we plan to keep testing, evaluating and sharing what we learn.

The real opportunity isn’t about working faster — it’s what that speed makes room for. Distributors and marketing groups that integrate AI thoughtfully will free up time and resources for the relationship-building, strategic thinking and industry expertise that have always been the foundation of this business.

That’s the opportunity CDG is excited to keep exploring — alongside the members and supplier partners we serve. 

Kaitlyn Martel is the director of marketing at Current Distribution Group, the new parent company of IMARK.