Step Zero: What Comes Before Every AI Rollout in B2B

What changes when a private equity firm acquires a manufacturing or distribution business? Dr. Andrea Burr, managing partner at Vista Insight Advisors, joins Aaron Sheehan to discuss the impact on leadership, employees, and business operations. They cover performance targets, the cost of losing experienced employees, and how AI could change the approach to managing legacy ERP systems.Resources MentionedThe Speed of Trust by Stephen M. R. CoveThe Diplomat (Netflix)The Americans (FX)

Jacobi Zakrzewski has seen B2B from the manufacturing, distribution, agency, and IT sides. Now Director of IT at A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Jacobi shares his approach to shadow AI, how he separates useful AI from experimentation that creates more noise, and why internal adoption matters as much as customer adoption.Episode Highlights05:42 – Why IT Leaders Need to Understand How the Business Makes Money16:10 – Shadow IT, Shadow AI, and Why Blocking Experimentation Can Backfire19:38 – The Gap Between AI Prototypes and Production Software25:00 – The Boardroom “So What?” That Changed Jacobi’s Approach to IT28:15 – What Counts as B2B eCommerce Beyond the Website31:47 – Who Should Own B2B eCommerce 37:05 – Two Ways to Approach eCommerce Adoption45:02 – AI Productivity at A.Y. McDonaldResources MentionedA.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. — The manufacturing company where Jacobi serves as Director of IT.Luminos Labs — Digital services and systems integration firm where Jacobi previously served as VP of Strategy.Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman — The LitRPG book series Jacobi recommends at the end of the episode.

Kulmohan Makhija of Azilen joins Aaron Sheehan to talk about the unglamorous reality of implementing AI in B2B manufacturing and commerce. Kulmohan shares why buyers are shifting their focus from flashy interfaces to operational systems, explains how agentic AI and Model Context Protocol (MCP) are changing system integrations, and breaks down why clean data is the mandatory "step zero" before any AI rollout.Episode Highlights:00:07 – Introduction: Meet Kulmohan Makhija & Azilen's AI Practice02:13 – Interfaces vs. Systems: What Buyers Are Actually Willing to Pay For08:04 – Why No Manufacturer Wants AI Writing to Their ERP (Yet)08:45 – MCP Explained: From API Guesswork to Governed Orchestration12:58 – Low-Risk vs. High-Risk: Where the Human Stays in the Loop17:14 – The High-Speed Garbage Cannon: Data Quality as Step Zero19:14 – Digital Product Passport: When Compliance Forces a Data Reckoning26:04 – How an SI Sells "We'll Do Less of What You Pay Us For"28:43 – What Happens to My Team? Reading the Room on AI Adoption31:20 – 12 Months From Now: What We'll Stop Arguing AboutResources Mentioned Book: Everyday Creativity by Pavan SoniKulmohan Makhija’s email: [email protected] 

Sam Russo, Director of Demand Gen & Strategic Alliances at Pivotree, joins Aaron Sheehan to talk about the messy, human side of automotive data. Sam shares her unconventional path into data, explains why ACES and PIES aren't magic bullets, and breaks down what happens when companies throw expensive tech at dirty data. She also reflects on the Rebelle Rally and what navigating the desert taught her about data dependency.Episode Highlights:01:08 – Introduction: Meet Sam Russo & Her Automotive Origin Story07:44 – What ACES and PIES Actually Are (And What They're Not)11:35 – The #1 Data Problem That Looks Like Tech But Is Actually Humans13:48 – How Well Are Manufacturers Living Up to ACES & PIES Standards?15:50 – Why Missing Data Makes You Invisible (Especially to AI)18:13 – Pivotree as Pit Crew: F1, Foundations, and Why Data Isn't "Fixed" in 12 Months23:29 – The Rebelle Rally: 2,500km, No GPS, Never Camped Before29:57 – Finding Your Limits (Or Not Finding Them)30:58 – Data Dependency vs. Human Instinct33:45 – AI in Automotive: Data Normalization, Agentic Shopping & Fleet Management42:33 – What the Aftermarket Needs to Attract the Next Generation47:31 – Sam's media recommendationResources Mentioned:SEMA Data Co-op — Industry data standards organizationThe Diary of a CEO — Podcast hosted by Steven BartlettRebelle Rally — The longest off-road navigation rally in the United StatesPodcast with Chantal Schweizer from Pivotree https://youtu.be/btq8K279e_k 

Ryan Cosby, FP&A Manager at Salon Service Group, joins Aaron Sheehan for a ground-level look at B2B beauty distribution. Ryan shares how SSG manages cost-to-serve across multiple channels, wrestles with pricing complexity and margin leakage, and navigates the messy realities of month-end close. He also breaks down what vendors need to bring to the table to earn a yes from finance.Episode Highlights:00:35 – Introduction: Meet Ryan Cosby & Salon Service Group01:50 – How SSG's Distribution Model Works: Salons, Licenses & the Back Bar03:25 – Cost-to-Serve: Is the Digital Channel Cheaper?06:00 – Giving Reps Visibility Into eCommerce Behavior07:34 – Commissioning Reps on eComm Sales and Why It Matters08:50 – Pricing Complexity: Custom Agreements and Margin Leakage12:40 – Sales Tax Complexity and Why SSG Uses Vertex15:00 – The Tech Stack: System 2000, Qlik, and Excel18:58 – Month-End Close: Reconciling Two Different Data Structures22:07 – AI in FP&A: What SSG Is Piloting With Qlik26:00 – What a Vendor Business Case Needs to Survive an FP&A Review30:35 – Advice for Digital Champions Making the Case Up the Chain34:45 – Payments Across Channels: Cards on File, Chargebacks & Debit Card Risk39:16 – Ryan’s media recommendationsResources Mentioned:Qlik — BI and analytics tool used by SSGVertex — Sales tax automation platformImbibe Magazine — Ryan's go-to for drinks culture, recommending it as a great example of a media brand quietly and successfully reinventing itself.

What happens when you drop an LLM on top of five ERPs and a decade of M&A? Aaron Sheehan and analyst Heather Hershey map the practical path: B2B use cases that work, risks that don’t, and why chunk-by-chunk modernization beats “robot, take the wheel.”Highlights01:06 – Welcome back and introducing Heather Hershey03:35 – Defining AI, LLMs, and RAG 09:30 – Why probabilistic AI makes ops teams nervous 11:58 – Is LLM an overkill compared to ‘boring’ machine learning and rule-based systems?15:19 – The real blocker: fragmented data across ERPs and other systems19:40 – The strangler pattern: modernize in chunks instead of ripping everything out21:13 – Why commerce platforms become the orchestration layer for AI/NLP24:37 – If you had $100K for AI: where to spend it 27:27 – Prisoner’s dilemma: agentic shopping and the disintermediation trap34:53 – Agentic commerce predictions for B2B 40:30 – Are people replacing Google with LLMs?

This week, we met Kyle Gustafson, civil engineer by training, digital commerce expert by career. From scaling office supply giants to building businesses at Amazon, Kyle reflects on what digital transformation really takes and why WIFM – “What’s in it for me?” – is the key to adoption and growth.Highlights00:00 – Introduction: Meet Kyle Gustafson & His Career Path02:00 – Lessons from Office Depot, Staples, and OfficeMax04:00 – Building Private Brands and Supply Chains at Amazon06:35 – Transformation Mindset: Thinking 20 Years Ahead11:35  – Why Companies Call for Help: Common Consulting Triggers17:40 – Defining eCommerce: Where’s the line? 21:33 – Why Digital Transformation Never Really Ends28:40 – Tech Adoption and the Power of WIFM34:10 – The Alexa Microwave Story: When Customer Value Isn’t There39:23 – Leadership Lessons from Mentor Ron Lala45:10 – Book Recommendations & Closing ThoughtsResources MentionedViktor Frankl – Man’s Search for MeaningMalcolm Gladwell – The Revenge of the Tipping PointPaul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley – The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI

Allie Copeland, Chief Transformation Officer at ADI Global, joins Aaron Sheehan to break down what transformation looks like in wholesale distribution. From merging companies and overhauling tech to building a customer-first culture, Allie shares how ADI keeps progress moving, even when change never ends.Episode highlights: 00:00 – Introduction: Meet Allie Copeland & ADI02:15 – What Does a Chief Transformation Officer Do?04:50 – Why Transformation Never Really Ends09:15 – Turning Strategy into Action12:54 – Upgrading Tech: From Mainframe to Microservices18:25 – Planning for Agility, Not Just Stability21:45 – “Even Better Together”: Customer-First M&A25:15 – Decision-Making: When Changes Help (or Hurt) Customers27:24 – Real Feedback: NPS, Surveys, and Store Pilots29:30 – How Distribution is Evolving Beyond Inventory34:32 – Culture Change: Project Avengers & Rebel Alliance40:13 – Radical Transparency & Leading Through Uncertainty42:35 – Leadership Lessons & Advice for Transformation46:25 – Book Recs & Closing ThoughtsResources mentioned: • The Singularity Is Nearer by Ray Kurzweil• Apple in China by Patrick McGee

This episode tackles the real reasons manufacturers and distributors stay stuck: old systems, patchwork processes, and business habits that don’t change overnight. Jason Greenwood and Aaron Sheehan dig into what goes wrong in B2B projects, how leaders can spot roadblocks early, and why honest internal conversations matter more than buying the latest software.Key Highlights5:00 Why B2B companies still run on spreadsheets and ancient ERPs9:00 Shadow IT in B2B operations11:03 Field reps aging out, digital-native buyers moving in – how it’s reshaping expectations13:05 The real question companies ask: Should we replace the ERP or launch eCommerce first?15:23 Customers force the issue: “We’ll switch suppliers if you don’t make it easier”17:05 How Jason breaks the customer base into three digital adoption buckets19:16 Manual ordering habits (screenshots, PDFs)23:20 When eCommerce is dismissed as ‘just for small customers’ and why that’s wrong32:00 How eCommerce automation solves pain points beyond the transactional workflowResources Mentioned Digital Services Layer (DSL): Jason’s concept for all the non-transactional digital capabilities customers expect.OroCommerce's AI SmartOrder: An AI-powered tool for processing unstructured purchase orders and enabling digital self-service.Upcoming Movie: A Big Bold Beautiful JourneyTop Gun: MaverickB2B eCommerce World 2025 in Scottsdale, AZ

Kyler Nixon, Co-Founder of Forward Studios, joins the show to unpack what most distributors and B2B eCommerce teams get wrong about email marketing and how to turn it into a growth channel. Drawing on first-hand lessons as a Chief Revenue Officer, Kyler breaks down how to capture more revenue, why most companies leave money on the table, and what practical steps move the needle in B2B email.Episode highlights: 00:30 – Intro: Kyler’s path from agency owner to B2B eCommerce03:00 – What distributors get wrong about email marketing (and how Kyler found the gap)05:42 – Planning and forecasting in distribution: What signals Kyler actually tracked09:45 – Why the “endless aisle” is a trap for most distributors11:40 – First growth levers: growing the sales team, fixing SEO, improving UX16:33 – The lost revenue of not capturing email22:40 – Personalization in B2B email: beyond “Hi, Bob”23:50 – Simple segmentation that works: inside vs. outside the buying window25:52 – Kyler’s 3-part B2B email marketing framework explained32:10 – What the B2B Commerce Association adds for practitioners37:23 – Kyler’s podcast and TV recommendationsResources Mentioned:How I Built This (podcast by Guy Raz)Wisdom from the Top (podcast by Guy Raz)Survivor (reality TV show)B2B Commerce AssociationThe 2025 B2B Buyer Perspectives Report