New Report: Optimizing AI in Sales

Phocas, a Business Intelligence and Financial Planning and Analysis platform for middle market distributors, announced the release of its State of Sales in Distribution 2026 Report.

Surveying more than 100 wholesale distributors, Phocas found that 49 percent now use artificial intelligence (AI) for selling—even as many sales teams overlook core performance metrics. Thirty-nine percent don’t track sales forecasting accuracy, a third don’t measure win rates (32 percent for existing business and 34 percent for new business), and 27 percent don’t measure customer retention.

Despite the growing use of AI, jan/san distribution sales remain highly personal. More than half of respondents (55 percent) say field or outside sales is their most effective channel, compared to just 5 percent, who point to e-commerce. Three-quarters (75 percent) rank strong product and usage knowledge as the most important attributes of an effective sales rep.

Among distributors already using AI, 40 percent say greater collaboration across the business is what would most improve sales performance. Distributors not using AI are more focused on fundamentals, such as customer relationship management (CRM) adoption and account prioritization.

The distributors who name new customer growth as their top priority are also the most disciplined about measuring it, tracking new business win rates more consistently than distributors who prioritize expanding existing accounts.

“Our report also highlights that product expertise and face-to-face selling continue to define distribution sales,” says Myles Glashier, CEO and Co-Founder of Phocas. “Distribution-specific AI can build on these strengths by giving sales reps faster access to reliable information about products and performance down to the SKU level. This will help them sharpen their sales approach and make better decisions when they are with customers or talking to them on the phone.”

Additional key report insights include:

AI use is becoming mainstream in distribution sales, and collaboration is the next frontier
• 49 percent use AI for sales, 29 percent plan to use AI in the next six months, and 22 percent have no plans to use it.
• 40 percent of AI adopters say greater collaboration across the business is the one capability that would most improve their sales team.

Many distributors don’t track what’s driving their sales performance
• 34 percent don’t measure new business win-rate, 32 percent don’t measure existing-account win-rate, 39 percent don’t measure forecasting accuracy, and 27 percent don’t measure customer retention.

Distributors prioritizing new business measure success more rigorously than account expansion
• 87 percent of distributors prioritizing new-customer growth track their new-business win rate, compared with 46 percent prioritizing expansion with existing accounts.

Relationships beat price overall, but not in every distribution market
• 50 percent of consumer goods brand distributors say their customers value best price above all else—the only vertical where price wins outright.

Digital hasn't replaced the field sales rep in distribution
• 55 percent of distributors name field/outside sales as their most effective channel, versus just 5 percent for e-commerce.
• 75 percent say strong product and usage knowledge is a top attribute of an effective sales rep, well ahead of any other skill.

To read the full State of Sales in Wholesale Distribution 2026 Report, click here.