AI Dispatch ·
AI Owns the Middle Layer
AI isn’t existing as a mere project anymore, it’s already inside your ERP, your PIM, and your carrier network.
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Hi, I’m Lily. I live in the world of distribution, where AI isn’t existing as a mere project anymore, it’s already inside your ERP, your PIM, and your carrier network. The companies leading right now are past change management plans. They’re embedding agents into the systems people already use, every single day.
AI is no longer a layer on top, but the pulse of the workflow. C.H. Robinson automated half their bookings and added $88M in operating profit. Intellinum plugged agents into Oracle and lifted productivity 20%. Walmart linked IoT sensors with AI for real-time supply visibility. The pattern is clear: AI collaborates with your team best when it lives where your crew already works.
So the real question isn’t “why AI?” It’s “what part of your business breaks first without it?”
If you only read one thing this week, it is this:
C.H. Robinson proves AI can lift profits even in tough markets. Automating half of its carrier bookings boosted daily quote coverage from 60% to 100%, driving $88 million in additional operating profit last year. The lesson: advantage now comes from making AI the middle layer in workflows, so that your team members can focus on mission-critical work.
What Operators are Whispering About
Supply Chains Shift Local, AI Goes Global
A new Forbes report citing a Prologis - Harris Poll survey of 1,800 global executives finds that 58% expect supply chains to localize by 2030, shifting from cost-cutting to risk mitigation amid tariffs, instability, and disruptions. The driver: AI. By 2026, 75% of companies will make it a top investment, with leaders seeing 77% ROI in 12 months. Forbes says AI isn’t following supply chain trends, it’s the one setting them for 2026.
C.H. Robinson Bets on AI to Lift Margins
C.H. Robinson, America’s largest freight broker, has shifted half of its carrier bookings to AI, moving from covering only ~60% of daily quote requests to responding to every single one. That shift added $88 million in operating profit compared to the same period last year, even as gross revenue slipped 8% to $8.2 billion. This is a perfect case to argue that in today’s market, advantage comes from automating more touch points, not just trimming costs.
Walmart Brings AI Eyes to Every Pallet
Wiliot, a leader in ambient IoT tech, is partnering with Walmart to deploy millions of battery-free IoT sensors that track products in real time, solving one of retail’s oldest problems: knowing what you own, where it is, and what condition it’s in. Rolling out from 500 stores to 4,600 by 2026, the data flows into Walmart’s AI systems to punch up inventory accuracy and automation. For operators, it’s IoT visibility meeting AI action, a new breakthrough for supply chain precision.
Proton Soft-Launches AI PIM for Distributors
Proton is rolling out an AI-powered product information management (PIM) platform aimed squarely at distributors. The AI agents auto-generate product descriptions, normalize messy supplier data, and streamline digital catalog creation, hitting all pain points that slow down sales. If AI can turn supplier chaos into clean, customer-ready data at scale, it frees sales teams to focus on conversion instead of catalog management.
Intellinum Embeds AI Agents in Oracle Supply Chains
Intellinum has rolled out AI agents inside Oracle Fusion, attacking headache-worth gaps like obsolete inventory, freight cost grouping, and invoice processing. With 20+ enterprises testing 50+ use cases, they’re seeing ~20% productivity lifts. This is a classic example of using a system customers already live in (Oracle Fusion) and drop AI into daily workflows. Expect teams to push for these agents fast, because the ROI is immediate and doesn’t require ripping out infrastructure.
Huawei Scales AI Across Global Supply Chains
Huawei’s SMART Logistics Solution is now embedded in 100+ ports, 200 logistics firms, and 210 airlines. From automated yards to AI scheduling, Huawei is cutting OPEX while increasing output. With Huawei operationalizing AI at global scale, global competitors may already be running leaner, faster networks and operators feel that in rate pressure.
What‘s In My Ears
What’s Next for Cognitive ERP and Manufacturing Intelligence with Epicor’s Kerrie Jordan
In this episode of The AI with Maribel Lopez podcast, Kerrie Jordan breaks down how Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is being transformed by AI. Traditional ERP was a passive database. Cognitive ERP is an active decision-maker. Jordan explains how Epicor’s AI agents now let users ask questions in plain language, automatically surface anomalies, and recommend actions without needing to know which screen or report to check. This marks a shift from AI assisting to executing with human approval, and shortening the gap between seeing a problem and acting on it.
Lily’s Quick Take
AI has been proving itself in margins, workflows, and customer outcomes for this past year and will continue to do so with much vigor. We saw how C.H. Robinson grew profits by automating bookings; Intellinum and Proton embedded agents where operators already live, turning Oracle and PIM systems into active teammates for the whole crew; Walmart wired AI into its supply chain through millions of Wiliot IoT sensors; Epicor showed how ERP is shifting from passive database to firm decision-maker.
It’s clear that the time for asking what AI could do is in the past. It’s time to explore where it is imperative today.
Join Us and Wilson Sonsini at [The Official] Women in AI Coffee and Breakfast at SF Tech Week!
Join us and Wilson Sonsini for a16z SF TechWeek 2025 for our 4th edition of our signature Women in AI Coffee & Breakfast on October 10!
We’re excited to host another Women in AI event spotlighting the builders and believers shaping the next wave of AI. Experience educational discussions around newly launched products, newsworthy breakthroughs, and intimate roundtables focused on founder challenges, technical ideas, and cross-functional collaboration.
Join the List: RSVP HERE!
Where: Digital Jungle SF, San Francisco, CA
When: Friday, Oct 10 | 8am - 11am PT
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