Blog
The Quest for the Perfect Order: AI-Driven Strategies for Operational Excellence
NBWA Associate Member Encompass Technologies discusses in their Associate Member Viewpoint how distributors are using predictive ordering to support their sales teams.
By Max Grossenbacher, Data Director, Encompass Technologies
Today’s distributors face an increasingly complex operating environment. Seasonality, local events, promotions, and fast-changing consumer trends all influence demand in real time. Yet many ordering practices still rely on static forecasts or manual processes that can’t keep up.
The result? Stockouts, overstocks, inefficiencies and missed sales.
A growing number of distributors are shifting from reactive to proactive by adopting AI-powered predictive ordering. This approach uses internal and external data — like historical sales patterns, weather, store-level behavior, consumer data and event schedules — to generate highly accurate order suggestions. It eliminates guesswork, creates significant time savings and helps ensure the right products land in the right accounts, at the right time.
Why Predictive Ordering Works
Distributors using predictive ordering strategies are seeing results in four core areas:
🧠 Smarter, Faster Orders
Rather than writing orders from scratch or relying on past habits, reps can start from a predictive baseline generated by AI. These suggestions are personalized to the account’s sales history, current conditions, and typical order cadence.
Chris Koch, COO of Adams Beverages, shared:
“We didn’t change our reps’ workflows — we just gave them a better starting point. Within a week, they were using the suggestions regularly.”
The outcome? Sales reps spend less time writing orders and more time focusing on customer relationships.
💪 Better Coaching & Accountability
With predictive vs. actual comparisons, managers can identify gaps and trends in ordering behavior.
Chris went on to explain, “We use the suggested vs. submitted data to coach. If a rep consistently overrides the prediction, we dig into why. Sometimes they know something the system doesn’t — but sometimes, it flags habits that need adjusting.”
This creates visibility that supports stronger team performance.
🔁 Consistency at Scale
Predictive ordering ensures that even less experienced team members can make high-quality decisions. It raises the floor of performance and helps reduce variability in order quality and execution across routes and accounts — while still supporting the unique needs of each account.
Chris noted, “We saw more consistency, especially in accounts that used to be hit-or-miss. It gave reps — and managers — confidence in the plan.”
Quantifiable Results from the Field
Distributors currently using predictive ordering are seeing measurable business benefits:
● 📈 20%+ increase in annual sales volume per route
● 🕒 3-5 minutes of savings per rep at small format accounts, and ~30 minutes of savings per rep at large format accounts
● 📅 Based on 50 small format and 8 large format stops per week across 25 reps, this results in approximately 3 hours of savings per week per rep. Annualized, this totals around 3,750 hours per year.
● 📦 No out-of-stocks reported on predictive-generated orders
● ✅ 70%+ of each order is pre-built
● 💡 Reduced need for manual inventory counts, freeing up time for sales
● 🧮 140+ hours saved across 120 accounts, just from improved efficiency
These results demonstrate that AI-driven strategies aren’t just a tech trend — they’re empowering sales teams and operations leaders to solve real-world challenges with greater precision and impact.
The Human Element: Change Without Disruption
Reps don’t need lengthy training. Predictive ordering fits into their daily tools and routines. In today’s environment where labor is tight and turnover can be high, making it easier for new reps to get up to speed quickly is critical.
Chris shared a few notes on Adams Beverages’ rollout:
“It’s great for onboarding. New reps don’t have history with the account, but now they don’t need to guess.”
“We didn’t roll it out top-down. We let reps try it — and they kept using it because it made their job easier.”
That kind of organic adoption has helped teams build confidence and drive usage — without needing a formal change management initiative.
Looking Ahead: From Efficiency to Growth
Predictive ordering doesn’t just eliminate inefficiencies — it creates new opportunities for growth. It frees reps to spend time on high-value activities, improves in-stock performance at retail and strengthens relationships by ensuring customers get what they need, when they need it.
For distributors, it’s not just about keeping up with change. It’s about staying ahead of it.
About the Author
Max Grossenbacher is the Data Director at Encompass Technologies, where he leads data initiatives with a focus on transforming how businesses leverage data for operational success. With a strong background in data management and analytics, Max brings a wealth of experience to his role. Before joining Encompass, Max co-founded Handoff, an innovative alcohol delivery startup that was acquired by Encompass in 2020. This experience gave him deep insight into both the data landscape and the retail sector. Since joining Encompass, Max has been instrumental in collaborating with distributors to develop orderIQ, a groundbreaking predictive ordering solution that is revolutionizing the way businesses approach inventory management and demand forecasting. Max’s expertise continues to drive Encompass’s data-driven strategies and its commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to customers.
About Encompass Technologies
Encompass is proud to serve a network of leading beverage producers, distributors, and retailers with a scalable all-in-one cloud-native platform designed to enhance cross-tier collaboration, optimize and connect business processes, empower employees with tools to better perform their jobs, and provide real-time insights for informed decision-making. Our future-proof suite of solutions including ERP, WMS, sales execution, CRM, logistics, warehouse automation, B2B eCommerce, data sharing, reporting, and more are uniquely designed to unlock business growth and efficiencies for the modern beverage industry. Learn more at EncompassTech.com today.