What distributor AI work covers
Aranv builds AI for distributors and wholesalers: order entry that turns emailed and PDF purchase orders into draft sales orders in your ERP, quote drafting from customer price lists, product data cleanup and stock alerts, while inside sales and purchasing staff confirm anything that changes a price or a commitment.
The ERP holds orders, prices and stock, so AI reads from it and writes draft records back for staff to confirm. This layer is part of our AI for ERP and Odoo service, which also connects to other ERPs with an API. For warehouse, pricing and portal software, see wholesale distribution software.
Order work follows our AI order processing pattern, and quotes build on AI quote generation. Customers who prefer to order online can use a B2B eCommerce platform fed by the same cleaned product data.
An emailed PO, start to finish
From customer PO to sales order
- 01 Read the PO A PDF, email body or scanned fax is read for customer, ship-to and lines.
- 02 Match the items Customer part numbers map to your SKUs through cross-references and descriptions.
- 03 Check price and stock Contract prices, units of measure and branch stock are checked line by line.
- 04 Create the draft order A draft sales order waits in the ERP, with exceptions flagged for the CSR.
Inside sales confirms every order with an exception before the acknowledgment goes out.
Wholesale distribution AI we build
Distributors handle huge numbers of small, repetitive transactions, and many still arrive by email.
AI order entry
Reads emailed and PDF purchase orders, matches customer part numbers to your items and creates draft sales orders in the ERP.
Quote drafting
Turns RFQ emails and line lists into draft quotes with the customer’s price tier, your margin rules and available substitutes.
Product data cleanup
Reads manufacturer spec sheets to fill attributes, merges duplicate SKUs and writes consistent descriptions for your B2B site.
Stock and reorder alerts
Watches demand by branch, flags slow movers and suggests reorder quantities and transfers for buyers to approve.
Order entry that learns your customers
Every customer orders differently: their own part numbers, cases instead of eaches, delivery notes buried in the email body. The tool builds a cross-reference from your order history, converts units of measure, checks contract prices and stock, and leaves a draft order with each uncertain line highlighted for the CSR.
What we do
- Email, PDF and scanned fax intake
- Customer part number cross-reference
- Unit of measure conversion
- Contract price checks
- Order acknowledgment drafts
- EDI 850 orders alongside email
Quotes with substitutes, checked by reps
RFQs often list another brand’s part number or a vague description. The assistant finds your equivalent items from specs and past sales, applies the customer’s pricing and your margin floor, notes lead times from stock and suppliers, and drafts the quote for the rep to adjust and send.
What we do
- Other-brand part number lookup
- Equivalent items from spec sheets
- Customer price tier applied
- Margin floor warnings
- Quote follow-up reminders
How we approach a project
Our group has built B2B commerce for a US medical distributor on Odoo 17, with approval steps and purchase orders, listed in our case studies. Reorder suggestions come from AI inventory management models trained on your sales by branch and season.
Customer price lists, contract terms and margins are commercially sensitive. They stay in your ERP and cloud accounts, models run under terms that keep your data out of training, and price changes always need a person with authority to make them.
How we work
- CSRs confirm every exception
- Contract prices come from the ERP
- Part numbers learned from history
Our Process
-
Sample real orders
We collect a few hundred recent POs and quotes across your main customers to see formats, part numbers and exceptions.
-
Build the cross-reference
Customer part numbers, units of measure and contract prices are mapped from order history and checked with your CSRs.
-
Run beside inside sales
Draft orders are created alongside manual entry for a few weeks, so accuracy is measured before anyone relies on it.
-
Shift volume over
Customers whose orders match cleanly move to AI entry first, and harder accounts follow as the cross-reference grows.
Why distributors work with Aranv
Drafts, not surprise postings
Orders and quotes land as drafts in your ERP, so credit holds, approvals and your usual checks run before anything ships or is sent.
Built on your order history
Cross-references and substitutes come from your own past orders and spec sheets, so matching improves as more orders pass through.
Distribution and Odoo background
Our group has built B2B ordering and approval flows on Odoo, so ERP data models, price lists and purchase orders are familiar ground.
Pricing stays protected
Contract prices and margins stay in your systems, are never used for model training, and can only be changed by authorized staff.
Planning AI for Wholesale Distributors?
Book a 30-minute conversation with the team that would build it.
Distributor AI questions
-
How accurate is AI order entry for distributors?
It depends on how consistent your customers’ POs are and how complete the cross-reference is. We measure accuracy on your own orders before go-live, show confidence for each line and send anything uncertain to a CSR. Repeat customers with steady formats usually move to AI entry first.
-
Which ERPs can AI order entry connect to?
Any ERP with an API or a dependable import, including Odoo, NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics. We create draft sales orders rather than posted ones, so your usual approval and credit checks still apply. EDI orders keep flowing as they do today.
-
Will AI change our prices or quote below margin?
No. Prices come from the contract and price records in your ERP, and the assistant warns when a quote falls below your margin floor. Only a person with pricing authority can approve an exception.
-
Our product data is messy. Is that a problem for AI?
It is common and fixable. We usually start by cleaning attributes and merging duplicates for your best-selling items, because better item data improves order matching, quotes and your website at the same time.
-
What does AI for distributors cost?
The drivers are order volume and format variety, the number of systems we connect, how much product data needs cleanup and whether quoting and inventory are included. Discovery ends in a written estimate for the first workflow and a plan for the rest.
Let’s talk about your next step
Contact Aranv to discuss your workflow, current tools, and goals. Meet with our team or send an inquiry.
Book a meeting with our team
Choose an available date and time for a 30-minute conversation about your project.
Tell us about your project
Share a few details so we can discuss a useful next step.
Prefer email? sales@aranv.com