What happens to wholesale distribution when geopolitics, tariffs, inflation, and AI all collide at once?

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton sit down with Alex Chausovsky, Founder of 3DM Consulting, to unpack how Middle East conflict, energy volatility, tariff policy, and artificial intelligence are reshaping the economic landscape for distributors and manufacturers. This episode explores what business leaders must understand about diesel pricing, supply chain risk, margin compression, labor shortages, and AI augmentation in order to protect profitability and make smarter, data driven decisions in a volatile global environment.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why producer price index trends and diesel costs matter more to distributors than headline oil prices
• How Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs are structurally changing U.S. trade policy
• What tariff refund timelines realistically look like and why downstream distributors may never see relief
• How to protect margins by analyzing profitability at the product line, customer, and regional level
• What labor shortages and immigration policy mean for future workforce dynamics

Episode Highlights:

03:12 – What “Data Driven Decision Making” really means for wholesale distributors
14:45 – Why oil price headlines don’t tell the full logistics story
21:57 – The hidden diesel risk facing owner operator trucking capacity
27:26 – Why tariffs are not going away, regardless of administration
32:48 – The truth about tariff refunds and who actually qualifies
51:49 – Margin protection strategies during inflationary pressure
57:45 – Will AI eliminate jobs or increase productivity?
1:13:17 – Why universal basic income debates miss the human purpose of work

Meet the Guest:

Alex Chausovsky is the Founder of 3DM Consulting, specializing in economic forecasting, geopolitical analysis, and strategic advisory for small and mid sized businesses. He delivers 75 to 100 keynotes annually and helps organizations translate global disruption into actionable business strategy.

Tools, Frameworks, and Strategies Mentioned:

• 3DM Consulting: Data Driven Decision Making framework
• Section 232 tariffs: Product category based trade enforcement
• Section 301 tariffs: Country specific anti dumping tariffs
• White space analysis for margin expansion
• AI augmentation strategy for productivity growth
• Geopolitical scenario planning for supply chain resilience

Closing Insight:

“In business, you are not here to grow revenue. You are here to grow profit.”

In a world defined by geopolitical volatility, tariff uncertainty, energy disruption, and AI acceleration, wholesale distribution leaders must focus on margin discipline, operational intelligence, and strategic agility.

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What happens to wholesale distribution when geopolitical tension, tariff policy, fuel inflation, and artificial intelligence collide at the same time?

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton sit down with Steve Levy, VP of Enterprise Architecture at Infor, to unpack how macroeconomic volatility, global supply chain risk, AI governance, and enterprise platform strategy are reshaping the future of distribution. If you lead a distribution or manufacturing business and are wondering how to navigate tariffs, inflation, inventory exposure, and AI adoption responsibly, this conversation connects the dots.

What You’ll Learn

• How geopolitical instability and energy market volatility directly impact diesel pricing, freight costs, and MRO margins
• Whether borrowing against expected tariff refunds is strategic capital leverage, or hidden risk
• How acquisitive distributors may find opportunity during economic uncertainty
• The difference between “running on AWS” and having real enterprise architecture and AI governance
• How AI augmentation, not workforce replacement, could enable distributors to scale revenue without proportional headcount growth

Episode Highlights:

• 03:18 – Why the Strait of Hormuz matters more to distributors than daily pump prices
• 11:42 – Fuel inflation, MRO cost pressure, and the inventory overbuying risk
• 19:55 – Tariff refunds as financial instruments: Should companies borrow against future policy decisions?
• 31:07 – Economic uncertainty and succession planning: Why volatility may accelerate acquisitions
• 44:28 – AI governance vs. AI experimentation: What enterprise leaders must get right
• 58:16 – Automation in credit, cash application, and operational workflows
• 01:12:09 – Are leaders becoming too reliant on AI? The critical thinking question
• 01:26:40 – Multi-model AI validation and the future of enterprise decision-making

Meet the Guest:

Steve Levy is Vice President of Enterprise Architecture at Infor. He works at the intersection of cloud infrastructure, platform extensibility, AI governance, and enterprise system design, helping large distribution and manufacturing organizations modernize responsibly while managing risk.

Tools, Frameworks, and Strategies Mentioned:

• Enterprise Architecture Strategy for Distribution
• AI Governance Councils and Multi-Model Validation
• Cloud Platform Extensibility within Infor ecosystems
• AI Augmentation vs. Workforce Replacement Framework
• Capital Allocation Strategy During Tariff Volatility

Closing Insight:

“Volatility creates pressure, but it also creates opportunity for the prepared.”

Leave a Review: Help us grow by sharing your thoughts on the show.

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Is volatility the new normal for wholesale distribution and manufacturing?

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton are joined by Nelson Valderrama, founder of Intuilize, to break down inflation uncertainty, supply chain disruption, AI adoption strategy, and a major HVAC acquisition that could reshape the industry. This conversation explores how distributors and manufacturers can protect margin, manage working capital, and lean into organic growth during economic volatility and accelerating digital transformation.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the gap between 2.7% and 4.2% inflation forecasts matters for distributor budgeting
• How pricing discipline and inventory optimization protect gross margin
• What SRS Distribution’s acquisition of Mingledorff’s signals for HVAC consolidation
• Why AI ROI confusion is slowing enterprise adoption
• How Jeff Bezos’ $100B manufacturing strategy could reshape supply chains
• What labor compression and immigration shifts mean for workforce planning

Episode Highlights:

• 03:15 – The Fed vs OECD inflation forecast clash and what it means for pricing strategy
• 12:40 – Budgeting for 2027 in an environment of economic volatility
• 19:45 – Fuel surcharges, freight costs, and downstream supply chain risk
• 26:10 – “Volatility is our new reality” and what leaders must control
• 33:20 – SRS acquires Mingledorff’s: Is Home Depot operating like private equity?
• 51:30 – Jeff Bezos’ AI manufacturing fund and vertical integration strategy
• 01:17:00 – The risk of fragmented AI regulation across states
• 01:30:30 – Labor shortages, immigration slowdown, and operational impact

Meet the Guest:

Nelson Valderrama is the founder of Intuilize, a profit improvement platform focused on pricing optimization and inventory management for wholesale distributors. With 30 years in distribution and private equity experience, Nelson helps distributors unlock margin expansion, improve working capital performance, and build data-driven decision frameworks.

Tools, Frameworks, and Strategic Themes Mentioned:

• Pricing discipline as a competitive advantage
• Working capital optimization
• Inventory right-sizing strategies
• Organic growth versus leveraged expansion
• AI implementation guardrails and ROI alignment
• Vertical integration and purchasing power leverage
• Data-driven supply chain forecasting

Closing Insight:

The distributors and manufacturers who thrive in this environment will not be the ones who predict perfectly.

They will be the ones who execute with discipline, control what they can control, and adapt faster than competitors.

Volatility is here. The question is whether you are positioned to capitalize on it.

Leave a Review: Help us grow by sharing your thoughts on the show.

Learn more about the LeadSmart AI B2B Sales Platform: https://www.leadsmarttech.com/

Join the conversation each week on LinkedIn Live.

Want even more insight to the stories we discuss each week? Subscribe to the Around The Horn Newsletter.

You can also hear the podcast and other excellent content on our YouTube Channel.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.