The AI Playbook for Wholesalers: How to Choose, Use and Win

The wholesale industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation—and at the heart of it is artificial intelligence. While past technology waves brought efficiency, AI is the first technology that promises real-time revenue growth, smarter operations, and true scalability for wholesale businesses.

But with hype comes confusion. How do you cut through the noise and actually apply AI to get results?

Divyaanshu Makkar, CEO and Co-founder of WizCommerce, broke down what AI really is, what it’s not, and how wholesalers can use it to win in 2025 and beyond. Drawing from real customer use cases and product experience, Div shared a practical playbook for evaluating, implementing, and scaling AI inside a wholesale organization.

Whether you’re a wholesaler who is trying to improve sales efficiency or looking to go digital, this AI guide distills his key insights into actionable takeaways.

A practical approach to AI for smarter wholesale operations

Wholesalers don’t need to become AI experts overnight—but they do need a framework to understand where AI fits into their business. In this section, we’ll cover four core ideas to help you apply AI strategically: why this tech wave is different, how to use AI as an assistant (not a replacement), how to identify the right opportunities using the CFG framework, and which AI use cases deliver the fastest impact with the least friction.

1. AI is the first tech wave that directly drives revenue, margin, and scale for wholesalers

Unlike cloud computing or mobile apps, which primarily digitized processes, AI is the first technology wave that performs work—and that’s a major breakthrough for wholesalers. Instead of simply improving workflow speed, AI delivers measurable results in revenue, margins, and scale.

Past tech (software and cloud) improvements closed small productivity gaps—maybe 10% to 20%. But AI tools are already delivering 2–3x productivity gains and ROI in days, not months. That’s because AI doesn’t just support workflows—it can independently carry out tasks like generating quotes, creating content, or identifying reorder patterns.

Wholesalers using AI effectively are gaining a competitive edge: lower operational costs, faster time to market, and increased revenue per rep. And as adoption scales, the gap between AI-powered businesses and traditional operators will only widen.

In short, AI is no longer optional. It’s the first truly transformational tech for wholesale—and it directly impacts the bottom line.

2. Wholesalers should apply AI intentionally to assist—not replace—teams by amplifying their best work

One of the most important mindset shifts to be emphasized is: AI is not here to replace your team—it’s here to assist them.

Think of AI as a smart, tireless junior analyst. It can pull reports, summarize customer behavior, draft follow-up emails, or auto-generate content—so your sales and support teams can focus on high-value tasks like building relationships or closing deals.

Rather than automating everything, smart wholesalers use AI to amplify their team’s strengths. For example, a rep can use AI to prepare for a customer meeting—getting an instant summary of past orders, outstanding issues, and inventory availability. That same AI can then help draft a quote or reorder plan.

This kind of AI-assisted workflow not only saves time but also improves accuracy and consistency across the board. It allows human teams to operate at their best—strategically and creatively—while AI handles repetitive tasks at scale.

Used correctly, AI becomes a force multiplier, not a replacement. And that’s the most sustainable way to bring it into your business.

3. Use the CFG Framework (Cost, Friction, Growth) to find the most impactful AI opportunities

Before jumping into AI, You should know where to implement AI and for that you can use a  simple CFG Framework. This helps wholesalers identify where AI can deliver the highest ROI with the least resistance.

• C = Cost
  Where is your team bleeding money or time? Look for manual tasks like order entry, content generation, or data tagging. AI can take over these repetitive workflows and reduce cost significantly.
  
• F = Friction
  What’s slowing down your internal operations or frustrating your customers? Delayed quotes, inconsistent inventory lookups, or slow customer replies? AI can automate replies, enable real-time search, and streamline support.
  
• G = Growth
  Where are you missing opportunities to grow revenue? For example, if it takes months to get product imagery ready for new collections, you’re delaying go-to-market. AI can speed up time to shelf dramatically.

By identifying tasks that are costly, slow, or limiting your growth, the CFG Framework helps you pick the most impactful and feasible AI projects to start with—ensuring you focus on what truly moves the needle.

4. Start with high-impact, easy-to-deploy AI use cases like image generation, smart search, and auto-replies

When it comes to applying AI, start small—but start smart. We recommend beginning with projects that are both high impact and low complexity—quick wins that build confidence and momentum.

Some of the most effective starting points include:

• AI lifestyle imagery generation: Tools like WizStudio can turn a raw product image into a styled room shot in minutes, reducing shoot costs by up to 85% and shaving months off launch cycles.
  
• AI search and recommendations: Replace clunky product search with natural-language tools that help buyers find exactly what they need—even with vague prompts.
  
• Auto-generated replies: AI chatbots or email assistants can handle common queries instantly, from order status to pricing requests, giving customers faster answers.
  

These use cases don’t require deep system integration or months of setup. Instead, they provide visible value quickly, both to internal teams and to buyers.

Starting here builds trust in AI, helps your team get comfortable, and sets the stage for more strategic AI investments in the future.

WizCommerce: The best AI-powered B2B platform for wholesalers

WizCommerce has embedded AI into the core of its B2B platform—purpose-built for the needs of wholesalers. In this section, we’ll explore two of its most impactful AI-powered tools: KAI, the sales assistant that helps reps save hours and close more deals, and WizStudio, the lifestyle imagery generator that cuts content costs and speeds up time to market.

1. KAI – AI sales assistant 

KAI is WizCommerce’s AI-powered sales assistant, designed to help reps work smarter and faster. It surfaces real-time customer insights, prepares reps for meetings with buyer summaries, and auto-generates personalized follow-ups—all grounded in live ERP and order data.

With KAI, reps can save 8–10 hours per week on prep and manual work. From live inventory queries to intelligent recommended products, KAI acts like a digital analyst embedded in every rep’s workflow—boosting productivity and enabling more time in front of customers.

It’s AI built for sales performance in the wholesale world.

2. WizStudio – AI lifestyle imagery tool 

Creating product content has long been a bottleneck in wholesale—but WizStudio changes that. Upload a basic product photo, describe your ideal setting, and WizStudio returns stunning lifestyle images in minutes.

Built specifically for wholesalers, the tool maintains accurate product geometry, adds branded scenes, and eliminates the need for expensive photoshoots. Customers save up to 85% per image, and get to market faster with polished, on-brand visuals.

Whether you’re launching new collections or refreshing your catalog, WizStudio gives you scale and speed—without compromising creativity.

Conclusion

AI is no longer the future—it’s the present. For wholesalers, it represents the first true opportunity to improve revenue, reduce cost, and scale operations without adding headcount.

But success with AI doesn’t come from diving in blindly. It’s about intentional, strategic implementation. Use frameworks like CFG to identify the right starting points, begin with quick wins like AI image generation or smart search, and treat AI as an assistant—not a replacement—for your team.

WizCommerce is leading this AI transformation with tools like KAI and WizStudio, built specifically for wholesale commerce.

The bottom line: If you want to stay competitive in the next decade of wholesale, you need AI on your side—and the time to start is now.