Distribution Strategy Group’s inaugural AI Forum Atlanta will take place Aug. 12 at the Georgia Tech Conference Center, focusing on how distributors are scaling artificial intelligence beyond pilot projects into operational use. The one-day event will bring together more than 50 distribution executives, technology leaders, and AI practitioners for practical discussions on deploying AI across sales, operations, customer service, and supply chain functions. The conference opens with a fireside keynote featuring Praveen Gautam, chief information officer of BlueLinx, who will discuss building an AI-ready organization and lessons from BlueLinx’s AI transformation. A featured distributor leadership panel, moderated by Ian Heller, co-founder and chief strategy officer of Distribution Strategy Group, will include Gautam, Abhi Singh, president and CEO of ProContractor Supply, and Sean McCloskey, senior vice president at Wesco. They will address where AI delivers measurable business value, identifying high-impact use cases, challenges of moving beyond pilots, and governance for enterprise-wide deployment. Jonathan Bein, DSG co-founder and managing partner, will open with an overview of AI adoption and new research on what separates successful scalers from those still in pilot stages. Jack Carrere, CEO and co-founder of Prokeep, will examine AI’s impact on customer communication and sales engagement. The event aims to provide insight from distributors actively integrating AI rather than merely evaluating the technology.