Is your business ready for the AI economy, tariff turbulence, and the rapid rise of programmable payments?

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, co-founders Kevin Brown and Tom Burton unpack the week's most pressing trends, from stablecoin legislation to humanoid robotics, from AI-fueled job disruption to smart supply chain control towers.

Perfect for manufacturers, distributors, and B2B leaders navigating the evolving intersection of tech, trade, and trust, this episode delivers strategic insights designed for an AI-first, policy-volatile, automation-driven market.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the Trump AI Strategic Plan could be a game-changer for infrastructure and manufacturing
  
  
• How Plaid-like smart data integration is informing the future of supply chain pricing and tariff management
  
  
• Why stablecoins and the Genius Act may reinvent B2B invoicing and ERP workflows
  
  
• How to build executive-ready marketing narratives in the age of agentic AI
  
  
• What AI security, deepfakes, and robotic warehouse staff mean for your operational risk in 2025 and beyond

Episode Highlights:

05:10 – Why the Fed’s latest interest rate signals matter to distributors
12:42 – The Trump AI Plan and how it could power U.S. supply chain reinvention
28:04 – How MDM’s “Tariff Control Tower” could future-proof your pricing strategy
35:19 – Storytelling in B2B marketing: selling outcomes, not features
42:51 – The growing role of application-specific reviews in AI-first marketing funnels
59:03 – Why stablecoins and programmable money will change B2B payment models
01:07:25 – Are AI risks bigger than ransomware? What CISOs say now
01:14:48 – How AI is subtly changing the way we speak and lead

👤 Meet the Hosts:

Kevin Brown and Tom Burton are co-founders of LeadSmart Technologies, a RevOps CRM platform designed for manufacturers, distributors, and independent sales reps. Together, they host Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, a podcast that translates tech disruption into operational strategy for industrial B2B leaders.

Tools, Frameworks, and Models Mentioned

• MDM’s “Tariff Control Tower” Model
  
  
• Agentic AI and revenue department integration
  
  
• The Genius Act (U.S. Stablecoin Legislation)
  
  
• AI Risk Profiles: Ransomware vs. Generative Misuse
  
  
• HVAC/Electrical demand surge forecast (post-tariff and AI infrastructure boom)

Closing InsightL

“This is ACH 2.0, faster, cheaper, and built for modern logistics.”
From AI infrastructure planning to programmable payments and robotic labor, the future of distribution isn’t just digital, it’s autonomous, semantic, and strategic.

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What happens when data-driven decision-making meets the chaos of tariffs, AI disruption, and a retiring workforce?

In this episode, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton sit down with Mark Gilham of Enable to unpack the big shifts impacting manufacturers, distributors, and the global supply chain.

From trade policy to pricing strategy, sales transformation to skilled labor shortages, this wide-ranging episode explores how wholesale leaders can future-proof their organizations using AI-enabled tools, smarter rebate programs, and cross-functional data insights, all while staying resilient in an evolving economy.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why most distributors are absorbing, not passing on, the full impact of tariffs
  
  
• How intelligent rebate management creates agility in pricing without damaging trust
  
  
• The rising importance of contextual data and why Ralph the “institutional memory” employee matters more than ever
  
  
• Why skilled labor shortages may delay reshoring and how automation both helps and complicates this
  
  
• What B2B buyers really want from your sales team

Episode Highlights:

• 03:22 – How the podcast was born from a LinkedIn Live experiment
• 12:41 – Mark Gilham on why clean rebate data changed everything
• 25:07 – Are tariffs really driving up prices? A look beneath the macro data
• 33:50 – Why “Ralph” is the key to contextualizing data for AI systems
• 46:18 – Robots vs. the trades: The future of skilled labor in reshoring
• 1:06:02 – How to evolve your brand value and CRM strategy for B2B buyers
• 1:19:33 – Change management as the #1 success lever in digital adoption

👤 Meet the Guest:

A former distributor turned Enable evangelist, Mark Gilham specializes in helping manufacturers and distributors turn their rebate strategies into competitive advantages. With firsthand experience in data transformation, Mark brings deep expertise in pricing dynamics, supplier relations, and industry resilience.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

• Enable: Cloud-based rebate management and collaboration platform
  
  
• LeadSmart Technologies: AI-enabled smart CRM for wholesale distribution
  
  
• The Ralph Framework: A metaphor for preserving institutional knowledge through AI and CRM
  
  
• The JOLT Effect (Matt Dixon): A framework for overcoming customer indecision in B2B sales

Closing Insight & CTA:

“Data without context is noise. But with Ralph’s insights? It becomes a strategy.”

This episode is a reminder that the future of wholesale distribution lies at the intersection of data fluency, adaptable tech stacks, and empathy-driven sales. If you're navigating economic uncertainty, evolving buyer behavior, or the AI transformation of your workforce, this is yo

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.

What do tariffs, AI adoption, and digital readiness have in common? They’re all reshaping the future of wholesale distribution.

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, hosts Kevin Brown and Tom Burton unpack the forces shaping the industry from rising cybersecurity threats to the real reason distributors aren’t seeing results from generative AI tools.

This episode blends actionable economic insights with digital transformation strategy and is a must-listen for Revenue Leaders in Distribution preparing for what's next.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why small interest rate changes have massive implications for national debt and distributor margins
• The hidden danger of weak cybersecurity hygiene in mid-size distributors
• What’s actually holding companies back from successful AI implementation (hint: it’s not the tools)
• How Smart CRM and Sales Co-Pilot platforms help future-proof sales organizations
• Why Collaborative Planning & Forecasting (CPFR) is a strategic advantage in uncertain times

Episode Highlights:

05:20 – What the Fed’s hesitation on rate cuts means for distributors
12:45 – How tariffs are being used as economic leverage, not just punishment
22:10 – Why reshoring is gaining momentum in wholesale distribution
35:08 – The untold reasons AI is stalling in sales organizations
45:50 – How today's B2B buyers behave before they ever speak to sales
57:30 – Aligning AI tools with workflow clarity and CRM data hygiene
01:08:15 – Cybersecurity risks for mid-size distributors: real threats and blind spots
01:17:40 – Future-proofing your strategy with AI, succession readiness & smarter sales planning

👥 Meet the Hosts:

Kevin Brown and Tom Burton are veteran analysts, strategists, and distribution-tech experts, bringing real-world insights from the front lines of ERP, CRM, AI, and supply chain transformation. Co-creators of the LeadSmart Channel Cloud™ platform, they help distribution teams leverage modern tools without losing the human touch.

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned:

• LeadSmart Channel Cloud™
• AI Co-Pilot for Sales
• Digital Readiness for Succession
• CRM-ERP Integration
• Hidden Revenue Detection
  
  

Closing Insight:

“It’s not about replacing your sales team with AI, it’s about replacing the parts of your process that don’t scale.” – Kevin Brown

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.