What happens when economic uncertainty, tariffs, AI agents, and cybersecurity risks collide inside wholesale distribution?

In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton break down the signals beneath the noise and explain what manufacturers and distributors should actually be paying attention to right now.

From inflation ambiguity and tariff authority to AI-driven buying behavior and hidden margin opportunities, this conversation connects macroeconomic shifts to real operational decisions that impact growth, security, and profitability across the wholesale supply chain.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why economic uncertainty, not inflation alone, is the dominant concern for executives heading into 2026
• How tariffs, executive authority, and Supreme Court timing could reshape trade policy without dramatic disruption
• Where “trapped potential” hides inside distributor margin, pricing discipline, and product mix
• Why AI agents are changing how B2B buyers research, evaluate, and eventually purchase
• How cybersecurity threats now target supply chain ecosystems, not just individual companies

Episode Highlights:

• 03:10 – Why economic uncertainty matters more than headline inflation numbers
• 09:25 – Manufacturing signals, demand hesitation, and planning in the “gray zone” economy
• 16:40 – Tariffs, executive authority, and why the Supreme Court is likely to rule narrowly
• 26:05 – How distributors can uncover “trapped potential” through margin and pricing discipline
• 36:30 – AI-generated content vs real value creation in B2B marketing
• 46:15 – Agentic AI and how machine-to-machine buying is changing sales discovery
• 56:40 – Cybersecurity risk across distributors, vendors, and shared digital ecosystems

Tools, Frameworks, and Concepts Mentioned

• AI-enabled Customer Intelligence and Smart CRM platforms
• Agentic AI and multi-agent workflows
• Trapped potential and organic revenue growth
• Pricing discipline and margin visibility
• SOC 2 compliance and supply chain cybersecurity
• ERP, CRM, and data silo integration

Closing Insight:

Economic cycles come and go, but clarity comes from understanding where risk, margin, and opportunity actually live inside your business. The distributors who win next will not wait for certainty, they’ll build systems that adapt faster than change itself.

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