Focusing AI: Dealers Seek to Align Applications with Business Strategy

Do you remember your first encounter with the World Wide Web? It was an exciting time for many people who were itching to “go online” and do some exploring. From my POV, the introduction occurred sometime during 1997. The publishing company I’d then toiled for had the internet installed on our computers.

It was definitely a novelty. Dancing babies were all over the place, as were stories about people waking up in hotel rooms sitting in tubs full of ice, because their kidneys had been harvested for the black market. People were mesmerized. The idea of making money was initially slow to take hold, but Web-based business would eventually follow.

There was a similar period in the evolution of AI, when it was more of an entertainment vehicle and a curiosity. Actually, it still maintains that quality. The potential for work-altering applications quickly took hold, however. And while reels of kittens dancing in a conga line are still attention-grabbers, the focus has definitely shifted to streamlining work and developing tools that change the way we do business.

While we’re still only scratching the surface of AI potential, businesses that have incorporated it are taking great pains to ensure these initiatives align with broader business strategies. It’s hard to resist experimentation, but a level of discipline needs to be applied to keep it limited in scope and personnel. Any tools developed internally must have a raison d’être; cool though it may be, the purpose must be clear. This week’s State of the Industry report delves into keeping AI on point and in line with strategy.

It’s helpful to have a set of standards to filter possible AI initiatives through, and that’s the case with Stone’s Office Equipment in Richmond, Virginia. Top exec Sam Stone uses three measuring sticks: does it improve the customer experience, does it improve operational efficiency, and does it augment team members and not foster dependency?

“If it doesn’t answer at least one of those clearly, we move on,” he said. “For us, AI is not the strategy; it supports the strategy.”

The dealer’s businesses are built around service, responsiveness, education and reducing customer frustration. As such, the company seeks AI applications that reinforce those pillars:

• Faster response times
• Better educational content
• Cleaner processes
• Improved visibility into operations
• Better forecasting and reporting

“We avoid using AI simply because it looks impressive in a demo,” Stone noted. “Every industry has plenty of ‘glamour-shot burger’ technology — looks amazing in the presentation and falls apart on Tuesday afternoon. The real question is whether it improves everyday execution.”

Measuring Sticks

Another dealer with a hard-wired litmus test is Braden Business Systems of Fishers, Indiana. Regardless of the AI initiative, it’s held to the same standard as any investment, according to CEO and Managing Partner Erik Braden. The trio of questions are: does it serve a client outcome the dealer already care about? Does it strengthen something the company is currently accountable for, such as uptime, security, response time or predictability? And does it have a measurable return that can be defended a year from now? Even one “no” answer will torpedo the project.

“That sounds basic, but it is the discipline that keeps AI from becoming a side hobby,” Braden said. “I have watched dealers in this channel end up with a graveyard of pilots: a chatbot here, a summarization tool there, an analytics dashboard nobody opens, because each individual experiment seemed reasonable in isolation. Strategy is what connects them.”

Further, Braden notes that AI is viewed as a capability that runs through its existing service lines as opposed to a separate offering. AI shows up inside the dealer’s managed IT work, inside its cybersecurity practice, inside the support for print fleets, and inside how dealership operations are run.

“It is not a standalone product,” he added. “That structural choice keeps it tied to the outcomes we have always sold—efficiency, risk reduction, predictability—rather than chasing trends. It also keeps us from creating a separate AI sales motion that competes with the rest of our portfolio.”

What’s really telling is Braden truly feels the discipline of saying no to interesting-but-unaligned AI projects has been more valuable than the discipline of saying yes to the right ones. “Focus is the multiplier. Especially in this channel, where every vendor at every conference now has an AI story, the dealers who win will be the ones who pick a small number of bets and execute them well,” he said.

Keeping AI usage tethered to business priorities is a necessity for Stargel Office Solutions. The standards that need to be met are improving customer communication, supporting sales growth, strengthening SEO and digital visibility, increasing marketing consistency, improving proposal quality and helping employees work more efficiently, according to T.J. DeBello, vice president of sales for the Houston dealership.

Frankly, any AI use case that doesn’t advance those goals is more than likely a distraction, he said. “We are not interested in using AI simply because it is trendy,” DeBello remarked. “We’re interested in using it where it creates measurable value, whether that is saving time, improving content quality, helping sales teams communicate more effectively, or giving leadership better-organized information for decision-making.

“The most important thing is making sure AI is embedded into real workflows. It should support the work we are already trying to improve, not become a separate experiment with no clear owner or purpose.”

Guiding Light

Companies such as Spectrum Technologies are intentional about keeping AI tied to the broader business strategy. The El Paso, Texas-based dealer doesn’t approach AI as a side project or a collection of disconnected experiments. Senior leadership, regular C-suite conversations, department heads and the people closest to the work are dictating AI terms.

According to Jake Elliott, vice president and CRO, that corporate guidance is essential, as AI-related expenditures can billow if they’re not connected to a concise business outcome. “It is easy to chase something that has a lot of sizzle but does not actually move the business forward,” he said. “We try to avoid that by starting with the business problem first, then evaluating whether AI is the right way to solve it.”

Outside of general productivity tools employees may use for things like writing, summarizing, or organizing ideas, Elliott cautions against having AI being implemented in silos. “Anything operationally meaningful needs to be aligned with leadership, department needs, customer experience goals, and measurable business impact,” he said.

The genesis of AI alignment begins with leadership conversations about where automation and insight gaps exist today, notes Nate Schaf, CTO for Eakes Office Solutions of Grand Prairie, Nebraska. Dealers must make sure their committee prioritizes efforts based on operational impact, scalability and ROI, without regard for novelty.

“This ensures AI remains an embedded capability within the business, not a side project or disconnected toolset,” Schaf said.