AI for a UK wholesaler: where does it actually help?
Mostly in answering questions across the systems you already run, faster than anyone can pull the numbers together by hand. Keep it away from writing into those systems, from acting on its own, and from any answer it would have to guess.
Where does AI genuinely help a wholesale business?
Decisions, not lookups.
Would it be more advantageous to apply a 3% price increase to all customers, or 5% to the 80% of customers with lower spend?
A real question a Sysgraft customer asked. It's the kind usually settled on gut feel in a board meeting.
Making sense of what customers say.
What objections have trended in customer conversations over the last 90 days?
No dashboard can answer that, because it isn't a number in a system.
What should you keep AI away from?
Writing into your systems. An AI that can change your ERP can put wrong data into the system the business runs on. Sysgraft only reads, by design.
Acting on its own. A useful answer still needs a person to decide.
Guessing. If the data doesn't support an answer, the right response is to say so, and why.
What about staff already using ChatGPT and similar tools?
Start with what goes into them, not whether they're used. The ICO's position is that where AI doesn't involve personal data, it falls outside data protection law; where customer or staff data does go in, UK GDPR applies in full. ICO guidance on AI and data protection →
A record of what was asked makes that answerable. “How many times has customer data been put into AI by staff this month?” is a real question a Sysgraft customer asked.
What should you ask before bringing AI into the business?
- What will it be able to see, and what won't it?
- Can it change anything in our systems?
- Is every question and answer recorded, and who can see the record?
- What does it do when it doesn't know?
- Are we tied to one AI company if a better model arrives?
Where should a wholesaler start?
Not with “how do we use AI?” but with “what can't we currently see?”. AI is how that gets answered; it isn't the thing to shop for.
Sysgraft connects the ERP, CRM and other systems you already run, and can take in meeting recordings and call transcripts, so anyone in the business can ask a question in plain English and get one answer with its sources shown. It isn't tied to a single AI vendor: when a better model arrives, your system gets it.
What does that cost, and how long does it take?
- You approve a full specification before you commit to a subscription.
- Live, working software 10 to 14 days after sign-off.
- No upfront development fee. One fixed monthly subscription, £250 to £1,295 by turnover, over a 36-month minimum term.
Straight answers
Do we need technical staff to use it?
No. Anyone in the business asks in plain English. Sysgraft builds and maintains it.
Is our data used to train AI?
No. Sysgraft never sells or mines your data, or uses it to train AI for anyone else.
Who is Sysgraft for?
UK wholesale and distribution businesses turning over £2m–£20m. Sysgraft's clients are Orthene Chemicals, Holemaker Technology and Foremost Pro.