For Bargreen Ellingson, a 65-year-old, fourth-generation, family-run restaurant supply company, it’s starting slowly and carefully with AI. Initially, the company was resistant to implement AI technology. Today, they’re on the frontlines of AI implementation, looking to use new AI tools to make better inventory decisions using AI for all 25 of warehouses. Jacob Moody, chief innovation officer, stresses their focus on being deliberate. He understands why incumbent industries like Bargreen Ellingson are loathe to adopt disruptive innovation.
Founded in 1958, Bargreen Ellingson has earned a reputation as the most trusted supplier of choice to restaurants and food service businesses. The inclusion of AI is the first major step in changing how the company runs its operations. The firm has been investing for more than a decade in primary data collection from retailers, distributors, and light manufacturers. This deep institutional knowledge provides a unique launching pad for taking advantage of AI’s insights.
Moody fully acknowledges the fact that despite all the upsides AI has created, it’s not a perfect tool. “Old family companies don’t trust blind change a lot,” he remarked, reflecting the mindset that has guided Bargreen Ellingson’s cautious approach. Rather than let AI make inventory decisions on its own, the company won’t leave it solely in the machines’ hands. “We’re not letting the AI engine make any inventory decisions that a human hasn’t looked at and screened and said, ‘Yes, I agree with that,’” Moody stated.
Bargreen Ellingson uses cutting-edge AI technology to parse massive reports. This forward-thinking approach prevents future blunders when keeping track of inventory. So far, the company’s AI system has made more than one million recommendations. Most impressively, 75% of its users have saved money from an Opportunity Engine recommendation worth $50,000 or greater. This unprecedented level of insight has the potential to transform customer experience and operational efficiency.
The rollout of AI hasn’t been as cut and dry. One such employee has spent the last two years working in one of Bargreen Ellingson’s warehouses. They needed a lot of training to learn how to navigate the various inventory management platforms and decipher the forecasting data. Kukkuk, a third key cog to the company’s operations, mentioned that this training process takes time and capital. “We need people to ensure that we are not blindly going down the wrong path with AI,” he explained.
Although AI presents exciting possibilities, Kukkuk urges caution before broadening interactions beyond the current generative AI landscape. Yet, as he describes, there’s a danger in giving users too much agency and too much power to AI systems. “It’s a tightrope to walk because the more freedom you give the users, the more freedom you give a large language model to start hallucinating stuff,” he stated. Kukkuk’s focus, as it should be, is on outcomes not engagement metrics. I don’t give a shit about eyeballs, man. Facebook and Instagram care about eyeballs, so they want you to engage with their content. We care about: ‘what is the outcome for the customer?’
Moody further elaborates on the continuous progress of AI’s function inside Bargreen Ellingson. He envisions a future of the company where they are increasingly confident in AI’s recommendations. As that continues, they may choose to grant these systems greater authority. “If and when we ever get to a point where they agree with 90% of the stuff that it’s suggesting, maybe we’ll take the next step and say ‘we’ll give you control now.’ But we’re not there yet,” he acknowledged.
The implementation of AI is a big step for Bargreen Ellingson. This technology has huge potential to increase productivity and enhance data-driven decision-making. Still, fears remain about its ability to fundamentally transform operations and the business model itself. Moody encapsulated this sentiment by stating, “Personally, I’m afraid of what this means. I think there’s going to be a lot of change, and none of us is really sure what that’s going to look like at Bargreen.”