As investments in AI capabilities that produce business value pile up, interest in the technology has surged among wholesale companies. The trend creates an opportunity for consulting partners to expand AI practices across an unsung market.
The percentage of wholesale businesses planning to use AI to produce goods or services over the next six months rose to nearly 10%, up from just 3.1% in 2023, according to a United States Census Bureau report published in September. The Business Trends and Outlook Survey analyzed roughly 1.2 million businesses organized into six panels that reported on their AI usage plans at 12-week increments over the course of a year. Wholesale businesses showed the highest growth rate in AI adoption plans among 15 industries surveyed.
Several factors are fueling the sector's interest in AI, Subodha Kumar, distinguished chair professor of statistics, operations, and data science at Temple University's Fox School of Business, told Channel Dive. One is the need to boost profitability.
"[Wholesale businesses] run on razor-thin margins," Kumar said. "The kinds of applications we are seeing in wholesale are mostly around improving efficiency."
Wholesalers also face pressure from business partners in adjacent industries within the broader supply chain that heavily pursue AI. Kumar cited manufacturing companies as one example. In addition, he noted that global supply chain disruption has prompted the wholesale industry to increase AI implementation for improved resiliency.
Key uses include price optimization, demand forecasting, inventory management and route optimization, said Kumar, who is a member of INFORMS, an association for professionals in data science, analytics and operations research.
A role for consultants
While many of the largest transportation and logistics companies are integrating AI technologies, other companies in the wholesale sector may not be equipped to do so. Those wholesalers are seeking assistance from their supply chain function partners and external consultants, Kumar said.
In the Philadelphia area, companies are asking to partner with Temple's Center for Business Analytics and Disruptive Technologies, said Kumar, who is the center's founding director.
The wholesale sector is a sleeper market for AI consulting services. Other industries, such as financial services and the healthcare sector, have higher AI adoption profiles.
Indeed, Ravi Kumar S, CEO of Cognizant, a professional services firm, cited the AI spend in banking and healthcare as sparking discretionary spending on small projects. Kumar spoke during the company’s Q3 2025 earnings call last month.
The finance and insurance sector experienced 186% growth in businesses planning to use AI to produce goods and services in the next six months, between 2025 and 2023, the Census Bureau report found. That growth rate was second only to the wholesale industry, which spiked 219% over the same period. The healthcare and social assistance sector ranked fifth among industries, with AI usage plans increasing 166% in the two years surveyed.
Administrative and support, waste management, and remediation services and the construction industry held the third and fourth spot, with increases of 173% and 172%, respectively.
