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The Future Is Proactive: What We Learned at the AD Functional Success Summit

Written by Erika M. Torres | Jul 21, 2025 9:04:06 PM

Last week, the AD Functional Success Summit brought together some of the most forward-thinking minds in distribution — and the takeaway was loud and clear: distributors are done playing defense. The future of our industry isn’t just digital. It’s proactive, connected, and customer-obsessed.

Here’s what we learned, what’s changed, and how Prokeep is helping distributors capitalize on it all.

Key Takeaways from the Summit

The Summit delivered more than inspiration — it offered a playbook for driving smarter, faster, and more profitable customer engagement. Sessions consistently reinforced a powerful truth:

Data isn’t just information — it’s action.

Distributors need to move from collecting data to putting it to work. That starts with:

  • Defining strategic goals — like retention, revenue growth, and customer engagement
  • Capturing the right data — from user behavior and product usage to device type
  • Centralizing customer information for visibility and insights
  • Leveraging AI to clean, analyze, and activate that data
  • Delivering personalized, timely messaging and promotions at scale

Collaboration Is No Longer Optional

One of the most talked-about themes at the Summit was the need for cross-functional alignment.

From Cara Blackman of Franklin Empire walking through OEM coordination, to roundtables on integrated campaigns, the message was consistent: sales, marketing, and customer service must work as one.

How Prokeep Helps

Prokeep is built to power that alignment. Our centralized messaging platform connects teams across:

  • Text
  • Email
  • Fax
  • Web chat

That means every customer interaction — from an inbound order to an outbound promotion — happens in one place. No more silos. Just shared visibility, rich customer insights, and smoother collaboration.

AI & Automation: Only as Strong as Your Foundation

Yes, AI was everywhere — but not in the “silver bullet” way. Summit speakers emphasized that AI only works when built on clear processes and clean, centralized data.

Small, focused use cases — like surfacing product recommendations or automating order follow-ups — deliver the best results.

How Prokeep Helps

Prokeep centralizes every message, order conversation, and activity log. That makes it the perfect foundation for automation — enabling AI to enhance your team’s output without creating chaos or complexity.

Want to make AI adoption fun? We loved the idea shared at the summit: “Prompt of the Week” competitions to encourage learning.

More Than Busywork — It’s About More Orders

Another key shift we saw: teams are being asked to do more than support. They’re being asked to sell.
Whether it was marketing leaders proving their value at the branch level, or operations leaders looking to reactivate dormant accounts — the message was the same:

Activity is good. Orders are better.

How Prokeep Helps

Prokeep started as a business texting platform. Today, we’ve evolved into a full Order Engine — empowering every role in your business to drive revenue with:

  • Outbound tools for proactive sales
  • Targeted campaigns that drive engagement
  • Centralized workflows that make it easy to convert conversations into revenue

We’re helping distributors stop relying solely on inbound orders and start owning the customer relationship.

The New Rules of Distribution

The game has changed. Success is no longer about who has the best product. It’s about who can engage the customer fastest, smartest, and most consistently.

That means:

  • Data is no longer a back-office asset — it’s a frontline sales tool.
  • Teams need to be equipped with the tools to act on that data, not just observe it.
  • Engagement isn’t a department’s job — it’s everyone’s job.

Our Biggest Takeaway?

Distributors are ready to shift from reactive to proactive. The future is already in motion — and Prokeep is proud to be helping distributors lead the way.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

Whether we met at the Summit or didn’t get the chance to connect — we’d love to show you what’s new at Prokeep.

From outbound marketing to order automation, we’re helping distributors make every message, every touchpoint, and every conversation a revenue-driving opportunity.

Book a demo to see how Prokeep is helping functional teams become sales teams.
Let’s keep moving forward — together.