Innovating Wholesale Workflows with F&B AI Agents

Foodservice wholesale has long been weighed down by manual processes — scribbled order notes, endless back-and-forth on payments, and inventory that just won’t move. But things are changing fast.

Today, distributors are ditching the clipboard and embracing cloud-based automation with AI-powered agents. At the forefront of this transformation is FOBOH — a purpose-built AI workforce designed specifically for food and beverage wholesale.

With FOBOH’s suite of agents, you can automate routine admin, increase sales velocity, reduce food waste, and optimise cash flow — all without hiring another team.

Let’s meet the agents changing the game for wholesale distribution.

Ordering With or Without Pens: Meet Alan, Your Automated Order Ingestion Agent

The first ingredient in this recipe of innovation is seamless order capture. Think of it as moving from hand-cranked mixers to a power blender: orders get taken and processed in one smooth flow.

AI-powered platforms like FOBOH automate order ingestion through Alan, your 24/7 order-entry assistant. Alan doesn’t just receive orders — he extracts order details from emails, texts, voicemails, and other formats, and processes them directly into your ERP or accounting systems.

No more missed voicemails. No more human error from manual data entry. A grocer’s order placed at 10 PM shows up instantly in your system — no transcription required.

Alan helps you:

• Digitise order entry across every sales channel

• Reduce order ingestion errors and stock discrepancies

• Save your team from late-night admin
  Move from “clipboard and cold calls” to “click-and-confirm” workflows

With Alan running in the background, your sales and ops teams can focus on building relationships — not battling inboxes.

Integration Station: Powered by AI and Built for Scale

Handovers between systems are often the biggest bottleneck in foodservice workflows. Old-school processes had disconnected silos: the salesperson takes an order on one platform, someone else rekeys it into the ERP, the warehouse ignores comms until packing, and the accountant chases invoices with sticky notes.

FOBOH’s agents operate on top of a robust integration landscape that turns those silos into one smooth kitchen line. Whether you're connecting ERPs, CRMs, inventory tools, or supplier data, FOBOH makes it seamless.

For example, Alan doesn’t just process orders — he syncs directly to your ERP, ensuring your ops team has accurate order data the moment it comes in. Meanwhile, Shaz, FOBOH’s AR and payments agent, plugs into your finance stack to auto-generate invoices, track payment timelines, and follow up on overdue accounts with friendly nudges — all without human intervention.

It all adds up to:

• One-stop dashboards instead of ten open tabs

• Fewer “Oops, I thought you said…” errors

• Real-time updates to product availability and pricing

• Automation that works with your team, not around it

Distributors with AI agents like Alan and Shaz are streamlining operations and eliminating friction across the order-to-cash process.

On the Menu: Workflow Best Practices — Powered by AI

Innovation isn’t just about gadgets – it’s about better processes. Here are some essential ingredients for a modern, AI-augmented wholesale workflow:

Streamlined Invoicing & Payments

Shaz turns orders into invoices in seconds — no manual entry, no errors, no delays. She tracks payments automatically, sends reminders for overdue accounts, and gives you real-time visibility into cash flow so you can forecast smarter and plan better.

Digital Proof of Delivery

Swap paper PODs for electronic ones with photo capture or e-signature. Get immediate confirmation of delivery, while your team avoids chasing paperwork.

Smarter Sales Recommendations

With FOBOH’s sales intelligence agent Daz, your reps don’t need to dig through spreadsheets. Daz analyses customer order patterns and market trends to:

• Recommend personalised products for each buyer

• Flag churn risks and sales opportunities

• Optimise pricing to move inventory faster and reduce waste

Daz is not just a dashboard — he’s your sales team’s secret weapon.

Inventory Intelligence & Upsell Support

Sal, FOBOH’s smart selling agent, helps your team make better decisions at the shelf level:

• Suggests intelligent substitutes when items are out of stock

• Identifies buyers for excess inventory and the ideal pricing sweet spot

• Recommends add-ons that actually make sense — no random upsells here

Sal ensures you don’t just move stock — you move the right stock to the right customers at the right time.

Four Agents. One Goal: Smarter Wholesale Workflows

By pulling these elements together, your distribution “kitchen” hums like a well-run restaurant. You spend less time on paperwork, and more time on performance.

Here’s a quick recap of what each FOBOH agent does:

• Alan: Captures and processes multi-channel orders, fast and error-free.

• Sal: Clears inventory and boosts average order value with smart suggestions.

• Shaz: Automates invoicing and payments to improve cash flow.

• Daz: Delivers data-driven sales insights to grow accounts and protect margins.

At FOBOH, we’ve built our AI agents on a cloud-first, integration-ready philosophy — so you can focus on serving customers, not processing paperwork.

Ditch the Clipboard. Deploy the AI Workforce.

Moving from pen-and-paper to digital systems isn’t just a trend — it’s table stakes in foodservice distribution. With FOBOH’s AI agents, your team can offload tedious tasks, improve margins, and scale faster without scaling headcount.

It’s time to trade the clipboard for the cloud — and upgrade your workflows with a smarter, AI-powered workforce.

Talk to us today to see how FOBOH can transform your operations.