What happens when a government shutdown, interest rate cuts, and AI-driven commerce collide with the future of wholesale distribution?

In this week’s Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown and Tom Burton unpack the headlines that matter: the Fed’s next move, tariff resilience, and how AI-enabled platforms like LeadSmart Channel Cloud™ are reframing CRM as a growth engine. You’ll also hear why AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is quickly replacing SEO, and what it means for distributors competing in an Amazon + OpenAI marketplace.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why CRM adoption fails, and how LeadSmart’s smart CRM reframes it as customer enablement
• How prediction markets like Polymarket may forecast economic shifts more accurately than government data
• Why tariffs, lithium mining, and government-backed investments signal long-term supply chain realignment
• How AI search and embedded transactions could challenge Amazon’s dominance
• Why AI ethics and workforce augmentation matter more than “replacement” narratives
  

Episode Highlights:

03:05 – Government shutdown politics and the missing jobs report

13:45 – Fed rate cuts, prediction markets, and Polymarket’s surprising odds

25:52 – Consumer confidence paradox: nervous workers, steady spending

37:20 – U.S. invests in lithium mines and Intel, national security or sovereign wealth strategy?

50:18 – Tariffs reshaping global supply chains and stalling multimillion-dollar projects

01:01:12 – OpenAI launches checkout: what it means for distributors vs. Amazon

01:12:05 – AI content optimization: moving from SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

01:19:10 – Why AI won’t take jobs, but people using AI will

Tools, Frameworks, or Strategies Mentioned

• LeadSmart Channel Cloud™ – AI-enabled CRM + customer intelligence platform
• Polymarket – decentralized prediction markets for real-time sentiment
• AI Engine Optimization (AEO) & Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) – future-proofing content strategy
• Agentic AI Workflows – automation with human-in-the-loop oversight
• Digital Twins & Lithium Investments – future of industrial resilience

Closing Insight:

“If you have siloed data, you have siloed AI. The winners unify data to future-proof supply chains.” – Kevin Brown

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