Sysco’s recipe for growth centers on IT

Integrating advanced AI into its heavily robotic process automation shop, as well as edge computing, Peck says, are huge opportunities the company is now exploring. Deploying large language models (LLMs) will also allow Sysco to use a much greater abundance of data in the cloud to curate menus based on trends and to detect evolving purchasing behaviors.

“The next logical step is AI,” Peck says. “Machine learning was about comparing a lot of inputs. Large language models allow you to gobble up more data and scan through much more information, whether it’s in another cloud or on premise. We would be able to search and get feedback on restaurant or social trends about recipes and food and surf that back to us or to our customers.”

Catalyzing change

As complex as it is to write AI algorithms, technology is the easy part of Sysco’s next-generation Recipe for Growth, the CIDO says.

There are several challenges to implementing such advanced technology, namely, how to handle change management and how fast to scale, but the benefits far outweigh the challenges, Peck adds.

To that end, Sysco is teaching its sales teams about the benefits and time savings in eliminating mundane paperwork and tasks, and allowing them to pursue new leads and grow their business.

Peck says moves such as these are all about winning the hearts and minds of employees and getting them to embrace AI’s ability to suggest more predictive types of sales calls and order suggestions.

“Your sales teams may view it as a threat, but in reality, it’s not a threat,” he says. “It’s enabling them to spend more time on the customer relationship and nurture new business when they’re spending less time doing research and looking at pricing.” 

If implemented correctly, AI’s benefits are numerous for all employees and the company overall, he maintains.

“It helps us to service our customers better, having exact fill rates, so our trucks show up on time and it helps our company to focus,” he says. “Sometimes companies that want to digitally transform tend to be too broad and want to do everything. We’re very laser focused about key things we’re trying to do and it’s a rallying cry for the company—a morale booster. It helps us feel like we’re part of something special.” 

The breadth and depth of Sysco’s CIDO is well known in industry circles. Last month Peck received the annual MIT Leadership Award at the MIT CIO Symposium in Cambridge, Mass.

“While all of our finalists were doing exceptional work, Tom stood out for his deep knowledge of, and connection with, the needs of the business,” says George Westerman, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, who sits on the awards committee. “It showed in the way he talked, the topics he found important, and the results he and his team helped to drive.”