Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept for the electrical industry but rather a defining part of its future. According to the latest EDA Digitalisation Survey, there is widespread agreement that AI in the electrical supply chain will transform the way the sector buys and sells products by the end of the decade.
While the industry has traditionally relied on expertise, relationships and hands on knowledge, AI is now emerging as a powerful tool that can support everything from product data creation to customer behaviour insights and supply chain optimisation. What’s interesting is that, although adoption is still in its early stages, many businesses already recognise the scale of change coming.
The groundwork is being laid slowly through analytics, marketing automation and early experiments with product data, signalling that the next few years will see AI take on a far bigger role across the electrical supply chain.
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The promises and pressures of AI in the electrical supply chain
Across the sector, businesses can already see the upside of AI even if adoption is still at an early stage. Many wholesalers say the biggest benefit lies in marketing and analytics where AI helps them understand trends, improve targeting and automate the tasks that usually drain time from busy teams.
Others see potential in using AI to support internal workflows, from scanning large purchase orders to spotting anomalies in stock movements or identifying opportunities based on customer buying patterns.
Manufacturers are also exploring AI for product data creation, such as generating descriptions, translating content or assisting with ETIM classification, though usage here is still limited and handled cautiously due to the risk of inaccuracies when source data isn’t perfect.
But alongside the optimism, there are understandable concerns. Some companies fear that AI could contribute to margin erosion especially when AI powered pricing tools or marketplace comparisons push prices downward.
There are also worries about job losses, with some respondents acknowledging that automation could reduce roles in areas like administration or accounts as has already happened in other industries and in some processes today such as EDI based invoice matching.
Read more: Digitalisation in the electrical industry: What 70% of wholesalers expect next
Manufacturers are exploring what AI can really do
What’s clear from the survey is that manufacturers aren’t waiting for AI to become mainstream. Many are already exploring how it fits into their operations. While only 12% currently use AI for product classification or data creation, a much larger 35% are actively investigating its use, signalling a strong need to understand where AI can add value in the near future.
Early experiments include generating product descriptions, translating content into different languages, enriching technical data, and even classifying products within ETIM. At the same time, manufacturers recognise the limitations: AI depends heavily on the accuracy of the data it’s trained on, and incomplete or inconsistent product information can lead to incorrect classifications or misleading outputs.
The next few years will likely see AI move from isolated experiments to a normal part of how product data, content and customer experience are managed across the electrical supply chain.
Looking ahead: AI as the next competitive advantage in the electrical supply chain
With wholesalers using AI for analytics and workflow efficiency, and manufacturers actively experimenting or investigating AI for product data creation, the foundations for AI driven processes are already in motion.
The next step is expanding that early experimentation into broader, more connected use cases – from smarter forecasting and automated data enrichment to AI powered customer insights that help teams work faster and make better informed decisions.
For a sector built on relationships, reliability and deep product knowledge, AI won’t replace these strengths but rather – amplify them.