US Foods reported a 4.5% increase in net sales to $10.5 billion for its fiscal second quarter, and executives used the earnings call to detail how artificial intelligence is driving productivity across the distributor's sales team and supply chain.
The company expanded gross profit by 8% to $1.9 billion for the quarter ending June 27. Total case volume increased 1.9% year over year, with independent restaurant case volume rising 5.1%. US Foods maintained its full-year 2026 outlook of 4% to 6% net sales growth.
AI tools for sales productivity
CEO David Flitman told investors that US Foods is using AI to improve seller productivity and strengthen the supply chain. He described the company as "the industry leader in digital innovation with an ecosystem increasingly enhanced by AI."
One specific tool is Visit Assistant Insights, an internally developed system that provides sales reps with customer-specific data before meetings. Flitman said that in its first six weeks, the tool "delivered more than 700,000 actionable insights." Sellers working with independent restaurant accounts used those insights to identify priority opportunities and prepare for calls.
"As the AI model continues to learn and scale, we expect these insights to become increasingly valuable, supporting stronger sales execution, deeper customer engagement and sustained growth over time," Flitman said.
For professionals working in sales roles, this points to a concrete outcome: less time spent on account research and more time spent with customers. The company is also piloting a generative AI chatbot that will give sellers real-time answers and recommendations inside their daily workflow. Sales teams using AI for Sales tools can already see productivity gains without needing technical expertise.
Supply chain and forecasting AI
US Foods is using AI for product demand forecasting, labor planning, and routing software from Descartes. The company said these tools are improving service levels and reducing working capital.
"More efficient routing enables better delivery execution and fewer miles driven," Flitman said. The forecasting system also supports better in-stock performance and less waste.
The distributor invested $174 million in capital expenditures so far this year. CFO Dirk Locascio said the margin expansion came from "a combination of volume growth, gross profit gains and cost productivity improvements."
How the company sees AI rolling out
Flitman said US Foods is embedding AI into core business processes, not treating it as a separate initiative. The approach targets "the highest return opportunities" and ties investments to measurable business outcomes. Predictions include "stronger in-stock performance and less waste" from improved forecasting, plus "fewer miles driven" from smarter routing.
Dirk Locascio said Q2 results "reflect consistent execution of our key initiatives, supported by strong operating performance."
Why this matters for sales professionals
US Foods is proving that practical AI tools for sales teams can produce concrete results without requiring a complete overhaul of how reps work. The Assistant Insights tool delivered more than 700,000 action points for sellers in just six weeks, and the company expects those insights to improve as the model learns. The inbound logistics and routing applications show that supply chain professionals can also expect the same trend toward measurable productivity gains tied directly to forecasting and delivery operations.
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