Sysco Corp. is turning artificial intelligence (AI) into a frontline tool for sales and customer engagement, as the foodservice distributor looks to sustain momentum in its core U.S. operations and strengthen its global performance.

On the company’s fiscal Q1 2026 earnings call, chair and CEO Kevin Hourican said about 90% of Sysco’s sales consultants use the company’s newly launched AI360 platform. The system, introduced this year, helps sales teams respond to customer questions, identify new selling opportunities and reduce administrative tasks. In doing so, it frees more time to sell.

“While it remains early days, our outcomes data suggests that there is a strong correlation between high colleague engagement with the tool and improved volume and selling performance,” Hourican told analysts. “AI360 helps balance these activities and improve overall customer service levels while simultaneously increasing time for selling activities.”

Where Sysco is incorporating AI360

He said Sysco has already seen improved performance among sales consultants who actively use the platform. The technology is helping standardize best practices across the company’s local sales organization, he added.

The AI360 rollout marks the next phase of Sysco’s broader digital transformation. That transformation includes pricing agility tools, supply chain automation and a revamped loyalty program for its most active restaurant customers.

Hourican said Sysco’s new Perks 2.0 program targets its highest-volume local accounts with enhanced benefits and faster service, supported by a digital help desk that resolves all inquiries on the first call.

“Over time, we are very confident that Perks will be a differentiator for these customers,” he said. “We will improve retention rates and help penetrate these customers with additional lines.”

Sysco is also embedding generative AI into its digital ecosystem, using it to:

• Assist with menu planning
• Recommend cost-saving substitutions
• Anticipate customer needs based on order history and seasonality

The company’s internal data infrastructure now supports real-time analytics across pricing, merchandising and supply chain operations. That helps sales teams match product availability and cost more precisely to customer demand.

Hourican positioned these initiatives as part of Sysco’s philosophy of “performing for today while transforming for tomorrow.”

He added: “The improvement we’re delivering at Sysco is being driven by initiatives within our control.”

Sysco sales in fiscal Q1 2026

For the quarter ended Sept. 28, 2025, Sysco reported sales of $19.8 billion. That’s up 3.2% from a year earlier — or 3.8% excluding its divestiture in Mexico. Gross profit increased 3.9%, while adjusted earnings per share rose 5.5%, according to chief financial officer Kenny Cheung.

Sysco’s U.S. Broadline local business — a key measure of its restaurant distribution activity — posted a 0.4% increase in case volume. That outpaced the broader industry’s 0.6% improvement in restaurant traffic, according to Black Box Intelligence. Hourican said the segment improved sequentially each month. September represented the strongest gain relative to the industry in more than a year.

“We have inflected positive in our U.S. Broadline local business, and we’re building momentum across the board,” he said. “Our stabilized sales organization and the deployment of technology tools like AI360 are helping drive that progress.”

Sysco’s international business continued to outperform, with sales up 4.5% on a reported basis and 7.9% when excluding Mexico. Adjusted operating income for the segment climbed 13.1%, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of double-digit profit growth. Hourican credited stronger customer mix, operational efficiency, and disciplined sourcing for the gains.

Cheung said Sysco’s performance demonstrates that most of its growth this year is being driven by company-specific initiatives rather than broader market recovery.

“Most of the growth we expect this year is driven by initiatives within our control,” he said. “We continue to see momentum in sales productivity, supply chain efficiency, and margin management.”

The CFO reaffirmed full-year guidance for 3% to 5% sales growth.

Impact of Sysco’s AI and other digital investments

He added that the company’s sales consultants are becoming more productive as they “climb up the productivity curve,” with the highest rate of new-account growth in the past 12 months.

“Our SCs are becoming more productive as they climb up the curve,” Cheung said, noting that both new and experienced consultants are showing improvement.

Sysco’s digital and AI investments reflect a broader shift across the distribution industry, as large distributors automate complex workflows and equip field sales teams with predictive intelligence.

Hourican said Sysco’s efforts are already showing tangible results in retention, new-account growth, and customer satisfaction metrics.

“We’re building momentum through technology, talent, and execution,” he said.

The company also credited its supply chain teams for improved service levels and safety metrics, noting that its warehouses and delivery operations achieved the best quarter of performance in six years.

Sysco enters the rest of fiscal 2026 with stronger momentum in local and international markets, executives said. While restaurant traffic remains uneven, the company expects its AI tools, loyalty programs, and data-driven pricing initiatives to deliver measurable gains in sales productivity and customer loyalty.

“We’re confident that shareholders are positioned to benefit from our improving financial results,” Hourican said. “Food-away-from-home is a good business, and Sysco intends to take a bigger slice of that expanding pie.”

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