Electrical materials distributor Nortel uses AI to power their business processes, transforming their approach to managing customer needs and optimizing operations. Nortel, part of the Sonepar Group, is Brazil’s largest electrical materials distribution company serving various industries nationwide.

The electrical products distributor is based in Campinas in the state of São Paulo. The company serves 15,000 customers and employs 800 people through 60 branches across Brazil. Since 1966, the company has been engaged in the distribution of electrical materials, safety equipment, tools, industrial panels, and automation, as well as providing maintenance, repair, and operation products. The company aims to be the leading electrical distributor in Brazil and provide businesses with optimal solutions for their needs.

“We primarily serve B2B customers, helping them optimize their operations in various segments,” says Commercial Director at Nortel, Fernando Barbosa.

Replacing manual tasks with AI to power operations

Nortel operates under two different business models: contracts and spot sales. The contract model offers a solution for large organizations that require fixed prices for specific periods, while spot sales primarily cater to customers preferring different pricing for each purchase.

“For both contract and spot sales, making a quotation or offer to our customers requires our team to manually locate the right products in our ERP to match the customer’s product specifications. We quote over 150,000 items per month. At Nortel, we reached a point where we couldn’t keep up with market demand due to the manual nature of our processes. That’s when we decided to explore AI to power faster processing and reduce some of the manual tasks,” explains Fernando Barbosa. Nortel began discussing AI internally at the start of last year, exploring how to develop AI solutions for their business processes. “We decided to partner with a local startup company called VOLIX to develop an MVP (minimum viable product) to demonstrate that it could work. Fortunately, we had extensive data detailing customer requests and the product solutions we proposed to them,” says Fernando Barbosa.

Not going back

The result was the AI tool “QuoteGPT.” It was specifically developed to help Nortel optimize its business processes. The goal is to improve productivity. This tool allows the team to focus on what truly matters: consultative selling.

We want to shift our team’s focus away from repetitive manual tasks. Instead, we want them negotiating with customers and suppliers. This approach will help us better understand customer needs and build stronger relationships,” says Fernando Barbosa. Nortel is constantly improving the tool’s accuracy and is planning to launch a more user-friendly web version. Currently, QuoteGPT powers contract sales. However, according to Fernando Barbosa, the goal is to scale the tool across the entire sales operation. This expansion is planned to happen within the next year.

It’s still early days, but I’m confident that even a 1 percent improvement in our hit rate could boost revenue. This increase could mean millions of reais in additional monthly revenue,” he says. “We’re happy with the tool’s ROI.

Another benefit is that Nortel can respond to customer inquiries much faster, greatly enhancing their experience. However, despite the clear business advantages, Fernando Barbosa has had to reassure the team about the tool. He emphasized that the tool isn’t going to replace their jobs but will instead complement their work. Barbosa has been explaining its value and gaining the team’s support.

“I don’t see us going back to the old way of working. Our team is getting used to the tool and already benefits from it. We’re also ambitious about where we can take this. Eventually, we want to integrate it into our webshop—enabling our customers to upload their own lists and get quotes without any manual intervention,” says Fernando Barbosa.

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As Nortel embraces AI to streamline and enhance their business, they join a growing number of companies that are redefining what’s possible with innovative technology. AI adoption isn’t just about automation; it’s about building a smarter, more agile business that can adapt to the demands of tomorrow.

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