Inside TD SYNNEX UK’s AI experimentation

As the distributor powers ahead in its experimentation with AI, not just across marketing, but also sales training and other functions, Phil Brown, VP of sales UK&I, lets us in on the details

TD SYNNEX is now several months into the rollout of a new AI-enabled sales training programme designed to standardise development, sharpen execution and give managers more meaningful data on how sellers are performing.

The initiative forms part of a wider multi-year effort to refresh the UK&I sales organisation under VP of Sales Phil Brown, who joined the role just over a year ago.

This is the second of two CRN articles examining TD SYNNEX UK’s ongoing sales transformation.

While the first explored the broader restructuring of the distributor’s sales organisation, this follow-up looks more closely at one area driving much of the momentum behind that change: TD SYNNEX’s increasing use of AI in sales training.

The AI component sits within TD SYNNEX’s Sales Fundamentals training and is delivered via Pitch Monster, a centrally developed European platform. Brown says the UK was “one of the first countries” to volunteer for the deployment, working closely with the European team to test, refine and help shape the first version of the curriculum.

“We’re quite proud of some innovative training we’ve done incorporating AI that we’re just going through the first cohort of,” he says.

“It’s called sales fundamental training, and part of that is they get the chance to interact with an AI avatar.”

The avatar simulates customer conversations, scores the interaction and provides structured feedback.

That data is automatically shared with managers, enabling targeted coaching and giving leaders greater visibility into skill development across their teams.

“They interact with the avatar, and it gives them feedback on how they perform,” Brown says.

“That feedback is shared with the manager, who can then do some coaching with them before they go and re-engage with the avatar and practise.”

Brown adds that as usage increases, the platform becomes more attuned to the distributor’s sales patterns and expectations.

“It’s a really clever piece of software, and as we engage with it more and more, it will learn more about how we do it and what’s the right level for what we're trying to achieve as a distributor.”

The AI module is being rolled out alongside a broader overhaul of how TD SYNNEX approaches training, including a consolidated HR platform that logs every course, whether AI-based, classroom, vendor-led or through LinkedIn Learning.

“We’re recording the AI training alongside all the other training on our HR platform,” Brown notes.

“That gives a manager the ability to see who is engaging really well and to link that engagement to performance management.”

Although the first AI-enabled cohort is still being trained, initial feedback is “good”, Brown says.

He expects the first measurable results early next year, stressing that the programme will evolve based on usage and outcomes.

“Delivering the concept is really positive, but delivering the reality takes a bit of time and it’s gathering pace.”

AI is also beginning to surface elsewhere inside the organisation.

“There is AI being used in some of our platforms internally, which is helping us streamline processes,” Brown says.

“AI is becoming more visible in our organisation, whether it’s external messaging or internal training.”

For the distributor, the AI rollout is less a standalone project and more the foundation for longer-term change.

Brown says the aim is to build a more consistent, data-informed sales culture that can adapt quickly to customer expectations and market conditions.

With the first phase now bedded in, attention is shifting to how the next waves of training and tooling will integrate into the wider sales transformation through 2026 and beyond.