Ingram Micro, one of the world’s largest IT distribution companies, recently gave a Demo Webinar for IR Xvantage, a digital platform aimed at overhauling long-standing inefficiencies in B2B technology sales. The platform streamlines quoting, pricing, inventory management, and partner integrations using artificial intelligence, real-time data mesh, and a unified interface.
Sanjib Sahoo, Executive Vice President and President of Ingram Micro’s Global Platform Group, outlined the reasons behind building Xvantage: “We know B2B is hard. It’s complex. It’s challenging. But B2C expectations are increasingly influencing B2B. Everyone wants a faster, more personalized experience, even in distribution.”
A Response to Industry-Wide Complexity
According to Sahoo, a standard IT quote in distribution can take up to 72 hours and involve a dozen stakeholders across three companies. Xvantage was designed to replace this fragmented process with a single interface, offering real-time quoting and proactive recommendations using AI.
“On average, our customers process hundreds of orders daily. But the quoting and fulfillment workflows remain slow and disconnected,” he said. “This isn’t just an Ingram Micro issue. It’s how the distribution industry has operated for decades.” Xvantage is positioned not as a tool, but as a platform that connects resellers, OEMs, managed service providers (MSPs), and end customers. Sahoo said the goal is to bring “speed, scale, and service” to a traditionally rigid ecosystem.
From Backend Logistics to Platform Thinking
Ingram Micro’s platform draws inspiration from technology companies that disrupted legacy industries by acting as digital connectors rather than asset owners. “The biggest taxi company doesn’t own taxis. The biggest content company doesn’t own content. We already had the ecosystem. What we lacked was a digital architecture that connected it all,” said Sahoo.
To build Xvantage, Ingram Micro brought in talent from firms like Google, Meta, and Amazon. The company also claims to have developed over 400 AI/ML models, filed 30+ patents, and written 32 million lines of code over the past three years to bring the platform to life. The core of the platform is a real-time data mesh and an AI factory both of which aim to remove silos between ordering, quoting, inventory, and customer service. Sahoo said this architecture allows for near-instant recommendations, pricing updates, and sales forecasting.
Orders, Recommendations, and Sales Data in One View
A live demonstration featured a hypothetical mid-market MSP named “Nora,” who accesses Xvantage to manage orders, renewals, pricing, and performance analytics through a customizable dashboard. Instead of relying on sales reps or multiple portals, Nora’s team can view product lifecycle updates, attach warranties, and receive real-time cross-sell suggestions, which is entirely driven by AI. Geographic prospecting tools suggest where business expansion may be possible, based on lookalike customer data. “Previously, these were scattered across spreadsheets, emails, and vendor portals,” said Sahoo. “Now it’s available in one interface.”
Integration and Compatibility
One of Xvantage’s key selling points is its integration framework. Ingram Micro says the platform can connect with third-party CRMs, CPQs, ERPs, and even basic tools like spreadsheets. It has also developed an “Integration Hub” akin to an app store.
“We’ve built it to absorb partner systems, not the other way around. Our integrations are format-agnostic and quick to deploy,” said Sahoo. Ingram Micro also confirmed that hyperscaler marketplaces such as AWS and Microsoft Azure can transact with Xvantage through an agnostic gateway built into the platform.
Adoption and Early Use Cases
The company cited examples of large enterprises already using Xvantage:
- A UK-based partner operating in 190 countries reportedly saved 10–15 hours per person per week using the platform.
- Cybersecurity vendor Proofpoint has integrated Xvantage into its backend for automated deal registration and provisioning.
- NVIDIA is using Xvantage for visibility into its product movement and channel-level reporting.
Moving Beyond Distribution
Sahoo made it clear that Xvantage is not just aimed at modernizing distribution. The broader strategy is to evolve Ingram Micro into a platform-based business model, reducing operational overhead and unlocking demand through real-time analytics. “Today, integrations take months. We’ve built a framework to cut that time dramatically,” he said. “We are predicting and creating orders as opposed to just taking them.”
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