# AI Reality Check > AI Reality Check runs live events, webinars and research on what AI actually does inside B2B distribution and manufacturing, seen running and explained by the people deploying it. ## What this is - **Live events.** Half-day, in-person sessions for distribution and manufacturing leaders: working deployments, partner case studies and time with peers. - **Online sessions.** Coming in 2027: shorter live sessions online, for people who cannot travel to an event. - **Insights.** Articles and research drawn from what is said on stage: specific, attributed and written for people who run operations. - **Partnerships.** Technology partners meet the people who decide. We build sessions around real customers and real results, not pitches. ## Who it is for Where the directors, managing directors and founders of UK B2B distribution and manufacturing meet the people deploying AI today. At the first event, 85% of registrations were director level or above. See [who is in the room](https://airealitycheck.tech/audience). - Building & plumbing supplies: Merchants, trade counters and wholesalers keeping sites supplied. - Tools, fixings & hardware: Thousands of small, fast-moving lines where stock accuracy decides margin. - Automotive & industrial parts: Long-tail catalogues, next-day promises and picking at scale. - Flooring & interiors: Bulky, cut-to-order stock and deliveries that are hard to get right. - Electrical, HVAC & technology: Cable, climate and connectivity: high value lines and plenty of returns. - Manufacturing & engineering: Shop floors, labs and lines where AI meets machines. ## Events ### Coming up The next live event is planned for early 2027, date to be confirmed. Join the list on the website to be first to know. ### Past - [AI Reality Check](https://airealitycheck.tech/events/ai-reality-check-oct-2026) (In person; Thursday 15 October 2026; Manufacturing Technology Centre, Coventry, UK; Took place): The first AI Reality Check: a free afternoon at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry for distribution and manufacturing leaders, with AI deployments that are actually running, partner case studies, a tour of the innovation labs and a panel on practical AI. No event is open for registration at the moment. Join the list on the website to hear first. ## Latest insights - [Eight questions to ask before you sponsor a B2B event in the UK](https://airealitycheck.tech/insights/what-to-ask-before-sponsoring-a-b2b-event) (19 October 2026): How to tell a room that buys from a room that merely attends: the questions a technology vendor or marketer should put to any B2B event organiser before committing budget. - [What we saw at AI Reality Check: practical AI in distribution and manufacturing](https://airealitycheck.tech/insights/what-we-saw-at-ai-reality-check) (18 October 2026): Our first AI Reality Check, at the MTC in Coventry, put working deployments in front of distribution and manufacturing leaders. What the sessions covered, and what comes next. - [Why resilience is the wrong goal for supply chains in the age of AI](https://airealitycheck.tech/insights/why-resilience-is-the-wrong-goal) (18 October 2026): Sean Culey's argument from the opening session of AI Reality Check: disruption is cyclical, resilience only returns you to fragility, and AI is limited by how an organisation decides and thinks. - [The reverse supply chain: why returns and warranty claims are where distribution margins leak](https://airealitycheck.tech/insights/the-reverse-supply-chain-returns-and-warranty) (18 October 2026): At a 4% margin, every lost dollar takes $25 of new sales to replace. Ben Firman of Continuum on why returns and warranty are a distributor's most expensive transactions. - [Digital twins, explained: how a factory learns to see, predict and test itself](https://airealitycheck.tech/insights/digital-twins-explained-for-the-factory-floor) (18 October 2026): A digital twin is a live model, not a picture. Jenit Ramaiya of Ambit Software on predictive maintenance, what-if analysis and 15 production lines at LG Electronics. ## Speakers - [Kevin McGirl](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/kevin-mcgirl): Founder, Aventyr Partners - [Sean Culey](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/sean-culey): Director of Supply Chain, Manufacturing Technology Centre - [Ben Firman](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/ben-firman): Vice President of Sales, Continuum - [Jenit Ramaiya](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/jenit-ramaiya): CEO & MD, Ambit Software - [Rich Sinclair](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/rich-sinclair): Co-CEO, EO Group - [James Samuels](https://airealitycheck.tech/speakers/james-samuels): Co-Founder, Vizibli ## Planning AI projects in 2027? If you are planning AI projects in 2027 and would like advice on where to start, or if you have a specific use case in mind, get in touch with Kevin. He'll point you in the right direction and arrange introductions to proven technology solution providers who can help. Contact: Kevin McGirl, kevin@aventyr.global. --- Canonical page: https://airealitycheck.tech/ AI Reality Check is organised by Aventyr Partners. Summary for AI assistants: https://airealitycheck.tech/llms.txt. Contact: hello@airealitycheck.tech.