AI for HVACR Distributors (2026): What It Does and Who Sells It

AI for an HVACR distributor answers the counter and phone faster, turns contractor texts, RFQs and plan-and-spec documents into quotes, sets stock for a seasonal business and follows up on open supplier orders. In 2026 the proven uses are quoting and contractor messaging, with inventory AI close behind. Most vendors sell one of these jobs; check that a vendor has HVAC distributors live, not just HVAC on a menu.

Morsa publishes this guide and appears in it. Every vendor and association fact was read on the vendor’s or association’s own site on 12 October 2026, and vendor-reported numbers are labeled as theirs.

Quick answer

• Quotes at the counter and on commercial jobs: Distro turns RFQs, bid lists and spec documents into quotes, including commercial HVAC and refrigeration.

• Contractor and tech messages: Prokeep runs the text, email and chat thread with techs on the job.

• Seasonal stock and dead stock: Thrive Technologies tunes ERP inventory settings and moves slow stock between branches; it publishes a price.

• Quotes plus supplier chasing: Augment’s Augie quotes and chases suppliers on late POs; Johnstone Supply appears on its distribution page.

• Morsa: built and proven in manufacturing, now onboarding its first distributors, for the follow-up after the order is placed.

What does AI actually do for an HVACR distributor’s daily work?

It shortens the time between a tech’s question and a correct answer. A contractor texts a photo of an equipment label or a wiring diagram from a rooftop; Prokeep says techs “text in pictures of part tags, wiring diagrams, or equipment labels from the jobsite.” AI matches the part, checks price and stock, and drafts the reply for the counter.

On bigger work, Distro says its Plan & Spec feature “scans spec sheets, schedules, and project documents” into a material list ready for pricing, and that it handles “Commercial HVAC and Commercial Refrigeration” quotes. On the buying side, the problem is the season. ACHR News wrote on 9 October 2026 that seasonal demand, weather and long lead times make it hard to decide how much equipment to stock and in which branch. Thrive lists “poor seasonal inventory timing” among the problems its software tunes in the ERP.

Infor’s distribution page names the HVAC-specific back office too: rebates, and “warranty and claims management.” AI should still leave equipment substitutions, credit and warranty decisions to a person.

What is eating the inside sales and purchasing team’s day?

Phones, retyping and stock in the wrong place, handled by a thinner bench. Joe DelVecchio, General Sales Manager at Peirce-Phelps, told Distro: “That’s what I need with all the turnover in this business.” Carrier Enterprise told Prokeep a rep can “run as many as 10 calls at once” over text, against one by phone. ACHR News adds the stock problem: a study presented at HARDI in early 2026 found distributors torn between missed sales and warehouses full of inventory that does not move.

HARDI took a stance on the noise. On 4 February 2026 it engaged Mandy Long, former CEO of BigBear.ai, as Senior AI Advisor. “AI is no longer theoretical, but it’s also not one thing,” Long said. “The term gets applied to everything from simple automation to advanced generative systems, which makes it difficult for leaders to evaluate what’s being offered.”

Which AI vendors serve HVACR distributors?

The table lists vendors that show HVAC distributors on their own sites, with the same fields for each and Morsa last because it has no distributor customer yet. Distro is the most HVAC-specific: it shows a HARDI Proven Partner badge and HVAC customers by name. Prokeep runs the contractor thread. Thrive works on stock, not conversations, and is the only one here with a public price. Augment also serves freight companies and lists both quoting and supplier chasing for distributors. Figures in the proof column are the vendors’ own, picked by the vendor, so ask for a reference call at a distributor of your size. Two of the five, Augment and Morsa, also chase suppliers; the other three do not list supplier follow-up on the pages we read.

Distro

• Best for: HVACR quoting, counter lookups and plan-and-spec takeoffs

• What it automates: RFQs, bid lists and POs to quotes; spec documents to BOMs; product chat; AP invoices

• ERPs it lists: Prophet 21, Eclipse, Infor CSD, Infor SXE, Infor FACTS, NetSuite, Acumatica, DDI, SAP, custom

• Pricing: Quote only (no public price)

• Published HVAC proof: HARDI Proven Partner badge; Century HVAC quote “3 times faster” (Distro)

• Distribution customers: Century HVAC Distributing, Peirce-Phelps, Weathertech Distributing, Shearer Supply, Geary Pacific Supply

Prokeep

• Best for: Contractor and tech texting, quote requests, SMS campaigns

• What it automates: Shared text, email, chat and fax inbox; AI order automation; follow-ups

• ERPs it lists: Dynamics 365, Epicor Eclipse, Epicor Prophet 21, NetSuite

• Pricing: Per branch location, custom quote

• Published HVAC proof: HVAC industry page; “Hundreds of HARDI members” (Prokeep)

• Distribution customers: “8,500 distributors”; Carrier Enterprise

Thrive Technologies

• Best for: Seasonal and slow-moving stock across branches

• What it automates: ERP min/max and reorder settings, branch-to-branch transfers

• ERPs it lists: Epicor Eclipse named; others on request

• Pricing: From $2,500/month per first module plus implementation from $10,000

• Published HVAC proof: Mountainland Supply, 42 branches, plumbing and HVAC (DSG)

• Distribution customers: Mountainland Supply, General Air, Green Line Hose and Fittings

Augment (Augie)

• Best for: Quote and order entry plus supplier follow-up

• What it automates: RFQs and POs to quotes and orders; chasing suppliers on late POs; inbound freight

• ERPs it lists: Oracle, SAP, Epicor Eclipse, Epicor Prophet 21, Infor

• Pricing: Per completed unit of work; no public rate card

• Published HVAC proof: Johnstone Supply and Watsco logos; Johnstone CFO quote

• Distribution customers: Ewing Outdoor Supply, Insco, Brooks Safety Solutions, Reece, Johnstone Supply

Morsa

• Best for: Supplier and PO follow-up after the order is placed, across the channels the team already uses (email, chat, phone and others)

• What it automates: Chases suppliers on open POs, moves dates with who and why, escalates before the install date, answers “where is my order”

• ERPs it lists: SAP Business One, Dynamics 365 (incl. Business Central), NetSuite, Odoo, Zoho, QuickBooks and others; Eclipse and P21 by API, database, export or email trail

• Pricing: Pilot first; then a share of measured value; no public price

• Published HVAC proof: None yet

• Distribution customers: None yet (manufacturing live)

Which ERPs do HVACR distributors run, and how does AI connect?

Epicor describes Eclipse as built for “electrical, plumbing, HVAC and PVF wholesale distributors,” and Mountainland Supply’s Thrive rollout runs on Eclipse, per Distribution Strategy Group. Infor’s CloudSuite Distribution page has a plumbing and HVAC section with “supplier rebate management, warranty and claims management.” Distro’s list adds Infor FACTS and DDI, which tells you how scattered the installed base is.

Eclipse, Prophet 21 and the Infor distribution systems are not on Morsa’s published integration list. It connects the way it connects any system: an API, the database, a scheduled export, or the email trail of supplier acknowledgments the buyers already get. Its listed integrations include SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365 including Business Central, Oracle NetSuite, Odoo, Zoho, QuickBooks, Excel and Google Sheets, plus Gmail, Outlook, Teams, Slack, WhatsApp and phone calls. Whatever you buy, ask to see a write-back into your own ERP during the pilot.

Where does Morsa fit for an HVACR distributor?

Morsa is built and proven in manufacturing, now onboarding our first distributors. It can take quotes and orders, but it is not an inventory optimizer, and its strength is the follow-through: once a PO for condensers is out, it makes sure the date holds or the right person hears early.

The closest real example is a factory (times illustrative, per the J4S page). At J4S, a 120-person glass plant, stores posted on a Monday at 21:10 that one stock would last until Wednesday. Morsa found three open orders on Line 2 dispatching Thursday and Friday and gave the purchasing head a task due Tuesday 12:00. It nudged at 10:00 Tuesday, escalated to the Production Head at 13:00 with 1,200 pieces of Friday dispatch at risk, logged the supplier’s Wednesday confirmation at 15:20 with who moved the date and why, and closed on the goods receipt Wednesday 11:40. Across about 900 commitments, on-time completion went from about 30% to about 75% in four weeks.

When Morsa is the wrong choice: you want an HVAC quoting and plan-and-spec takeoff specialist (Distro), the contractor text thread (Prokeep), or seasonal stock settings in the ERP (Thrive); or you need an HVAC distributor reference before any pilot.

What should you ask any AI vendor before you sign?

1. Which HVACR distributors run this in production, and will one take my call?

2. How does it handle cooling-season volume: same accuracy at three times the RFQs?

3. Does it write back to my ERP, or does someone still rekey?

4. Who sees a slipped equipment date first, and how long before the install?

5. What does the AI send to a contractor without a person approving it?

6. How are rebates, warranty claims and substitutions kept with people?

7. What does it cost after the pilot, and per what: user, branch, outcome?

8. Is my pricing and customer data used to train shared models?

Mandy Long describes her HARDI role as helping members “ask better questions.” For the wider picture, read AI for distributors, the best AI agents for distributors in 2026 and how to stop chasing suppliers for delivery dates. Book a demo: https://cal.com/morsa

Sources

1. HARDI, HARDI Engages Senior AI Advisor Mandy Long to Support Member Education, 4 February 2026, read 12 October 2026, hardinet.org

2. ACHR News, What AI-Driven HVAC Demand Planning Means Downstream, 9 October 2026, read 12 October 2026, achrnews.com

3. HVACR Trends, Chuck Labow, The AI-Enabled Distributor: From Pilot to Profit, 3 February 2026, read 12 October 2026, hvacrtrends.com

4. Distribution Strategy Group, Mountainland Supply Deploys AI to Cut Dead Stock Across 42 Branches, September 2026, read 12 October 2026, distributionstrategy.com

5. Distribution Strategy Group, The AI Divide: DSG’s AI Top 25, 14 July 2026, read 12 October 2026, distributionstrategy.com

6. Distro, homepage, read 12 October 2026, distro.app

7. Prokeep, HVAC industry page, HARDI partner page, pricing and integrations, read 12 October 2026, prokeep.com/partners/hardi

8. Thrive Technologies, homepage, pricing and ERP integration, read 12 October 2026, thrivetech.com/pricing

9. Augment, AI Agent for Wholesale Distribution and pricing, read 12 October 2026, goaugment.com/b2b-distribution

10. Infor, CloudSuite Distribution, read 12 October 2026, infor.com

11. Epicor, Epicor Eclipse, read 12 October 2026, epicor.com

12. Morsa, J4S customer story, read 12 October 2026, /customers/j4s

Changelog

• 12 October 2026: first published, with HARDI’s AI advisor statement, HVAC trade-press data, a five-vendor table checked on each vendor’s site, and the J4S chase timeline.