Nauta and Pepper Partner to Give Independent Food Distributors a Complete AI Stack — From Order to Operational Intelligence

Independent food distributors are competing against national broadliners with nine-figure technology budgets, dedicated data science teams, and years of automation investment. Most independents are running on legacy ERPs, phone calls, handwritten order sheets, and spreadsheets held together by institutional knowledge and long hours.

That gap is widening. The distributors who close it first will take share from those who don't.

Nauta and Pepper are partnering to give independent food distributors a complete AI stack — one that covers the full operational picture, from how orders come in to what happens upstream in your supply chain.

The Problem Independent Food Distributors Are Actually Facing

The challenge isn't one broken process. It's that every process is slightly broken, and those breaks compound.

On the front end: customers place orders by text, voicemail, or fax. Someone on your team transcribes them manually. Errors happen. Orders get delayed. Customers call back. Your sales reps spend time on data entry instead of selling.

On the back end: your ERP holds some of the data, your TMS holds more, your suppliers send updates by email, and your procurement team is working off spreadsheets that were accurate three days ago. By the time a stockout or a cost spike surfaces, it's already hitting your margins and your service levels.

National distributors have systems that talk to each other. Most independents don't. That's the gap this partnership is designed to close.

What Each Platform Does

Pepper: The Front End of the Stack

Pepper is the system for distributors' critical business operations, powering daily workflows and eliminating manual and messy processes. Ordering becomes self-serve or automated, sales teams get recommended actions to close more business, and finance teams get freed from collections. It integrates with more than 70 ERPs, is SOC 2 compliant, and is already used by more than 500 distributors.

Last year sales growth of distributors on Pepper outpaced Sysco, US Foods, and PFG by more than 80%. When customers have a distributor's full catalog in front of them, basket size grows and sales teams can actually sell, instead of entering orders. The independents already have the edge when it comes to relationships and quality foods; with the right technology, they can out-execute the big box conglomerates, too.

Pepper's website is usepepper.com.

Nauta: The Operational Brain

Nauta is the operational brain powering the supply chain behind those orders. It connects data from your ERP, TMS, WMS, supplier emails, spreadsheets, and portals into a single AI-ready layer, then deploys purpose-built agents that monitor that data continuously.

Those agents predict stockouts weeks before they happen. They flag shipment delays before your customers notice. They surface cost anomalies in your procurement contracts before they reach your P&L. And they do it 24/7 — without your team pulling reports or chasing down updates.

The operating model shifts your team from reactive firefighting to exception-based operations. Only what requires human attention gets surfaced. Everything else runs.

Why This Partnership Makes Sense

Pepper and Nauta solve different problems, but they sit on the same operational spine.

Pepper handles the demand signal: orders come in accurately, automatically, and without manual handling. Nauta handles what happens upstream from that signal — whether you have the inventory to fill those orders, whether your suppliers are on track, and whether the costs in your procurement contracts still make sense.

Together, they cover the full picture. An order comes in through Pepper. Nauta's agents are already monitoring whether the inventory exists to fill it, whether the carrier delivering that product is on schedule, and whether a cost anomaly in your procurement data is about to affect your margin on that SKU.

That's a complete AI stack — not a collection of point solutions that don't talk to each other.

What This Means for Your Team

For supply chain and operations leaders at independent distributors, the practical implication is straightforward.

Your team stops spending time on order transcription and manual data reconciliation. Your sales reps focus on customers, not data entry. Your operations team stops chasing supplier updates and carrier ETAs. And your leadership team gets visibility into disruptions weeks before they become crises — not after.

The distributors winning right now aren't necessarily the largest ones. They're the ones who have replaced manual workflows with systems that surface the right information at the right time. This partnership is designed to give independents access to exactly that kind of infrastructure.

Nauta customers include Sears, Econo, Berrios Logistics, and Windmar Solar. The platform has raised $7 million and is built specifically for mid-to-large distributors and retailers managing global supplier networks.

A Complete Stack, Built for Independent Distributors

National broadliners aren't slowing down their technology investment. But the gap between what they have and what independent distributors can access is closing.

Pepper handles the front end. Nauta handles the operational intelligence upstream. Together, they give your team the kind of AI infrastructure that used to require a Fortune 500 budget and a multi-year implementation.

You don't need to build this yourself. You need to deploy it.

To see how Nauta fits into your supply chain operations, book a demo at getnauta.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Nauta do for independent food distributors?

Nauta connects data from your ERP, TMS, WMS, supplier emails, and spreadsheets into a single AI-ready layer, then deploys agents that predict stockouts, shipment delays, and cost anomalies weeks before they affect your margins. It acts as the operational brain of your supply chain.

What does Pepper do?

Pepper is the system for food distributors' critical business operations, powering daily workflows and eliminating manual and messy processes. Ordering becomes self-serve or automated, sales teams get recommended actions to close more business, and finance teams get freed from collections. It integrates with more than 70 ERPs and is used by more than 500 distributors.

How do Nauta and Pepper work together?

Pepper handles the front-end ordering process, enabling ecommerce workflows, growing basket sizes, and eliminating manual order transcription. Nauta handles the upstream supply chain intelligence, monitoring inventory, logistics, and procurement data continuously. Together they cover the full operational picture from order intake to supply chain execution.

Who is this partnership designed for?

Independent food distributors and mid-market operators competing against national players but running on fragmented systems, manual workflows, and disconnected data sources.

Does Nauta replace my existing ERP or TMS?

No. Nauta connects to your existing ERP, TMS, and WMS systems and acts as the AI layer on top of them, unifying the data and deploying agents to monitor it continuously. It is not a replacement for your systems of record.

How do I get access to Nauta?

Access is available through a demo. You can book directly at getnauta.com.

What kinds of disruptions can Nauta predict?

Nauta's agents predict stockouts, shipment delays, and cost anomalies weeks in advance. They also handle tariff classification, supplier performance benchmarking, and document matching across your supply chain data.