Southern Glazer’s Expanding, Refining Its Proof E-Commerce Platform
August 27, 2025With projected 2025 revenues of $25.3 billion, Southern Glazer’s is the leading alcohol distributor in the U.S., operating in all markets except for New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. While the company’s business is built on the hand-sell and relationships between on- and off-premise accounts and sales representatives, B2B e-commerce is taking an increasing share of Southern Glazer’s sales via Proof, the company’s proprietary platform.
Last year, Proof generated roughly $4 billion in sales for the distributor, and the strong trend is continuing this year. As an example, in California, where Southern has $5 billion in annual revenue, nearly 20% of on-premise sales are going through the Proof platform.
The key to growing Proof, says Alan Wizemann, Southern Glazer’s chief digital officer, is embracing customer feedback to drive new initiatives. “We’ve done hundreds of customer interviews, we’ve done ride-alongs with sales, we’ve really dived into the field on the front line to see where the problems arise,” he says. “It’s definitely been beneficial for us. It’s kept our growth curve going up, which is nice, especially being in the green right now.”
While Proof offers SGWS’s customers a chance to streamline ordering, Wizemann says that it also provides sales representatives valuable behind-the-scenes information. “The way that we’ve built the systems from an ordering perspective is that they’re almost collaborative. The orders that are put together either from a salesperson or customer are seen by both sides,” he says. “We add opinions from sales reps, we add feedback from customers, we add feedback from markets, and so recommendations become very, very personalized and have that industry expertise behind them.”
As an example of how Proof, through a combination of AI tools and real-life expertise, can help customers find products, Wizemann cites whiskey bars. He says that, in this case, providing generalized recommendations—what’s selling best, what’s widely available—can push customers away. Specialized businesses are looking for what’s unique. “They want the rare stuff. They want stuff that maybe isn’t available somewhere else,” he says. “We’re starting to see where and to what customers react better and take those opportunities to actually get other products out there.”
Ultimately, Wizemann says, the goal is driving transactions, whether they’re placed on Proof, via text message, or through more traditional ordering channels. “We’ll have sales reps see an order coming in or they’ll even assist with an order because of Proof being in the middle,” he says. “We want to make sure that the collaboration and interaction are there. Even if the first interaction starts on Proof and people are building an order, we try to inform the sales consultants that are dedicated to those accounts.”
SGWS’s customers can expect further refinements to Proof’s systems, says Wizemann, citing better order management and list building functions coming soon, as well as a greater emphasis on connecting customers with market trends and brand promotions. “Part of the approach and why we’re putting all those foundational pieces together is to have our customers start to amplify some of those messages for their own benefit to drive value,” he says. “Most of that actually is coming out this year. Next year is when we tie in a lot of that to our sales technology as well.” —Shane English
Southern Glazer’s chief growth and strategy officer David Chaplin will be among the speakers at this fall’s 49th Annual Impact Marketing Seminar.
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