Seven industries we study.
Each one runs on facts that change: a unit on the lot, a part at a branch, tonight's menu, a provider's openings, a frame in one color and size. We study where that knowledge is held, where it comes apart, and what a business would need before an AI assistant can repeat it. These are research focus areas, not markets we claim to have proven.
Why these seven
Chosen for the shape of their information, not their size.
In each of them a customer's question turns on a fact that lives in a catalog, an inventory system, a calendar or someone's memory, rarely on the website. The evidence is uneven. Automotive has a recorded agent email and a published survey figure; optical retail has no recorded observation yet. Each brief says which is which.
The seven areas.
- 01AutomotiveCar dealerships and the automotive aftermarket
Vehicles are bought by exact configuration and parts by fitment. We study whether that detail survives the trip from a dealer's or parts seller's systems into an AI assistant's answer.
- 02Building materialsManufacturers, suppliers, distributors and dealers of building products and equipment
Products sold against a specification, through a chain of companies. We study how specs, approvals, documents and territories could be held so an assistant can tell what fits a project and who quotes it.
- AI agents are coming for B2B product discoveryPlanned
- Field Research 001: D.W. Ross CompanyField research
- 03Industrial distributionIndustrial and MRO distributors; electrical, HVAC and plumbing supply houses
Parts identified by number, nameplate or spec, stocked by branch. We study part identity, stated replacements and branch availability as facts an assistant could repeat without guessing.
- 04RestaurantsRestaurant groups, multi-location operators, breweries, hospitality groups and independents
Facts that change during service: tonight's hours, what's sold out, which tables are open. We study how location, menu and operational truth could stay straight across every copy.
- 05Medical aestheticsMed spas and aesthetic practices, from one location to a regional group
A front desk that knows which provider does what, what needs a consultation first, and where Saturday has room. We study which of those facts an assistant may answer, and where the clinical line sits.
- 06Vehicle and equipment dealersRV, boat, powersports, farm equipment and construction equipment dealers
Units that aren't cars: floorplans, hours per engine, attachments, rental status. We study what breaks when a car inventory model meets RVs, boats, side-by-sides, tractors and excavators.
- 07Optical retailOptical retailers, eyewear distributors and frame brands
Every frame is a set of versions, each with its own code, measurements and stock. We study how frame data that already moves between optical systems could answer one shopper about one store.
How to read a brief
Three labels, on every claim.
Every brief follows the same order: what the industry knows, where those facts live, what the customer or the agent is trying to decide, the evidence, Lehvel's current work with its status, and what it suggests for Business Truth.
- Observed
- Seen and recorded, with its source and date: a published study, a vendor's own release, or Lehvel's fieldwork.
- Hypothesis
- What we expect, stated so it can be checked. Not measured yet.
- Future scenario
- Something that could happen later. Described so its preconditions are visible, not predicted.