CIO Leadership Live – Episode Summary

Episode: CIO Shares Strategy for Merging Systems and Scaling AI
Date: December 10, 2025
Host: Lucas Marion (Foundry/Computer World)
Guest: John Frazier, CIO of Parts asap

Overview:

This episode features John Frazier, CIO of Parts asap, discussing the challenges and strategies involved in merging 23 companies, integrating disparate IT systems, and scaling the use of AI throughout the organization. The conversation centers on digital transformation, change management, practical use of AI, and innovations in customer experience for the industrial, agricultural, and construction parts sector.

Key Topics & Discussion Points

1. Merging 23 Companies: IT Challenges & Change Management

• Scale of Merger:
  Parts asap was formed through the merger of 23 regional companies with different IT backgrounds.
  • “Been quite busy last couple years bringing in great talent, great products, starting with the Midwest and expanding now all through North America.” (B, 00:33)
• System Integration Complexity:
  • Some companies shared ERP systems, but significant customization made integration complex.
  • Certain businesses had highly specialized, custom-built ERPs — “They spent 20 years curating this down to eliminating every single button click. Those don't go quite as well.” (B, 01:15)
• Change Management:
  • Transparency and customer focus are core to driving successful mergers:
    • “You start with a good culture. You start with being transparent with the employees and with the customers about what's happening. And you work through it together.” (B, 01:26)
    • On earning trust: “You bring some quick wins, you bring some efficiency, and then people begin to trust. And now you're... bringing them along on the journey.” (B, 01:53)

2. AI Strategy: 'Crawl, Walk, Run' Approach

• Pragmatic Approach to AI:
  • Avoids deploying AI just for buzz; instead, aims to augment, not replace, existing processes.
    • “You have to make sure that when you're going after something like AI, you can't just use it for the buzzword. You have to bake it into your existing strategy, bake it into your existing use cases.” (B, 02:41)
• Early Use Cases:
  • AI-driven product pricing suggestions, with humans making ultimate decisions:
    • “AI be a contributing factor to a human still making that decision on pricing...kind of crawling and walking before we're completely handing off everything over to AI.” (B, 03:31)
• Guarded by Experience:
  • On risks of over-automation: Host references “AI self-preservation tendencies,” highlighting the need for oversight. (A, 03:57)

3. Scaling IT Systems Amidst Growth & Diversity

• Hybrid Platforms Philosophy:
  • Not striving for a single platform for all; instead, using “the right amount of platforms” based on operational requirements.
    • “We're not afraid to have more than one operational platform today...So it's not 23, but it's also not one.” (B, 04:34)
    • “If you try to be all things to all people, you're going to be a jack of all trades and an expert in nothing.” (B, 05:04)
• Unified Customer View:
  • Despite multiple back-end platforms, Parts asap integrates customer data for a single 360-degree view:
    • “We have a 360 view of all of our customers…But...trying to do that all in one platform just hasn't been successful in my experience.” (B, 05:58–06:42)

4. Deploying AI and Emerging Tech: Experimentation & Modularity

• Pilot & Modular Adoption:
  • Frazier prefers early experimentation but keeps AI tools loosely coupled, enabling rapid vendor swaps:
    • “We’re leveraging AI...to build enhanced product descriptions for us...Now the humans in our world are simply approving, disapproving or editing that content.” (B, 07:28)
    • “We've changed [the AI engine] five times. And we're okay to change it another five times until we find the best possible partner.” (B, 09:18)
• Avoiding Deep Dependency:
  • Using AI as a commoditized service prevents lock-in and enhances flexibility.

5. Enhancing the Customer Experience Online

• E-Commerce Stability & Ecosystem:
  • Relies on established platforms (vs. building from scratch); augments with modules for marketing, automation, advertising, and customer engagement.
    • “Building a collection of modules and tools around it is key...Being able to provide the right amount of data there to also make sure that we're providing relevant advertisements to our customers.” (B, 09:47)
• High-Stakes, Needs-Based Marketing:
  • Digital touchpoints matter because downtime for customers is costly (“$1,000 a day that I'm not going to be able to make because my piece of equipment is down.”) (B, 10:34)

6. Product Data, Marketplace Challenges & Continuous Innovation

• SKU and Marketplace Complexity:
  • 250,000+ SKUs, 2 million special order parts, and multiple sales channels each with unique requirements.
    • “On a single product...we might have 20 different variations on that title to meet the character limits of ebay or the brand limitations of Amazon.” (B, 12:34)
• Internal Feedback Loops:
  • Success comes from constant iteration with business units—listening, implementing feedback, and innovating.
    • “It takes a village...it's also the processes around it...and a really nice feedback loop from them that says this was a challenge today. How can you make it faster?" (B, 12:57)

7. Future Use of AI in Forecasting & Procurement

• Current Focus:
  • Using AI today mainly for pricing and product data; acknowledges opportunities for future use in forecasting and procurement, but existing sophisticated algorithms and logistical coordination suffice for now.
    • “We really think our biggest opportunity today...is to start with the pricing and to start with our product data enhancement. Shortly thereafter is going to be our forecasting...but that one's more 2026 and beyond." (B, 13:59)
• Business-Driven Prioritization:
  • Emphasizes private equity focus on ROI and stepwise AI adoption.

8. The Future of Industrial Tech & AI

• Eyes on AI’s Disruptive Potential:
  • AI will fundamentally change jobs and processes across IT, service, supply chain, and beyond:
    • “Everybody from graphic designers to our SKU team, to our product team, to our pricing team, they have to start thinking, how am I going to leverage AI to continue to do my job and not see AI as the enemy?” (B, 15:54)
    • Envisions a future where AI can create custom instructional videos on demand by simply recognizing the customer’s part and product. (B, 16:25)
• Continuous Innovation Required:
  • “If you don't, you're going to get left behind.” (B, 16:54)

9. Personal Moment – Favorite Tech Gadget

• Starlink Mini Satellite:
  • Frazier’s go-to for balancing remote work and personal downtime in the wilderness:
    • “My favorite gadget is my Starlink mini satellite...I was able to attend meetings, finalize my board deck, check in with people...then unplug that baby and enjoy the outdoors with my family.” (B, 17:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Getting Buy-in for Change:
  • "If you're transparent, you're open, you tell people that change is coming, then you tell them change is coming again...and then you start to introduce more and more change. And you recognize that you build a little rapport first before you bring in the massive change changes.” (B, 01:53)
• On Sensible AI Deployment:
  • “You have to bake it into your existing strategy, bake it into your existing use cases, and then leverage AI.” (B, 02:41)
• On Platform Philosophy:
  • “If you try to be all things to all people, you're going to be a jack of all trades and an expert in nothing.” (B, 05:04)
• On Flexibility and Vendor Agility:
  • “We've changed it five times. And we're okay to change it another five times until we find the best possible partner.” (B, 09:18)
• On AI Disruption:
  • “I can’t even fully envision it yet. I just know that I have to prepare for it and I need to be forward thinking on all of this. The second we stop or start to resist…is going to put people in the same predicament that they were in when they wanted to stay on paper when everybody was moving to digital.” (B, 15:35)
• On Listening as CIO:
  • “It’s the team. I came into this organization because of the culture, because of the listen first, act later type mentality.” (B, 18:53)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Topic | Timestamp | |---------|-------|-------------| | Intro & Company Formation | About Parts asap’s origins | 00:03–00:33 | | Merging Systems & Change Management | Integration strategies | 00:46–01:53 | | Role of AI | Practical AI strategy | 02:33–03:57 | | Scaling Operations | Platform and architecture philosophy | 04:23–06:16 | | AI Implementation Approach | Modular, iterative, flexible adoption | 06:57–09:30 | | Enhancing Customer Experience | E-commerce and marketing tech | 09:38–11:14 | | Marketplace Complexity & Iteration | SKU, data & feedback loops | 11:22–13:26 | | AI for Forecasting | Looking to the future | 13:59–15:23 | | The Future of Tech | AI's impact on jobs and service | 15:28–17:09 | | Personal Tech | Starlink mini satellite | 17:29–18:39 |

Takeaways

• Mergers demand transparency, culture, and staged change.
• AI should be adopted deliberately, always aligned with core business strategy and not just for hype.
• Avoiding single system ‘utopian’ thinking enables tailored operations and pragmatic integrations.
• Modularity and ongoing feedback from business units fuel innovation and operational resilience.
• AI is expected to disrupt roles and customer support — adapt or risk obsolescence.

This rich dialogue offers practical, real-world lessons in leading large-scale IT transformations and sets a blueprint for AI adoption that maximizes current platforms while remaining agile for the future.