If you follow the tech news cycle, you’d think Artificial Intelligence is mostly about deepfakes, writing poetry, or creating existential crises for high school English teachers. But if you look at the companies actually making money and improving their margins, the reality is much more delicious, and it looks a lot like a Krispy Kreme.

A recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted how Krispy Kreme is navigating a tricky season. While their revenue dipped as they closed some underperforming locations, they are leaning heavily into AI. But here is the kicker, they aren't using AI to dream up a "cyber-glazed" flavor or replace the person at the counter with a holographic projection. They are using it for the unsexy, high-impact back-office stuff that actually keeps a business alive.

They are using AI for demand planning and route management.

Krispy Kreme has a very specific problem. Doughnuts have a shelf life shorter than a TikTok trend. If you make too many, you throw money in the trash. If you make too few, you leave money on the table. Their "Hub and Spoke" model depends on getting fresh doughnuts from the big production shops (the Hubs) to the smaller kiosks and grocery stores (the Spokes) exactly when people want them.

Enter AI. By analyzing massive amounts of data, the system predicts exactly how many doughnuts a specific grocery store in a specific neighborhood will sell on a rainy Tuesday. Then, it optimizes the delivery routes to ensure the trucks spend less time in traffic and more time delivering.

This isn't flashy. You can’t put a picture of a "route optimization algorithm" on an Instagram ad and expect a million likes. But you can put the savings from that algorithm directly onto your bottom line. This is the shift from "AI for show" to "AI for dough."

Most businesses approach AI with a "Solution in Search of a Problem" mindset. They see a cool tool and ask, "How can we use this?" That is the fastest way to blow a budget and end up with a pile of software that nobody knows how to use.

The Krispy Kreme approach is the opposite. They identified a massive cost center (waste and logistics) and looked for a tool to fix it.

One of the biggest hurdles for any mid-sized to large business is the sheer volume of "noise" in the marketplace. Every vendor claims they have the "best" AI or the "most secure" network. It is exhausting.

The practical move is to flip the conversation. Instead of starting with tools, start with outcomes, then work backward: what is slowing you down, what is creating risk, and what is costing more than it should.

Zoller Consulting LLC, powered by OTG Consulting, fits into that approach as a vendor-neutral technology broker and advisor. We help businesses compare real options, so decisions are based on fit, budget, and measurable impact, not hype or sales pressure.

When we talk about AI at otgai.ai, we keep it grounded, practical automation that supports the business, whether that shows up in security workflows, network reliability, or smarter use of cloud resources.

You can’t run a world-class AI strategy on a second-class network. To get the kind of real-time insights Krispy Kreme is getting, you need a rock-solid foundation, reliable connectivity, predictable performance, and security that does not become the bottleneck.

The goal is not “more infrastructure.” It is right-sized, scalable, efficient infrastructure that supports the work you actually do. That usually means a straightforward mix of secure networking, modern communications, and cloud choices that are budget-friendly today and sustainable a year from now.

The lesson from Krispy Kreme is simple. Don't get distracted by the "hole" in the AI hype, the parts that look interesting but offer nothing of substance. Focus on the "doughnut," the solid, practical applications that improve your margins, protect your data, and streamline your operations.

Technology should be an investment that pays dividends, not a cost that requires constant feeding. Whether you are looking to optimize your logistics like a national doughnut chain or you just want to make sure your remote team can access their files securely without the "spinning wheel of death," we are here to help.

You don't need more sales pitches. You need a broker who knows the landscape and can point you toward the solutions that actually work. Let’s find your practical AI win and get your business moving faster.

Ray Zoller is President of Zoller Consulting LLC in the Denver, Colorado Metropolitan Area. He is a vendor-neutral technology broker/advisor.