Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits announced July 7 that it is restructuring its commercial service model across its U.S. network, a move expected to result in a net reduction of about 1% of the beverage alcohol distributor’s U.S. workforce.

The Miami- and Dallas-based company said the changes are intended to better align its business with shifting market trends and customer engagement patterns. The new model, effective immediately, will service certain independent customers through a hybrid approach that combines field sales, inside sales and digital commerce.

Southern Glazer’s said it has designated an additional 1% of its independent customer base to be served by a redesigned inside sales team, now called the Customer Solutions Team, along with the company’s Proof Commerce platform. The distributor said the model is designed to support certain independent customers with transactions, consultative selling and digital commerce tools.

The company said the changes will affect a portion of its U.S. commercial workforce, while adding that it intends to place as many impacted employees as possible into open roles currently available across the organization.

“The marketplace is clearly signaling us to think differently about how we operate and best serve a portion of independent customers,” Southern Glazer’s President and CEO Wayne E. Chaplin said in the announcement. “We are redirecting our resources where the business is moving and towards areas of growth, all while listening to our customers and individual markets to satisfy their needs and using AI to help us adapt to a changing market.”

Chaplin added that the hybrid approach is intended to create a more responsive customer support model while improving earning opportunity and retention for Southern Glazer’s commercial sales organization.

The announcement comes about five months after Southern Glazer’s confirmed a separate workforce reduction affecting just over 1% of employees. That February reduction primarily impacted corporate and back-office functions and was part of a broader effort to align resources with the company’s “2030 Vision” strategy.

Southern Glazer’s describes itself as the world’s preeminent total beverage distributor. The family-owned company has operations in 47 U.S. markets and Canada, along with brokerage operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America.