Pernod Ricard embarks on AI project to optimise supply chain

Complexica Pty Ltd has announced that it has signed a contract with Pernod Ricard Winemakers for the AI Foundations project, which will deliver advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to various supply chain and production functions within Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

Founded upon the research of several world-renowned computer scientists, Complexica is a provider of AI software applications that can optimise sales, marketing and supply chain decisions, particularly for manufacturers, distributors and retailers characterised by a large SKU range and long tail of customers.

The project is a significant investment for Pernod Ricard, establishing a long-term partnership which will transition the company away from paper, whiteboard and spreadsheet-based systems, towards cloud-based applications for planning, scheduling and push/pull optimisation.

“After conducting an evaluation and assessment process earlier this year, we have selected Complexica as our vendor of choice for our AI Foundations project, which will seek to optimise our business performance, by enhancing decision-making and improving our ways of working, while making work safer for our employees,” said Brett McKinnon, Global Operations Director at Pernod Ricard Winemakers.

“We wanted to partner with an organisation that could provide global thought leadership on applied artificial intelligence — particularly in areas such as global optimisation and multi-objective optimisation — and had a deep appreciation of winemaking production processes, and the inherent complexities that exist within supply chains. We found that partner in Complexica and look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

“Optimising supply chain decisions across multiple operating sites and time horizons is a difficult and complex undertaking, but one that can drive significant benefits in areas such as asset utilisation, volume throughput, quality and working capital requirements,” said Matt Michalewicz, CEO of Complexica. “Applying artificial intelligence software to such challenging problems is our core competency as a business, and we look forward to working with Pernod Ricard Winemakers to realise the end-state vision of optimised decision-making across their end-to-end supply chain.”

Image: Matt Michalewicz, CEO of Complexica, with Simon Ekblom, Program Manager of the AI Foundations Project for Pernod Ricard Winemakers.