Pernod Ricard Winemakers says it will significantly lower its procurement and production costs with an artificial intelligence (AI) system across its business and supply chain operations. The company has enlisted AI specialists Trellis to provide accurate grape yield, quality, harvest timing and procurement cost prediction across Australia and New Zealand.
Pernod Ricard Winemakers (PRW) transformation director Alex Kahl said the company was committed to working with AI companies as it moved into the digital era. For Kahl, it means giving teams the tools to more accurately predict risks, uncover new efficiencies and reimagine the global supply chain.
Trellis will provide rapid data integration, enrichment and development of predictive AI models, and secure desktop and mobile applications to PRW’s viticulture, harvest operation, supply chain, procurement, and wine production teams later this month.
This isn’t PRW’s first foray into AI, in 2019 its AI Foundations project was about moving the company away from paper, whiteboard and spreadsheet-based systems to cloud based applications for planning, scheduling and push/pull optimisation.
That project highlighted the “difficult and complex” task of optimising supply chain decisions across multiple operating sites and time zones.
Trellis launched its AI-powered intelligent platform in 2017 with a focus on the food and beverage sector.
Trellis founder and CEO Ilay Englard said its goal is to build a more sustainable, resilient food supply and demand system. He said: “Traditional food and beverage supply chains are broken and volatile. We work closely with leading food and beverage producers, as well as their upstream suppliers, to identify inefficiencies and provide the real-time data insights needed to strategically transform their organisations.
“Our platform integrates live data from a myriad of dynamic sources throughout the entire food and beverage supply chain to accurately predict quality, yield, timing of harvest and associated expenses to fully optimise unit cost and resources across the entire agrifood value chain.”
Kahl said PRW was impressed by Trellis’ industry experience and proven ability to scale across complex business units and multiple geographies.
PRW COO Brett McKinnon said he expects Trellis will help PRW, “significantly lower our procurement costs and overall production costs, while also ensuring a much more efficient harvest.
“Trellis empowers us to make better, faster decisions by dynamically foreseeing potential risks that could negatively impact our bottom line, as well as providing extra lead time to manage operational challenges. Its advanced AI capabilities will also help our team anticipate fluctuations in supply so we can properly allocate resources.”
PRW is the premium wine division of Pernod Ricard. It's portfolio included Jacob's Creek, Brancott Estate (New Zealand), Campo Viejo (Spain) and Kenwood Vineyards and Mumm Napa (California).
