Pernod Ricard overcame pandemic-induced challenges and improved their supply chain management from reactive to proactive with real-time visibility from project44.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains, Pernod Ricard—a global leader in premium spirits with brands like Absolut, Jameson, and Beefeater London—faced a moment of truth. Containers carrying valuable products were vanishing into the complexity of global shipping networks, leaving the company scrambling to maintain control of their operations.
Pernod Ricard operates a complex network composed of brand companies that produce spirits and wines, and market companies that manage distribution across regions. This web of activity relies on numerous third-party transporters moving products along global routes.
The pandemic exposed critical gaps in shipping visibility, underscoring the necessity for advanced supply chain management for future resilience.
The Challenge
Pernod Ricard’s supply chain teams were operating in a constant state of reactive management. Analysts spent hours each day navigating various carrier websites gathering data to manually update spreadsheets with shipment statuses. This time-consuming process left little room for strategic planning or proactive management.
The absence of reliable visibility led to a cascade of challenges. Inventory planning grew difficult with unpredictable arrival times, cost inefficiencies escalated with delays and expedited shipments, and communication breakdowns among brand and market companies, carriers, and freight forwarders stalled performance verification and rapid response to issues.
The breaking point came when teams realized it was investing most of its resources in firefighting rather than prevention, prompting Pernod Ricard to seek a forward-thinking solution.
The Solution
Pernod Ricard’s leadership recognized that it needed more than just a tracking solution—it needed a comprehensive digital transformation of their global supply chain operations. Pernod Ricard chose to partner with project44 to address immediate operational needs and lay groundwork for future improvements. project44 delivered:
- Multimodal shipment visibility (Ocean, FTL)
- Seamless visibility across intermodal moves
- Predictive end-to-end ETAs
- Instant connection to many of their global carriers who were already in the p44 network
- Historical carrier performance insights
The technology tailored to Pernod Ricard’s unique requirements fostered collaboration across their complex global operations, including:
- Supply chain team: tracking shipments and planning for disruptions
- Customer team: fielding updates and questions
- Brand companies: managing carrier relationships and analyze performance
- Market companies: leveraging the data for planning and warehouse management
- Financial teams: utilizing the platform for revenue recognition and cash flow management
project44 had the biggest network of carriers at the moment. They can provide intermodal visibility, which is not the case of some other real-time visibility providers.
Laura Gonzalez Gutierrez
Digital Supply Chain Manager
The Impact
With project44, Pernod Ricard improved its supply chain management. Within the first year, it achieved:
01
Efficiency gains
Planners saved approximately 3 hours per week, redirecting time from data entry to strategic initiatives.
02
Enhanced collaboration
Improved transparency with carriers enabled more productive conversations about performance and service levels.
03
Improved financial forecast accuracy
Financial teams leveraged the platform’s data for more accurate revenue recognition and cash flow management. Knowing the precise arrival times of containers at ports of discharge, in accordance with the Incoterms agreed upon with clients, greatly enhanced the accuracy of financial forecasts and operations.
04
Proactive crisis management
Enhanced data quality and quantity facilitated superior disruption response, as demonstrated during the Red Sea crisis, where Pernod Ricard could swiftly identify and reroute impacted shipments.
With project44, we could see if carriers were still routing through the Red Sea against our instructions. If we didn’t have project44, it would’ve been more difficult to be aware of what’s really happening.
Laura Gonzalez Gutierrez
Digital Supply Chain Manager
Looking ahead
Pernod Ricard’s ongoing collaboration with project44 exemplifies a comprehensive supply chain transformation that extends beyond basic visibility solutions to foster a competitive, high-velocity supply chain.
Key to their success is that Pernod Ricard now requires project44 connectivity from new transport partners, viewing it as essential infrastructure rather than an optional add-on. Looking ahead, the company continues to expand its use of project44’s capabilities, including increasingly automating data flows into systems like ERP and Anaplan to reduce manual tasks and focus on strategic priorities.
