Lion partners with OpenAI
Lion has announced a landmark collaboration to bring artificial intelligence at scale into the alcohol and beverage sector, in the first FMCG partnership in Australia and New Zealand with OpenAI.
In a statement, Lion says it will work with OpenAI to embed AI across Lion’s operations, from manufacturing and supply chain through to retail, marketing and corporate functions. It says this marks a significant step in integrating AI not as a standalone tool, but as a foundational capability reshaping how the business operates, makes decisions and drives growth.
Lion has begun deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across its 2500+ workforce, supported by strong executive sponsorship and leadership engagement. This reflects a deliberate, top-down commitment to embedding AI into day-to-day workflows and accelerating organisation-wide adoption.
Lion says that early use AI cases are already demonstrating tangible value, from optimising days in inventory and unlocking insights from decades of brand data, to exploring new applications across brewing and production and supporting field sales teams. The team is also applying AI to demand forecasting, using more than 500 variables to better predict demand for beer, RTD, wine and spirits.
Lion is also beginning to explore the use of Codex - OpenAI’s agentic coding tool - to enhance productivity and accelerate innovation across its operations. The company has optimised parts of its legacy production code using OpenAI’s tools, in some instances by more than 99%.
“This collaboration with OpenAI is about equipping our people with the tools and capabilities to work smarter, move faster, and continue delivering great products and experiences for our customers,” says Lion Executive General Manager - Digital & Technology Robb Simpson.
“We’re constantly balancing supply and demand in a category where conditions can change overnight. Something as simple as an unexpected spike in temperature can drive a surge in demand for beer and spirits, putting pressure on our supply chain and our customers. That’s why we see significant opportunity in using tools like ChatGPT Enterprise to improve our demand forecasting and ensure we can respond more quickly and accurately in real time.”
Satya Tammareddy, Head of Go-To-Market for Australia & New Zealand at OpenAI says that Lion is a reference case for how AI can be effectively deployed across complex, operational businesses.
