Artificial intelligence doesn’t have the potential to change hospitality – it’s already doing so. Ordermentum CEO Adam Theobald reveals how his business is hyper focused on the next generation of technology for the industry.
It’s almost impossible to work through any given day without hearing about how artificial intelligence (AI) is influencing the world. The hospitality industry is far from immune to any impacts it may have, and the team at Ordermentum are gearing up for what it means for the sector.
With more than 46,000 venues and 1000 suppliers using the platform, Ordermentum has helped lead the digitisation charge in what has, traditionally, been a slow, error-prone, and manual task of supply wholesale ordering.
The platform is now looking to accelerate change in Australia’s hospitality sector through the application of AI, with CEO Adam Theobald convinced of the business’ responsibility to guide its partners into this new technological era.
“There has never been a more seismic shift to hit the global economy than AI. I’m bullish it will positively transform our industry,” says Adam.
“Over the past 10 years, we’ve been given a lot of trust by the industry to help them digitise, but now we have a huge responsibility to partner and educate our suppliers and venues as the next wave of tech breaks.
“We have shifted focus to AI within our own business, the industry, and the world at large. We feel a real obligation to build our product and to educate our customers – because we believe the right implementation of AI will lend to a more sustainable and more economically viable industry.”
How does that education happen, though? It would be easy for Adam and the Ordermentum team to jump on the phone to explain new features and technologies to customers, but that’s not their style.
Instead, they’ve embarked on what they have called the F&B Leaders After Hours tour around Australia, where they’re getting their boots on the ground and meeting face-to-face with their customers.
“We love travelling around the country to meet, connect, and learn from our customers,” says Adam. “We want to bridge any fear around new technology. Every event is such a fun, interesting opportunity to talk about the latest developments and build those crucial relationships that can only be facilitated in person.
“That’s why we’re heavily investing and recruiting in South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland, so that we can connect more deeply with our customers where they are.”
Ordermentum has been leaning into the AI revolution through the rolling out of a range of features for its customers. Omni, a new tool for suppliers that automatically pulls off-platform orders into Ordermentum, is the jewel in the crown.
“It’s flying off the proverbial shelf – and people are excited, not fearful. When we give suppliers a trial, they see how life-changing it is.”
He points to a case study in Victoria that indicates Omni’s influence on a long-term customer.
“A business in Melbourne realised they had enough ordering and payments admin to fulfil two to three full-time jobs. Now, with Ordermentum, they’ve managed to spin that round so their customers place orders themselves and payments are done automatically. And instead of reducing headcount, they’ve pivoted that resource to customer service” says Adam.
“They’re a hugely successful business and they keep growing, which is exactly why they needed efficiency. However, they still have certain customers who can’t or won’t use the platform because of their own internal systems and processes.
“This business decided to use Omni for the 10 to 20 per cent of their venues that aren’t on Ordermentum, which has saved them 30 hours per month in manual data entry.”
Saving time is important for every kind of business, but is a desperate need for those in hospitality. With the demands of in-person relationships building, and ever-increasing admin, Adam says AI tools are providing much needed support.
“Another AI tool we offer is helping suppliers to build product descriptions in fantastic ways, while another is helping with credit scoring and understanding risk across their customers. Lastly, there’s the pricing insights tool that helps them understand what is overpriced and what is underpriced,” he says.
Other AI features are being rolled out – or are under development – but Adam says the creation of these depend on what’s underneath the surface.
“It’s really all in our data. Our job is to use that data to create amazing features that will revolutionise commercial outcomes of the businesses that we serve. Essentially, we see ourselves as working in tandem with our customers to keep evolving our platform – so they can keep evolving.”
This desire to deliver the best experience for venues and suppliers has been a foundational value of Ordermentum’s, and Adam says those 11 years of experience and rapid scaling prove the benefits for those that use the platform.
“There are some great people doing great things in this space, but a few things make us different. First, our size. It took six years for the first billion dollars of goods to be sold through our platform, but the last billion took just seven-and-a-half months,” he says.
“The other difference is we don’t have one customer. We have two. We design a product that is fantastic for the supplier and fantastic for the venue, whereas a lot of platforms will just focus on one side.
“But both sides of the hospitality industry are so integral to our economy and culture. That’s why we’re hyper focused on the AI and tech solutions that will allow venues and suppliers to flourish the way they deserve to.”
For more information, visit ordermentum.com.au
This article appears in the October 2025 edition of BeanScene. Subscribe HERE.
