Metcash Expands Coveo AI Partnership for AskRoss Portal

Wholesale distributor Metcash expanded its partnership with Coveo on September 29, 2026, to bring generative artificial intelligence conversational experiences to its AskRoss business-to-business customer communications portal.

The expansion builds on Metcash’s existing deployment of Coveo alongside technology partner Publicis Sapient, with retail general manager Madeleine Fitzpatrick noting the system will allow partners to self-serve routine needs and access support.

Upgrading the AskROSS Merchant Network

Metcash runs supply chains that underpin thousands of independent Australian storefronts, including IGA supermarkets, Mitre 10 hardware outlets and Cellarbrations bottle shops. The updated AskROSS platform allows store owners to query inventory rules, stock availability and operational support in natural language instead of hunting through manual menus.

Support personnel inside Metcash will receive identical conversational search tools within their internal agent interfaces. That setup gives both store owners and backend staff the same reference data during ordering disputes or stock inquiries.

“Retailers can now ask questions in natural language and receive fast, trusted answers that help them make better decisions,” said Madeleine Fitzpatrick, general manager of retail at Metcash.

The Wholesale Shift to Machine Search

Wholesale distribution in Australia operates on thin margins and dense product catalogues. Independent grocers ordering through Metcash deal with tens of thousands of fast-moving consumer goods lines where supply snarls or incorrect pack sizes quickly erode shopkeeper profits.

For independent operators, moving administrative queries from call desks to automated natural language search cuts administrative overhead during peak morning restocking hours. For Metcash, routing routine catalog queries into automated self-service frees internal account teams to focus on commercial contract disputes and wholesale supplier terms.

Integration Across Sorted and Distribution Systems

Publicis Sapient served as the systems integrator on the project, working with Metcash over two years to build the data foundation across the distributor’s commerce architecture. The AskROSS rollout follows an earlier integration of Coveo search tools across Metcash’s digital wholesale marketplace, Sorted.

Competitors across Australasia are making parallel investments to automate merchant portals. Woolworths and Coles have both poured capital into automated supply interfaces and predictive fulfillment systems, forcing Metcash to upgrade its digital interfaces to retain independent supermarket owners who can switch wholesale agreements.

Building Out Enterprise AI Portals

Metcash first integrated Coveo indexing tools into its Sorted marketplace to streamline catalogue searches across thousands of supplier stock keeping units. Expanding that index into merchant communications deepens Metcash’s multi-year digital transformation program across its food and liquor divisions.

The deployment moves next into Metcash’s central support agent network, where internal service desks are scheduled to adopt conversational search assistance across upcoming trading cycles.