Paramount Liquor advances its long-term digital vision with a scalable commerce platform.

When Nathan Rowe stepped into the CEO role at Paramount Liquor, the business was already a national force in hospitality. Founded by his parents in their garage in 1992, Paramount grew from a small Melbourne operation into Australia’s largest independently owned on-premise liquor wholesaler. Paramount serves hospitality venues across Australia, from neighbourhood bars and independent restaurants to large pub groups, clubs and festival operators.

But service is what truly sets the business apart. Strong relationships, reliability and a deep understanding of how venues operate have always defined the company.

As Paramount expanded across states, its service promise had to scale with the business. Customers were ordering more frequently, often across multiple venues, with tighter margins and less time. Technology became one part of a broader growth strategy built on national expansion, operational scale, customer relationships, supplier partnerships and internal innovation.

“Service has always mattered most to us,” says Rowe. “As we grew, we needed a digital foundation that could support how our customers and suppliers work every day.”

Every customer, every price, every order.

Paramount manages more than 18,000 products for over 15,000 customers. Each customer operates under unique commercial agreements, meaning every product is priced differently depending on who is logged into the company’s ecommerce platform. That results in more than 250 million individual price points that need to be accurate, visible and delivered instantly while preserving Paramount’s relationship-driven service model.

Under the legacy platform, that complexity surfaced in ways customers could feel. Some relied on phone calls, emails or manual processes for routine orders. Pricing was not always visible when decisions were made, and sales teams spent time resolving orders that should have been straightforward.

“We were asking customers to work around the system instead of the system working around them,” says Rowe.

Rather than rebuild another custom platform, Paramount evaluated enterprise commerce options that could support its pricing model without introducing long-term maintenance risk. Paramount chose Adobe Commerce and worked with Visualr to translate its hospitality vision into a platform built around real venue ordering behaviour.

Mirroring the order process for venues.

Most hospitality venues place predictable weekly orders for next-day delivery. Today, Paramount customers log in and start with personalised ordering templates that mirror what they regularly buy. They can adjust quantities line by line and select delivery days upfront. Prices update immediately based on the customer’s account and commercial terms.

Search and filtering are tuned for speed. Saved lists allow customers to place repeat orders in minutes. Customers can review order history, invoices and live delivery status without calling a sales representative.

With significantly faster page load times, customers can move through large orders without waiting for screens to refresh or prices to recalculate. For time-sensitive orders, that responsiveness turns a slow task into something completed in minutes.

Supporting local producers with an ecommerce marketplace.

As Paramount modernised its core ordering experience, the company also wanted to broaden its range without adding operational strain. Independent producers play a vital role in Australia’s hospitality ecosystem, but traditional wholesale models often make it difficult for smaller suppliers to reach their customers at scale.

Through a custom integration with Mirakl, Paramount introduced a marketplace that brings more than 2,500 additional products from independent breweries, wineries and distilleries into the same buying experience. Customers browse and order everything through one interface. Producers fulfil orders directly without adding complexity to Paramount’s logistics.

“Mirakl allows us to support local producers while expanding choices for venues in a simple way,” says Rowe. “From the customer’s perspective, it all feels like one platform.”

Alongside the marketplace, Paramount introduced a modern supplier portal that gives suppliers a clear, practical interface to manage product information, maintain assets and create targeted promotions aligned to specific venues or customer groups. Suppliers gain a unified view of how their products appear, perform and move through the platform. Paramount benefits from reduced administration and a more collaborative supplier experience.

Collectively, these enhancements showcase Paramount’s commitment to supporting the broader hospitality industry, giving venues more choice while helping suppliers participate in a more connected ecosystem.

Adoption driven by trust.

Paramount invested heavily in onboarding and internal enablement to help customers get the most from the new platform. Sales and service teams actively supported the transition, showing venues how online ordering could save time, reduce errors and give them better visibility of pricing, promotions, stock and delivery.

Today, 96% of Paramount customers place orders online. That adoption has delivered measurable impact across the business by reducing manual handling, cutting errors and freeing sales and service teams to spend more time on growth, customer support and supplier collaboration.

“Customers moved online because the experience was faster, clearer and gave them more control over their orders every week,” says Rowe.

Moving forward, Paramount plans to integrate AI capabilities to optimise search results and deliver product recommendations based on current and previous onsite behaviour.

“We see AI-powered search and personalisation as critical to modern digital experience,” says Rowe. “Our strategy is centred on a seamless, intelligent commerce experience that supports intentional purchasing and product discovery.”

Growth built on continuity.

Paramount’s growth from a $70 million Melbourne-based business in 2018 to a $700 million national leader today reflects years of deliberate business building across national expansion, operations, customer relationships, supplier partnerships and internal innovation. With the business on track to reach $1 billion by 2028, Adobe Commerce now supports the next stage of that journey with a scalable foundation for complex B2B ordering, real-time pricing and supplier collaboration.

“Our team’s strategic work, supported by Adobe Commerce and Visualr’s technical expertise, is helping us deliver better service, support the hospitality industry and keep raising the standard for B2B commerce in Australia,” says Rowe.