The Challenge
Creating a clear strategy for responsible, business-led AI adoption
The Solution
ASI’s AI Kickstarter program aligned leaders around responsible AI adoption
The Results
Business-led governance, 52 initiatives and an actionable AI roadmap
Overview
Independent Liquor Group (ILG) is a member-owned co-operative wholesaling wine, beer and spirits to more than 1,200 member businesses across New South Wales, the ACT, Queensland and Victoria. Supporting liquor stores, hotels, clubs and restaurants, ILG operates five banner groups and three distribution centres through ILG Logistics.
Like many organisations exploring artificial intelligence, ILG could see the opportunity. AI tools were already being used across the business and Microsoft 365 Copilot licences were available to executives. What was missing was a shared understanding of where AI could deliver value, how it should be governed and who should lead its adoption.
To establish those foundations before making further investments, ILG engaged ASI Solutions to complete its AI Kickstarter program. The facilitated program was designed to turn AI interest into an endorsed vision, strong governance foundations and a practical approach to adoption.
Challenge
ILG’s challenge wasn’t a lack of interest in AI. It was that adoption had begun without a deliberate, organisation-wide approach.
There was no endorsed AI vision or documented strategy, no structured proof of concept and no nominated owner for AI governance. While executives had held Microsoft 365 Copilot licences for several months, ILG’s Head of IT observed that most had made limited use of them.
ASI’s AI Accelerator Readiness Index provided an evidence-based view of ILG’s current AI maturity across key areas including vision, governance and adoption. The assessment helped identify opportunities to strengthen alignment across leadership, IT and operational teams, providing a clear starting point for the program.
This highlighted the importance of establishing clear governance alongside growing AI adoption, particularly when working with commercially sensitive information. ILG recognised the opportunity to put the right guardrails in place while creating a more coordinated approach to AI across the business.
ILG needed to move beyond experimenting with individual tools and establish a common executive view of what AI should achieve, how it would be governed and how adoption could be managed sustainably across the organisation.
Solution
ASI delivered the AI Kickstarter as a structured, facilitated program designed to align ILG’s leaders around the opportunities, priorities and foundations for responsible AI adoption.
The program brought together senior leaders, IT stakeholders and operational managers to explore AI from both a business and technology perspective.
The program covered the art of the possible with generative and agentic AI; governance, security and Responsible AI; organisational adoption and AI culture; and the development of ILG’s AI vision, goals and measures of success. Practical demonstrations included Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, Microsoft Copilot Studio and Agent Builder, alongside governance capabilities including Microsoft Purview and SharePoint Advanced Management.
Crucially, the program was not about deploying another technology. It was a facilitated process designed to help ILG determine what it wanted AI to achieve before deciding how technology should be deployed.
During the final stage of the program, ILG’s leadership team defined its AI priorities, including key results, strategic objectives and initiatives, before mapping them across three implementation horizons. Together, this work formed ILG’s AI Strategy on a Page, a practical framework connecting its AI vision with measurable objectives and a clear roadmap for action.
The process also helped ILG articulate a shared vision for AI:
“To responsibly unlock the power of AI to improve how ILG operates, how ILG serves members, and how ILG builds capability for the future.”
Results
The AI Kickstarter gave ILG a structured path from informal AI experimentation towards business-led adoption. The program established five strategic objectives and produced a roadmap of 52 initiatives across three horizons, including 33 initiatives identified for the first six months.
Within three months of the program, ILG had established an AI Steering Committee that had already met twice, with the CEO attending both meetings. Two AI projects using external tools were also underway, while further initiatives including a Copilot Quick Launch, training and agent pilots were being considered.
Just as importantly, AI shifted from being something IT was expected to drive into a broader business initiative. Team members began approaching IT with their own ideas for using AI, while ILG started introducing restrictions around shadow AI ahead of a more governed approach to approved tools.
The Kickstarter gave ILG a written statement of intent, clearer governance and a roadmap for continuing to develop its AI capability responsibly. For Michael Cole, Head of IT at Independent Liquor Group, one of the most significant outcomes was securing business ownership from the outset:
“I think without that Kickstarter program, we probably wouldn’t have established an AI steering committee. I think it would have just become yet another IT project to drive, which I don’t think is right for the scale of what AI is to the business… It’s really got business buy-in from the top down.”
Michael Cole, Head of IT, Independent Liquor Group
Some of the key outcomes include:
AI shifted from an IT project to a business-led initiative
52 initiatives created a structured roadmap across three horizons
Governance foundations support safer, more responsible AI adoption
READY TO TURN YOUR AI AMBITION INTO ACTION?
EXPLORE DATA & AI
