Accenture acquires German engineering firm to build digitalization abilities
Deal to buy Umlaut is company’s 23rd acquisition since 2017 in pursuit of “Industry X” growth.
Consulting firm Accenture is continuing to expand its manufacturing and supply chain expertise through a flurry of acquisitions, saying today that it has bought a German engineering consulting firm to boost its ability to meet accelerating demand to apply the power of data and digital tools to the design, engineering, and manufacturing of products.
New York-based Accenture bought Aachen, Germany-based umlaut in a move to better help companies use digital technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and 5G (fifth generation) wireless networks.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the move will add more than 4,200 engineers and consultants across 17 countries to Accenture’s payroll and expand its reach into the automotive, aerospace & defense, telecommunications, energy, and utility sectors.
The purchase follows 22 acquisitions Accenture has made since 2017, including operations technology provider Electro 80 (Australia), industrial robotics and automation services provider Pollux (Brazil), operations consultancy Myrtle (U.S.), and technology consultancy SALT Solutions (Germany).
Together, those deals will build the company’s “Industry X” capabilities, which Accenture defines as a combination of its data and digital capabilities with its growing engineering expertise to help clients to digitize their engineering functions, factory floors, and plant operations. Accenture says it is building Industry X at a time when software increasingly determines the market success of platforms, products, and services across industries that require intelligence to be embedded.
“Bringing world-class digital engineering and manufacturing expertise to our clients helps them rapidly scale, accelerate growth, improve productivity and safety, and embed sustainability across their operations,” Nigel Stacey, global lead of Accenture Industry X, said in a release. “From consumers to R&D to the supply chain and factory floor, and back again, companies that use the power of data and digital to build value will become — and remain — relevant, resilient, and responsible.”