In late 2024, Accenture and Nvidia announced a partnership focused on further developing genAI for the manufacturing industries. This partnership between Accenture and Nvidia created the Nvidia Business Group, designed to help manufaturers rapidly scale their AI adoption. The two companies noted that this group will “help clients lay the foundation for agentic AI functionality using Accenture’s AI Refinery, which uses the full Nvidia AI stack — including Nvidia AI Foundry, Nvidia AI Enterprise and Nvidia Omniverse — to advance areas such as process reinvention and AI-powered simulation.”
To further expand its manufacturing and supply chain expertise, Accenture has agreed to acquire Staufen AG, a Germany-based management consulting firm, and its subsidiaries. The focus of this acquisition will be on the discrete manufacturing industries including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial goods and medical equipment.
The acquisition of Staufen marks the latest in a series of strategic investments Accenture has made related to its supply chain and operations capabilities, including Joshua Tree Group and On Process Technology in the U.S., Camelot Management Consultants in Germany, and Flo Group in the Netherlands.
Staufen’s service portfolio includes technologies and services for Industry 4.0, supply chain management and organizational change as well as data-driven tools, continuous improvement techniques and lean management principles. For example, Staufen improved an automotive supplier’s shopfloor management procesess, which made the company’s production, logistics and quality control processes more agile and efficient. Accenture noted that Staufen’s hands-on approach helped foster a culture of collaboration among the workforce, leading to better operational performance and financial results.
Matthias Hégelé, Accenture’s supply chain and operations lead for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, said: “We will combine Staufen’s proven expertise in operational excellence and value chain transformation with our capabilities in digital technologies, such as AI, generative AI, digital twins and supply chain and manufacturing software platforms, to help clients transform their core value chains, improving efficiency and productivity, supporting sustainable practices, and building resilient, autonomous systems.”
With more than 200 professionals in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the U.S., Mexico and Brazil, Staufen’s team will join Accenture’s supply chain and operations practice.
Industrial automation insights from Accenture featured on Automation World:
