Unilever and Accenture Join Forces to Establish a New Industry Standard in Generative AI-Powered Productivity

September 05, 2024 at 03:29 AM EDT

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has expanded its strategic partnership with Unilever (LON: ULVR) to simplify its digital core and apply generative AI to drive efficiencies and improved business agility.

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Accenture has expanded its strategic partnership with Unilever to simplify its digital core and apply generative AI to drive efficiencies and improved business agility. (Photo: Business Wire)

Announcing this multi-year program, Unilever will work with Accenture to establish the foundation on which to set a new industry standard in gen AI powered productivity. This includes scaling use cases that have shown to be effective in delivering cost reductions and operational efficiencies across the business globally.

Hein Schumacher CEO, Unilever, said, “We have already introduced 500 AI applications across Unilever, helping us to reach new levels of efficiency. But as AI matures and becomes increasingly intelligent and intuitive, we see so much more potential. Now, as part of our action plan to deliver faster growth, drive productivity, and dial up performance, we’re going deeper. With the help of Accenture’s world-class tools and capabilities, we will be able to analyze where and how AI can have the highest transformational impact and deliver the greatest returns.”

Unilever will look to leverage Accenture’s GenWizard platform to accelerate their technology and digital product development. The gen AI platform has more than 350 patents and ready-to-apply tools and frameworks that work together to provide a comprehensive solution for any given technology business objective.

Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture, said, “This next exciting chapter in our decades-long collaboration with Unilever will raise the bar on how enterprises can scale gen AI to power productivity and value at speed. Accenture’s GenWizard platform will enable Unilever to create a full spectrum of targeted gen AI solutions across its business that can realize efficiencies and cost savings, uncover new ways of working and ultimately help drive competitive advantage.”

This collaboration builds on the previously announced effort to explore applications to scale gen AI across Unilever’s business operations. Since then, Unilever has focused efforts on identifying and testing new AI concepts, designs and projects from its “Horizon3 Labs.”

About Unilever

Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Home Care, Nutrition and Ice Cream products, with sales in over 190 countries and products used by 3.4 billion people every day. We have 128,000 employees and generated sales of €59.6 billion in 2023.

For more information about Unilever and our brands, please visit www.unilever.com.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 750,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Forward looking statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, that the partnership might not achieve the anticipated benefits for Accenture, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.