Accenture and Siemens launch 7,000-strong unit to transform manufacturing with AI

Accenture and Siemens are creating a significant industrial partnership that combines their respective strengths in technology and consulting. Their new joint business unit, staffed by 7,000 professionals worldwide, aims to transform manufacturing through AI-supported engineering and software-defined factories. This collaboration represents a major strategic move to accelerate industrial digitalization, with early projects already demonstrating substantial cost savings through digital twins and AI-enabled processes.

The big picture: Accenture and Siemens have formed the Accenture Siemens Business Group, a joint business unit employing 7,000 manufacturing and IT professionals globally to develop software-defined products and factories.

• The collaboration leverages Siemens’ Xcelerator portfolio for automation and industrial AI alongside Accenture’s data and AI expertise to help companies redesign their engineering and manufacturing processes.
• The announcement was made at Hannover Messe 2025, signaling a significant expansion of an existing strategic partnership between the two companies.

What they’re saying: Leaders from both companies emphasized the complementary strengths their partnership brings to industrial digitalization efforts.

• Siemens CEO Roland Busch highlighted the combination of “unique capabilities: technology, data access, and strong expertise in software, automation, and industrial AI — and Accenture’s strength, data, and AI in engineering and manufacturing.”
• Accenture CEO Julie Sweet framed the collaboration’s significance by stating that “Engineering and manufacturing mark the next chapter of digitalization.”

Proof of concept: The partners have already demonstrated successful collaborations with two major industrial companies, showcasing tangible benefits of their integrated approach.

• For KION AG, a German manufacturer of materials handling equipment, they standardized engineering processes using Siemens Teamcenter, implementing simulation capabilities, generative AI, and model-based systems engineering.
• At Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, they developed a product development platform using Siemens tools to create digital twins of ships, reducing design and manufacturing costs by 20%.

Key focus areas: The joint business unit will target multiple industries with solutions centered on four main domains.

• Engineering solutions will focus on transforming R&D models, building global engineering centers, and supporting software-defined product development, including the recently introduced software-defined vehicle framework.
• Manufacturing solutions aim to implement and harmonize production control systems, applying IT principles to advance AI-enabled automation.
• The group will offer managed security services to protect operational technology and critical systems from cyber threats.
• Agentic AI development will be prioritized to optimize industrial processes, with plans to help companies create and adapt AI agents for simulation, robotics, and comprehensive management of AI components.

Target industries: The partnership will focus on multiple manufacturing sectors including automotive, electronics, semiconductors, consumer goods, aerospace, mechanical engineering, transportation, and defense.