Accenture will acquire DI Square’s consulting capabilities for PLM and ALM systems integration — strengthening the engineering expertise of its Industry X group for automotive and other manufacturing clients. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has entered into an agreement with DI Square to acquire the company’s consulting capabilities for product lifecycle management (PLM) and application lifecycle management (ALM) systems integration. The acquisition will expand Accenture’s engineering expertise for automotive and other manufacturing clients in Japan and other markets. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Manufacturing companies must digitize not just the enterprise but their entire operating value chains”

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Accenture will acquire DI Square’s PLM and ALM-related know-how and client contracts as well as take on approximately 70 DI Square professionals. They will join Accenture’s Industry X group in Japan, which helps clients digitize their core operations including the design, development, manufacturing and servicing of smart connected products.

DI Square’s capabilities will enable Accenture to build systems and solutions that can optimize and integrate clients’ engineering processes end-to-end, from conceptual design through to integration, operation and maintenance. The combination with Accenture’s artificial intelligence and Digital Twin expertise will help manufacturing clients become more productive and competitive. For example, many automotive companies are facing efficiency challenges in product development as intelligent vehicle functionality adds more and increasingly sophisticated software to cars, dramatically driving complexity in engineering.

“Manufacturing companies must digitize not just the enterprise but their entire operating value chains,” said Shinichiro Kohno, managing director and lead for Accenture Industry X in Japan. “The capabilities we will acquire from DI Square will expand our expertise for PLM and ALM, which are at the intersection of engineering and manufacturing. Manufacturers have a growing need for help in these areas and we want to be their partner of choice for a comprehensive digital transformation of core operations that applies the power of data and digital to support sustainability, productivity and growth.”

DI Square’s capabilities for PLM and ALM solutions and advanced engineering include 3D computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), modular design and model-based systems engineering (MBSE). The company is a well-known implementation partner for PLM solutions from Dassault Systèmes, one of Accenture’s strategic alliance partners. Dassault Systèmes solutions are widely adopted among Japanese manufacturers including automotive companies, which set particularly strict QCD (quality, cost and delivery) standards.

Accenture and DI Square will also look to establish an ongoing alliance to streamline clients’ acquisition of software licenses and hardware as part of implementing their PLM and ALM solutions.

The acquisition of DI Square’s PLM capabilities is the latest in a number of investments Accenture has made to strengthen its Industry X capabilities globally. Most recently, Accenture announced its agreement to acquire umlaut, an engineering and consulting services firm, headquartered in Germany. Other examples include operations technology provider Electro 80 (Australia), industrial robotics and automation service provider Pollux (Brazil), operations consultancy Myrtle (US) and technology consultancy SALT Solutions (Germany).

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