Accenture has acquired Blue Yonder partner REPL Group, a U.K.-based technology consultancy specializing in supply chain, workforce management, store operations, and retail customer experience solutions. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
This is deal number 156 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021.
The deal reinforces continued opportunities in the retail vertical market, where businesses of all sizes have aggressively shifted toward online sales, mobile applications, curbside pickup, and other easy-to-consume services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Both Accenture and REPL have close partnerships with Blue Yonder, a digital supply chain software provider. REPL, founded in 2007, is headquartered in Henley-In-Arden, U.K., with additional offices in London, Warwick and Leeds in the U.K. as well as in the U.S., South Africa and Germany. REPL’s team of approximately 440 professionals will tuck into Accenture Technology.
Accenture Acquisition Activity
REPL is the latest in a growing list of acquisitions Accenture has made in the U.K. In February, Accenture acquired SAP partner Edenhouse and Infinity Works, a cloud and digital transformation consultancy that works with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Snowflake data cloud.
This is the fourth acquisition that Accenture has disclosed in the past three business days. The other deals involved buying:
Cirrus, a leadership and talent consultancy;
GRA, a supply chain and logistics consulting firm in Australia; and
Pollux, a provider of industrial robotics and automation solutions.
Moreover, Accenture has made more than 60 acquisitions since 2019. The deals typically involve digital transformation, big data analytics, cloud, cybersecurity, and MSSP buyouts.
In a prepared statement about the deal, Doug Blyth, a managing director at Accenture Technology in the U.K. and Ireland, said:
“With COVID-19 permanently disrupting the retail landscape, businesses need technology more than ever to embrace change and deliver products to customers where and when they want them,” said . “With REPL now part of Accenture, we have significantly grown our capabilities to help clients reimagine their supply chains, people, and store technologies to become more efficient and meet new customer needs.”
Added Mike Callender, REPL’s founder, and chairman:
“Accenture and REPL are greatly aligned with a complementary set of retail and supply chain capabilities. Being part of Accenture will provide fantastic opportunities for our people and our clients as we combine our expertise, people-first approach and passion with Accenture’s end-to-end transformational capabilities and global reach. We’re thrilled to come together to take technology-led transformation to the next level for our clients.”
Concluded Kris Timmermans, who leads Accenture’s Supply Chain & Operations practice globally:
“As companies reimagine how products are distributed to be more flexible and meet ever-changing demand, they need customer-centric supply chains that are resilient, efficient and responsible. The addition of REPL will extend our skilled workforce and ability to support clients in their digital supply chain transformation journeys, enabling Accenture to further deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity.”
Sourced from Channel e2e - written by Joe Panettieri