Accenture acquires digital supply chain consultancy REPL

Global advisory giant Accenture has acquired UK-based tech consultancy, REPL. The move comes as Accenture looks to strengthen its capabilities across retail and its linked industries, as clients there look to overhaul their supply chains in the wake of the last year of disruption.

The last 12 months have been a nightmare for retailers – especially those with large bricks and mortar presences on the UK high street. Following the disruption of the lockdown months, it is now clear the pandemic will also have far-reaching consequences for procurement relating to retail, having served as a wakeup call for those with a fragile supply chain, and prompted retailers across the world to examine every step of their global supply chain.

As it look to support clients with this period of adjustment, international advisory Accenture has purchased a technology consultancy specialising in solutions for supply chain, workforce management, store operations and retail customer experiences. The acquisition of REPL, which concludes for an undisclosed fee, expands Accenture’s capabilities that help clients across retail and adjacent industries transform their supply chains and operations and deliver seamless customer and employee experiences.

Doug Blyth, a Managing Director at Accenture Technology in the UK 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… 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.”

Founded in 2007, REPL has four UK offices – including its headquarters in Henley-In-Arden, and additional locales in London, Warwick and Leeds – as well as in the US, South Africa and Germany. Over its 14 years in business, REPL has built deep relationships with key ecosystem partners, including Blue Yonder, and is recognised as a Gold Consulting Partner in Blue Yonder’s Partner network.

440-strong team

REPL’s team of approximately 440 professionals will boost Accenture’s Supply Chain & Operations functional focus to meet demand for Blue Yonder’s cloud-based solutions – for which Accenture was recently recognised as Customer Excellence Global Partner of the Year for supporting clients with customer-centric supply chain transformations.

Mike Callender, REPL’s Founder and Chairman, said, “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.”

Accenture has been steadily building its multi-faceted consulting offering via a sustained campaign of purchases in recent times. REPL is already the fourth acquisition that Accenture has made in the UK in 2021, following the purchase of Cirrus earlier in March, and the beefing up of Accenture’s digital consulting capabilities in the UK with the arrivals of Edenhouse and Infinity Works in February.