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Accenture Acquires Supply Chain and Logistics Consulting Firm GRA

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Accenture has acquired supply chain and logistics consulting firm, GRA of Australia. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is technology M&A deal number 146 that ChannelE2E has covered so far in 2021. See all technology M&A deals for 2021 and 2020 listed here.

GRA, founded in 1997, has offices in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane, and a team of 50 professionals. The firm specializes in end-to-end supply chain and logistics strategies and operations, working in such vertical markets as government, aerospace and defense, and consumer goods.

Accenture Acquisition Activity

This is the third acquisition that Accenture has disclosed today. The other deals involved buying:

  • Cirrus, a leadership and talent consultancy, and
  • Pollux, a provider of industrial robotics and automation solutions.

Accenture has also been very active acquiring Australia- and New Zealand-based businesses over the past 18 months, the company notes. Additional Example deals in the region include:

  • Cloud-native solutions provider Olikka in November 2020;
  • SAP and cloud solutions technology firm Zag in October 2020;
  • data analytics and supply chain management company Icon Integration in February 2020;
  • business strategy and econometrics firm AlphaBeta in February 2020;
  • specialist government consultancy Apis Group in December 2019; and
  • big data and analytics company Analytics8 in August 2019.

Moreover, Accenture has made more than 50 acquisitions overall since 2019. The deals typically involve digital transformation, big data analytics, cloud, cybersecurity and MSSP buyouts.

Accenture Acquires GRA: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the GRA acquisition, Tara Brady, country managing director for Accenture in Australia & New Zealand, said:

“The pandemic has accelerated the need for businesses to transform their supply chains to become more customer-focused, agile, and socially responsible with the flexibility to withstand future disruptions. The addition of GRA will expand our supply chain and operations capabilities to help clients with their transformation to intelligent, customer-centric supply chains supporting profitable growth."

Added Carter McNabb, a founding partner at GRA:

“We are looking forward to starting a new chapter with Accenture and contributing our skills, culture and extensive supply chain capabilities to Accenture’s substantive network of clients and partners. With supply chains across sectors at a pivotal junction, we are confident that this combination will enable both our team and clients to continue to grow and innovate at an accelerated pace.”

Louise May, who leads Strategy & Consulting for Accenture in Australia & New Zealand, said:

“GRA brings deep knowledge and skills in supply chain strategy, planning and execution that complement our existing capabilities, and we are delighted to welcome them to the team. Their successful track record of delivering value across a range of industries is exceptional, and we are excited about the potential and opportunity this combination presents.”

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.