Key facts
- Unilever is partnering with Accenture to implement AI-powered digital twins.
- The plan involves building over 40 digital twins in the next 18 months.
- Digital twins are virtual replicas of factory equipment and production lines.
- AI will be used to monitor, simulate, and predict performance.
- The initiative aims to improve efficiency, quality, and sustainability.
- Early deployments have shown reductions in waste and quality defects.
Consumer goods giant Unilever is collaborating with Accenture to deploy over 40 AI-powered digital twins across its global manufacturing network within the next 18 months. This initiative aims to enhance efficiency, quality, and sustainability in factory operations.
Digital twins are virtual replicas of factory equipment and production lines that utilize live data from physical systems for monitoring, simulation, and performance prediction. By integrating these models with AI-powered insights and agentic capabilities, Unilever seeks to enable factory teams to identify issues earlier, simulate scenarios more rapidly, and make better-informed decisions.
Adam Raeburn-James, global vice president for digital business operations at Unilever, stated that scaling AI across operations represents a commitment to superior products, sustainability, and empowering factory teams. Accenture is assisting in deploying industrial AI capabilities, including advanced analytics and AI agents, to predict maintenance needs, improve performance, and expedite corrective actions, with potential for future automation under human oversight.
Unilever has already seen tangible benefits from digital twins in several factories. At its Raeford facility in North Carolina, a digital twin predicted 95% of process flow restrictions in deodorant production, leading to a 20% reduction in waste and a 10% increase in capacity. In India, an energy twin at the Haldia factory optimized thermal energy consumption, while at the Gandhidham plant, a digital twin reduced quality defects in Dove soap by 30% over four years. Other applications include waste reduction in mayonnaise production in Poland and optimizing ingredient use in Vietnam, yielding savings of 1-2% in premium raw materials.
Nicole van Det, CEO of Accenture Netherlands and Nordics, noted Unilever's early investment in AI and its standard-setting approach. This partnership builds on Unilever's broader AI integration efforts, including its AI Horizon3 Lab in Toronto, and its recognition by the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network.