24.09.2026 • Topics

Why Reinvention Matters for the Chemical Industry

Chemical companies face rising volatility, weak demand and structural challenges. AI-powered reinvention can offer a path to faster growth, lower costs and greater competitiveness by transforming how work gets done.

Bernd Elser, Senior Managing Director, Global Chemicals & Natural Resources Lead, Accenture

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Chemical companies face rising volatility, weak demand, and structural challenges. AI-powered reinvention can offer a path to faster growth, lower costs, and greater competitiveness by transforming how work gets done.

Anyone currently working in the chemical industry is acutely aware of the challenges we face—geopolitical conflict, logistics disruptions, regulatory intervention, and more. The question becomes, how does the industry return to what it does best, innovating, producing and selling, during times of unprecedented change and almost daily disruption. It’s a question that Accenture attempted to answer in our most recent report.

Compounding these external pressures are industry specific challenges including slowdowns in key end markets, overbuilt value chains that are creating supply and demand imbalances, stagnant views on how work should be organized and the looming retirement wave. These circumstances are creating an environment that is making it extremely difficult for chemical companies to return to growth and provide shareholder value.

A Traditional Response to an Untraditional Problem

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