Essity Partners with Accenture and Microsoft to Enhance AI Adoption

On November 11, 2025, Essity, a global leader in hygiene and health, announced a significant collaboration with Accenture and Microsoft aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI agents within its operations. This initiative is designed to unlock value and drive efficiencies, positioning Essity to enhance its business agility in a rapidly evolving market.

The partnership will unfold over several years at Essity’s newly established AI Centre of Excellence. By leveraging Accenture’s top-tier cloud, data, and AI experts, alongside Microsoft’s advanced technologies—such as Azure, Copilot Studio, and Power Platform—the companies will create a robust, cloud-based technology platform. This infrastructure will enable Essity to test and scale AI solutions across its core business processes, with an initial focus on procurement and finance operations.

Carl-Magnus Månsson, Essity’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, emphasized the importance of this collaboration: “To accelerate value generation for our consumers, customers and our employees, we are collaborating with Accenture and Microsoft to access strong industry, functional, technical and product expertise, crucial for ensuring we have the agility to move as the market does.” He highlighted the goal of embedding data and AI into Essity’s core processes while adhering to ethical and compliant practices aligned with the company’s core values.

The initial phase of this collaboration will involve cross-functional teams that will continuously test and improve procurement and finance operations. This iterative process is expected to lay the groundwork for a broader application of AI throughout Essity’s business functions. The ultimate aim is to reinvent end-to-end business processes and explore new pathways for value and growth.

Patrik Malm, managing director at Accenture and the lead on this initiative, remarked on the transformative potential of the partnership: “Essity has taken a bold step forward in realizing its ambition to be a pioneering company in the hygiene and health sector by reinventing key business processes with AI so it can move forward, faster.” He emphasized the multi-disciplinary expertise that Accenture and Microsoft bring to the table, which will facilitate collaborative innovation and co-creation.

Sophia Wikander, CEO of Microsoft Sweden, noted the pivotal role of AI in modern business: “We’re operating in a transformative era of AI, where the ability to test, observe, shape, and scale solutions rapidly is evolving.” She expressed confidence that the collaboration would empower Essity to reimagine its core operations and achieve new levels of agility and value.

Essity is recognized globally as a leading hygiene and health company, with its products and solutions serving over a billion people daily. Operating in approximately 150 countries, Essity boasts a diverse portfolio of brands, including TENA and Tork, and generated net sales of around SEK 146 billion (EUR 13 billion) in 2024. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Essity is committed to breaking barriers to well-being for consumers, patients, caregivers, and society.

Accenture is a global professional services company that partners with leading enterprises to reinvent their operations through digital transformation and artificial intelligence. With around 779,000 employees, Accenture aims to be the partner of choice for clients seeking to harness the power of technology and human ingenuity. The firm offers a wide range of services, including strategy, consulting, technology, and operations, with a focus on delivering 360° value for all stakeholders.

This collaboration between Essity, Accenture, and Microsoft represents a strategic move towards a more agile and innovative future, leveraging cutting-edge AI capabilities to enhance productivity and drive growth in the hygiene and health sector.