埃森哲 -2026化工行业重塑战略要务研究报告 The reinvention imperative in the chemical industry

Thereinvention

imperativeinthechemicalindustry

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Authors

Dr.BerndElser

SeniorManagingDirector–

GlobalChemicalsandNaturalResourcesLead

LinkedIn

SergeLhoste

ManagingDirector–GlobalChemicalsStrategyLead

LinkedIn

SachinKumarChaudhary

GlobalLead–ChemicalsandNaturalResourcesThoughtLeadership&Research

LinkedIn

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.2

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.3

Thereisnolongerthepredictabiliythat

onceallowedchemicalcompaniestobe

managedthroughannualplanningcycles,staticcostcentersandmanagement

approachesdevelopeddecadesago.

Thespeed,magnitudeandfrequencyofchange,crisesand

disruptionshaveincreasedmateriallyinrecentyears.Geopolitical

conflict,logisticsdisruptions,regulatoryintervention,shiftingtax

regimesandextremeweathereventsarenolongerepisodicshocks;theyarestructuralfeaturesoftheoperatingenvironment.Asaresult,planningassumptionserodefaster;volatilitypersistslongerand

themarginfordelayedresponsehasnarrowedsignificantly.

Atthesametime,thechemicalindustryfacesasetofindustry-

specificstructuralchallengesthatcompoundtheseexternal

pressures.Demandgrowthinkeyendmarketssuchasautomotiveandconstructionhasstalledorslowed.Overbuiltvaluechainshavecreatedpersistentsupplyanddemandimbalancesthatextendwellintothenextdecade.Demographicpressureisincreasing,with

asignificantshareoftheworkforceapproachingretirement.Anddeeplyembeddedbeliefs—abouthowworkshouldbeorganized,decisionsmadeandperformancemanaged—continuetoslow

changeandinnovation.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.4

Theprevailingresponsehasbeentorepeatedlypursuecost-reductionprograms.Acrosstheindustry,companieshaveappliedthesame

familiarmeasures:headcountreductions,assetrationalization,

spendingfreezesandincrementalefficiencyinitiatives.Often,theseleversarethesameonesthatwerefirstdeployed20or30yearsagoandreusedprogramafterprogram(Figure1).

Figure1:Chemicalcompaniesresorttotheusualcostreductionactions

Actionarea

(top15programs)

Peer1

Peer2

Peer3

Peer4

Peer5

Peer6

Peer7

Peer8

Peer9

Peer10

Peer11

Peer12

Peer13

Peer14

Peer15

Headcountreduction

AssetShutdown

CapExreduction

Productivity

Procurement

WorkCap./Inventory

Maintenance

Source:Companyquarterlyandannualearningsreport/presentation,pressreleasesrelatedtocost-savingprograms,currentandpast.

Theoutcomesfromsucheffortshavebecomeincreasinglyinsufficient.

•First,pricepressurehasoutpacedcostreduction,keepingprofitabilityundersustainedpressureanddecline.

•Second,organizationsshowclearsignsoffatigue,havingbeenaskedtoexecutesimilarprogramsrepeatedlywithdiminishingreturns.

•Third,whenidenticalmeasuresareappliedacrosstheindustry,differentiationerodesandinvestorenthusiasmdoesnotreturn.

Itisincreasinglyclearthatthemanagementresponsesthatsupported

thelastgenerationofgrowthwillnotcarrythenextone.Afundamentallydifferentapproachisrequired.Thatgamechangerisreinvention.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.5

AI-basedreinventionisagamechanger

Reinventionismorethanchange.Itisapracticaloperatingshiftthatallowscompaniestoreconnectwithpowerfulinnovationsthathaveshapedtheirpastsuccess,usingafundamentally

differentsetofcapabilities.

Ifthereisoneindustrythatunderstandsreinvention,itis

thechemicalindustry.Overdecades,ithasadaptedtechnologies,processesandbusinessmodelstoservechangingcustomer

needs.Whatisdifferenttodayisthesizeoftheoptionspace.

Advancesindigitalandartificialintelligencemakeavailable

solutions,toolsandcombinationsthatsimplydidnotexistbefore.

AIisthecriticalenablingtechnologyofthisnextreinventionwave.

BigTechisinvesting$400billionayearinAIandAI-related

infrastructureandtheraceison.ThereisanexponentiallearningcurvewithAI:theorganizationsthatmovefirsttendtostayaheadasvaluecaptureacceleratesalongthe

curve.1

Withinthechemicalindustry,AIadoptionhasbegun—but

unevenly,atdifferentspeedsandatamateriallylowerintensitythaninmanycustomerandadjacentindustries.Inpractice,thiscreatesagrowingcapabilitygapatpreciselythemomentwhenspeed,precisionandforesightmattermost.

Thehighest-valueAIusecasesarenotgeneric.Theyarespecifictoeachcompany’sassetbase,datafootprint,operatingmodelandcustomerset.Capturingthemrequiresdeliberatechoices:

wheretofocus,whichcapabilitiestobuild,whichtoolstodeployandhowfasttomove.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.6

Thereinvented

chemicalcompany

WhenAI-enabledreinventionisappliedatscale,theimpactisnotincremental.Areinventedchemicalcompanycanoperateatlevelsofprecision,speedandinsightthatareoutofreachtoday.

Identifycustomer

demandand

value-creation

opportunitiesearlierandmorepreciselythancustomers

themselves.

Areinventedcompanywillbeableto:

Developinnovationsbytappinginto

decadesof

accumulatedR&D

datanotyetexploredbythehumanmind.

Replicateitsbest

productiondaysreliablyeveryday,byoptimizingplantperformance

throughintegratingandanalyzingoperational

dataacrosssystems

suchasOSIPIandIP.21.

Theseexamplesillustratewhyreinventionisaboutreignitinggrowthandinnovation,aswellasachievingcostefficiency.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.7

Whatdoesareinventedcompanylooklike?

Areinventedchemicalcompanydemonstratesclearandobservabledifferences:

Greaterdifferentiation

Innovationcyclesaccelerate,

enablingmorecustomized

solutionsanddeepercustomerrelevance.

Anewspeed

Valuechainsarerefocusedon

innovating,producingandselling,whilenon-corecomplexityis

reducedandprocessesaresimplifiedorpartnered.

Anewperformancefrontier

60–80%EBITuplift,drivenby

materiallylowercostscombinedwithfastergrowthenabledby

newcapabilities.

Ahigherdegreeofsimplification

Fewerprocesses,lowermanualeffortandmateriallyreduced

organizationalcomplexity.

Thisperformancefrontieremergesnotfromisolatedpilots,butfromend-to-endreinvention(Figure2).

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.8

Performance

•Fastergrowthwith

moreinnovationsandoptimizedpricing

•60-80%EBITuplift

Figure2:Areinventedchemicalcompanywillbedifferent

Speed

•Focusedoncorevaluechain(innovating–

producing–selling)

•Lessandsimpler

processes(150

versus250+Level4processes)

Differentiation

•Moresolutions

tailoredtospecificcustomerneeds

•Newsolutionsbasedon20+yearsofR&Ddatanotyetexploredbyhumanminds

Simplification

•Changein75%of

organizationalroles,byaugmenting,

automatingor

abandoningtasks

•Runningthebusinesswith40%lesspeople,step-upinlabor

productivity

Source:AccentureResearch.

Areinventedchemicalcompany'svaluechainshiftsawayfrom

amixofcoreandnon-coreactivitiestowardasharperfocuson

thechemicalindustry’scorestrengths—innovating,producing,

selling.Assetandpeopleintensivenon-coreactivitiesthatabsorb

capitalandmanagementattentionarereducedoroperatedwith

partners,freeingcapacitytodoubledownoninnovation,productionexcellenceandcustomerimpact.

Reinventionalsoshiftsthebusinessmodel—fromsellingstandard

moleculestosolvingcustomerproblemsthroughtailored,higher-

valuesolutions.Thechemicalindustryhasalwaysexcelledat

problem-solving.Reinventionunlocksadditionalvalueateverystep,especiallywhenfunctionalsilosarebrokenandrewiredaround

customeroutcomes.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.9

Howworkand

organizationschange

Inselling,

intuition-ledhumanapproachesare

augmentedwithAI-generatedinsightsintocustomervaluechains,enabling

moretargeted,fact-basedengagement.

Inareinventedchemicalcompany,workitselfisfundamentallydifferent.

Ininnovation,

theshiftisfrom

smalllabteamswithonePh.D.andtwo

tothreetechnicianssupportedbylimitedanalyticstoAI

systemsthatexploreandtestnewoptionspaces24/7.

Inproduction,

operationsmove

frombeingprimarily

experiencedriven

tocontinuously

optimizedthrough

AI-supported

recommendations

basedondecadesofoperationalOSIPIandIP.21data.

Theseshiftsreshapetheworkforce.HumansandAIincreasinglywork

together,withAIaugmenting—notreplacing—criticalhumanjudgment.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.10

Wemodeledchemicalcompaniesacrossthefulloperating

scope,including250Level-4processes,morethan90core

organizationalroles,150financialandnon-financialperformanceindicatorsand100AIagents.

Ourresearchsuggests:

Asignificantreallocationofworkforcecapacity—ontheorderof40%—towardhigher-valueactivities.

3

Areductionofmorethan40%inLevel-4

processesthrough

automation,augmentationandelimination.

2

Relieffromdemographicpressure,asAIhelps

offsettheimpactof

theanticipated25–30%

ofemployeesretiringoverthecomingdecade.

5

Ameaningfulstepchangeinproductivity,addressingagapthathasremained

largelyunchangedoverthepast15

years.4

Asworkisreinvented,organizationalstructuresfollow.Layersarereduced,decision-makingacceleratesandnewcentralizedcapabilitiesemergetoscaledigitalandAIexcellence.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.11

TheroleoftheCEO

Reinventioncannotbedelegated.ItrequiresexplicitCEOownership.

Thisincludes:

•Settingaclearambitionthatgoesbeyondincremental

improvement—targetsthatreflectstructuralchangeratherthan5–10%optimization.

•Leadingthebreakupoffunctionalsilosandestablishingtrueend-to-endaccountability.

•SteeringthetransitiontonewdeliverymodelswherehumansandAIcollaborateatscale,withhumansremainingintheleadwherejudgmentandaccountabilitymatter.

•Activelymanagingemployeeresistancetochangeasapredictableoutcomeofreinvention.

Theopportunitytounlockvaluefromreinventionissignificant.

Butwhatmattersmoreiswhatreinventionrestores:confidencethatthechemicalindustrycanonceagainoperateatthefrontierofinnovation,andthatthelegacyleadersleavebehindisoneoftransformationratherthangradualretreat.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.12

Conclusion

Thevaluepocketsareclear—fasterinnovation,shortercycle

times,structurallylowerbackofficecostsandrenewedgrowth.Manychemicalcompaniesalreadyhavepilotsandproofpointsthatvalidatethispotential.

Therealracenowisnottoexperiment,buttoscale.

Eveninthecurrentmacro-economiccontextthereisdemand

anddemandgrowth.Companiesthatcombineforesightwith

speedwillbebestpositionedtocaptureit.AI-basedreinventionisnolongeroptional;itisthedefininggrowthchallengeofthisdecadeforthechemicalindustry.

Thereinventionimperativeinthechemicalindustry

Copyright©2026Accenture.Allrightsreserved.13

Acknowledgements

AccentureResearchTeam

ShriyaKohli

KarinWalczykJaswinRatti

GauravSharmaDavidKimble

References

1

Companyreports,CapitalIQ(CYconsideredforCAPEXinputs).UptoQ22025,

thefiguresreflectactualresultsforallcompaniesexceptNvidiaandBroadcom.Forthesetwo,Q22025isbasedonthequarterlyconsensusestimatesfromS&P.

2

AccentureResearchdatamodellingonatypical$10Bchemicalcompany.

3

Ibid.

4

Accenture,“

Crackingthelaborproductivityconundruminthechemicalindust