APC 1999 Annual Report Download - page 17

15
Continuous support
for distributors
One way to enhance customer satisfaction
is to develop services and strengthen exchanges
and technical support between Schneider Electric
and our distributors. In most of our subsidiaries
around the world, we have set up extranet sites
to provide distributors with online technical
support. In France, for example, the official
distributors’ extranet known as XDO offers
an online catalog, technical information,
and selection guides. Opened in 1999, XDO is
now used by some one hundred sales outlets.
In France as well, we have set up networks of
automation experts in around fifteen sales outlets.
T hese specialists have the expertise to prepare
end-to-end systems for small businesses.
What is more, the initiative has allowed several
distributors to develop their own skills. In many
places around the world, 1999 also saw brisk
growth in help desks, which are accessible via
a single phone number.The information collected
by these help desks is used to compile a worldwide
library of case studies.
Adjusting to local conditions
Schneider Electric tailors its distributor support
to local economic conditions. This was the case
in 1999 in countries with high inflation—notably
in South America—and in crisis-struck regions
like Southeast Asia. Schneider Electric also
develops innovative solutions when special
circumstances require. In the Persian Gulf,
for example, we have set up a centralized
order-processing platform in Dubai.T he facility
allows customers all over the Arabian Peninsula
to benefit from an excellent level of service.
A customer-focused enterprise
Schneider Electric is committed to steadily
enhancing its services to OEMs. In 1999, our
French Division introduced a range of services
for sub-system production, packaged with
a contract for assistance and engineering services,
plus online telephone support.
Chris Richardson
Executive Vice-President
North American Division
“Our relations with customers—especially with our largest
accounts—are becoming more reciprocal. Increasingly, we're trying
to reduce each other's costs and make each other more competitive.
A good example of this two-way relationship is United Parcel
Service (UPS), which is both a customer and a supplier, since it
handles many of our product shipments. The ‘win-win’ trend with
customers is probably most visible in the pharmaceutical industry.
Today, our relationships are based on the value added that
we can contribute.We no longer sell just products, we also
sell skills and solutions.”
Quality drives profitability
Schneider Electric has set up a comprehensive quality plan called
Accelerator to achieve its objectives and enhance profitability.
Accelerator is designed to continuously improve performance at all stages
of our internal processes so that we can supply products and services
of the highest possible quality. It combines basic leadership techniques
with innovative improvement initiatives.
At the Company level, Accelerator includes such measures as a global
benchmarking survey, the definition and deployment of performance
yardsticks and the creation of an international network of experts.
At the local level, it calls for an annual quality audit in the units to measure
performance and customer satisfaction, the introduction of improvement
plans to create clean breaks with the past and programs to share best
practices on projects of general interest.