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Schneider Electric is pursuing an accelerated
growth strategy. Henri Lachmann explains why and talks
about the progress made so far.
Growing Schneider Electric on a bigger and faster scale than we’ve done in recent years is a tough
challenge, but I can assure you that it’s a realistic goal. Our market position is a crucial asset here.
T hanks to our four international brands—Merlin Gerin, Modicon, Square D
and Telemecanique—Schneider Electric is the only worldwide specialist
in electrical distribution, industrial control and automation. Since we
concentrate exclusively on these businesses, we’re in closer touch
with our customers and we can dedicate more resources to these segments
than the big conglomerates. At the same time, Schneider Electric is a truly
multinational enterprise, which means that we can meet the globalization
challenges that national specialists can’t deal with efficiently.We’re using this
unique position to conduct a more aggressive business policy and to expand
our enterprise through faster growth.
For the past several months now, I’ve been pleased to see that this process
is gaining momentum. It’s being driven by fundamentals that allow
profitable, long-term growth. Regarding the Schneider 2000+ program,
we’re ahead of schedule on our targets for reducing base costs
and improving our operating margin.Today, we develop products
twice as fast as three years ago. Most important, everyone
at Schneider Electric is now fully customer oriented. The customer is and will increasingly
be the focus of our decisions, strategies and processes.
Is Schneider 2000+ a new step
for Schneider Electric?
Basically, it’s a continuation of the Schneider 2000 program, but we’ve stepped up our efforts
and accelerated the pace. Schneider 2000+ is dedicated to two vital goals: promoting growth
and reducing costs. I believe that success in both areas depends largely on changing the way we work
here at Schneider Electric. In particular, this means cultivating a spirit of initiative and willingness
to take risks among our team members while developing their autonomy, sense of co-destiny
and accountability. To measure our progress, we’re also closely tracking a set of objective indicators:
How fast do we develop our innovations? How satisfied are our customers? How satisfied are our
employees? Where are we in our international development?
2
“To grow our enterprise,
we’re pushing
back our borders”
Interview with the Chairman