APC 2001 Annual Report Download - page 36

Think
Innovation
Challenges
Generate
new growth opportunities
Our market-based approach allows us to push
back our limits to identify and act on new growth
opportunities. In the energy market, for example,
we are offering new services to private-sector
operators while developing new products for such
distributed power generation solutions
as microgeneration. In the same spirit, we are
enhancing the functionalities of our products,
which are increasingly intelligent and networked.
This makes it easier to optimize their operation
through performance analysis, installed-base
management and expert diagnostics.
Optimize
processes with the Internet
At Schneider Electric, we have incorporated
the Internet into our own processes to enhance
performance and accelerate our sense of global
cohesion. A cross-functional division is responsible
for facilitating our e-transformation
and for coordinating the development of all our
Internet-based services.
In 2001, Le Nouvel Hebdo magazine,
which specializes in the new economy, named
Schneider Electric "European Networked Economy
Champion" for the extent to which the Internet has
been blended into our operations. Schneider Electric
ranked first among the top 235 listed companies
in Europe.
Accelerate
product renewal
To increase our products' technological lead,
improve their performance and competitiveness
and broaden our portfolio, we invested the equivalent
of 5.2% of sales in R&D in 2001. We also filed
121 patents. The 12 product families renewed
in 2000-2001 generated nearly 20% of sales,
while web-enabled product sales rose 60%.
With operations in 20 countries, our R&D is focused
on meeting local market expectations.
By co-managing projects with major customers,
we can tailor our innovations to their specific needs.
Close cooperation among the Country Organizations
and corporate structures fosters innovation sharing.
In 2001, we pursued our drive to internationalize
R&D by creating a research center
in the United States and expanding our development
teams in China.
Schneider Electric relies on partnerships to work
even faster and more efficiently. New partnerships
were formed in 2001 with Adroit Technologies for
variable speed drives and with Électricité de France
(EDF) and Institut National Polytechnique
de Grenoble (INPG) for next-generation electrical
distribution grids.
Because innovation provides leadership and profitable growth,
we will develop our capacity to think outside the box and always
be more innovative across the Company.
The New Electric World offers us tremendous opportunities.